Suggested Office Tools
infobyte June 28th, 2008
Many times I find myself looking for applications that fit my need with a price that fits my budget ($0 most of the time). Sometimes I find applications that fit my need but not my budget like Microsoft Office. I hope you find these choices help you and your family out.
Word Processing
The best word processor I have found is Open Office Writer. This both fits my needs and its part of a complete suite of Office tools to help me be more productive. You can try this one out yourself by visiting their website at: openoffice.org
I have used this software for many years now and have found it most satisfactory. You can’t beat the price either as this is open source software and is free to the end user. They would certainly not turn down any donations, I am sure if you feel so inclined but use it without obligation.
This software also contains a spreadsheet (like Microsoft Excel) and presentation application (like Microsoft Powerpoint).
Database
Sometimes you find yourself in need of some data handling capability. When my needs turn to databases, I turn to MySQL. This is a full featured open source software package (spelled F R E E - which fits my budget).
If you have a need for keeping up with the company inventory or contact list. MySQL can help you. If you tie MySQL to OpenOffice, you have a force to reckoned with. You can put together a professional looking data entry application in short order using these tools.
You can find MySQL through their website at: MySQL
Desktop Operating System
If you are tired of an operating system that:
- is under constant attack by mal-ware (viruses, spyware, worms, etc.)
- is way too expensive
- is known to take over your computer at most inopportune times (like updates)
then it is time to consider other alternatives for your desktop. Today’s Linux is not just for Geeks anymore. Liunx has come a long way towards becoming user friendly. Upgrades and updates are becoming just the click of a button and initial installation is now almost automatic.
One of the concerns about changing operating systems is always what software will be available to run. The latest version of open source applications (several mentioned in this article) are meeting the needs of desktop users everywhere. Besides, you can always dual boot your computer to use that one piece of software you use once a year that must run under a specific operating system.
You can find many distributions of Linux available. My favorite one (Ubuntu) can be found at this web address: Ubuntu
Tags: mysql, office, OpenOffice.org, ubuntu
