Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community - View Single Post - OpenOffice vs. MSOffice: Cutting Through the FUD

vox_rox · 07-08-2005, 01:13 PM

The real fact of the matter is that one office suite is not better or worse than another - just different.

I am very biased towards open source everything for a number of reasons that I'm not going to get into here. However, I know people who have used MS Office for a decade or more, and they know these products inside-out, know how to use and power-use them, and are completely productive when using them. I would not tell these people that they are doing the wrong thing, they are simply doing what works for them.

Having said that, I think that most casual users of MS Office products would be pleasantly suprised to find that OpenOffice is a complete and powerful office suite that does not add tremendous amounts of unwanted/unused features and program additions, is always free, and uses open standards so that you will ALWAYS be able to access your documents.

So, even though I use GNU/Linux and open source software 80 per cent of the time, and even though I believe in the superiority of FOSS (Free & Open Source Software), I still believe weveryone should use what they are most comfortable with. Still, it sure wouldn't hurt for everyone to think outside the box once in a while a check out what else is available.

The path less travelled can be easily walked, even by the timid, and the rewards may very well be worth it.

Peace,

Pierre

07-08-2005, 01:13 PM	#17 (permalink)
vox_rox Psycho Location: Comfy Little Bungalow	Value Judgements The real fact of the matter is that one office suite is not better or worse than another - just different. I am very biased towards open source everything for a number of reasons that I'm not going to get into here. However, I know people who have used MS Office for a decade or more, and they know these products inside-out, know how to use and power-use them, and are completely productive when using them. I would not tell these people that they are doing the wrong thing, they are simply doing what works for them. Having said that, I think that most casual users of MS Office products would be pleasantly suprised to find that OpenOffice is a complete and powerful office suite that does not add tremendous amounts of unwanted/unused features and program additions, is always free, and uses open standards so that you will ALWAYS be able to access your documents. So, even though I use GNU/Linux and open source software 80 per cent of the time, and even though I believe in the superiority of FOSS (Free & Open Source Software), I still believe weveryone should use what they are most comfortable with. Still, it sure wouldn't hurt for everyone to think outside the box once in a while a check out what else is available. The path less travelled can be easily walked, even by the timid, and the rewards may very well be worth it. Peace, Pierre __________________ --- There is no such thing as strong coffee - only weak people. ---