MS Word vs Open Office vs Google Docs.. etc..

[hidari]

I saw a thread on MS Word 2010 and was wondering what most people use when writing docs, excel, presentations etc....


I have been an Open Office fan since it began and have not used MS Word for years.I find Google Docs interesting as well..... Does anyone use this app?

How many Mac users have MS Word? That would at least make me smile
At least the Irony of it.

For me the price of Open Office beats MS Word anyday....

Plus, once you learn to use Open Office it just as good as any Doc app in my opinion...

[nomesque]

I use word processor software a lot at work, and I'll generally use OpenOffice in preference to Word 2003/2007 (haven't tried 2010). OpenOffice has its issues, but for large documents I've always found it more stable and reliable. And the common tasks are a lot simpler.

I haven't used Google Docs... I haven't seen a good reason for even trying it, to be honest.

[smithno]

I use OpenOffice when I can get away with it...

[hidari]

Same here. Yes, Open Office has its issues, but in general it is very good in my opinion. Have you tried Google Docs?

Originally Posted by nomesque

I use word processor software a lot at work, and I'll generally use OpenOffice in preference to Word 2003/2007 (haven't tried 2010). OpenOffice has its issues, but for large documents I've always found it more stable and reliable. And the common tasks are a lot simpler.

I haven't used Google Docs... I haven't seen a good reason for even trying it, to be honest.

[uRwhatUr]

Haven't used Google docs. I am comfortable with using OpenOffice and OpenOffice portable on my pen drive. Also used Abiword for a little bit till settling on OpenOffice.

[Solitaire1]

I use StarOffice 8 (the commercial version of OpenOffice.org) and I like its word processor (Writer) much better than any version of MS Word I've used (the last version I made use of was 2003). I've found that I don't have to fight with it like I had to at times with MS Word to get my documents formatted the way that I wanted.

One of the best features of Writer is that I can easily generate PDFs from my documents, and when I page preview them I can see exactly how they will look on my reader.

Also, I used to use an RTF word processor called Jarte, and found it to be an excellent word processor for typing out documents that don't require complex formatting. It wasn't as overwhelming as MS Word is sometimes. Since I've begun formatting my ebooks as PDFs, I make much more use StarOffice than Jarte, but it is still a very good word processor.

[hidari]

Interesting, So...the next question...why don't more people gravitate to Open office....oOo???

Originally Posted by Solitaire1

I use StarOffice 8 (the commercial version of OpenOffice.org) and I like its word processor (Writer) much better than any version of MS Word I've used (the last version I made use of was 2003). I've found that I don't have to fight with it like I had to at times with MS Word to get my documents formatted the way that I wanted.

One of the best features of Writer is that I can easily generate PDFs from my documents, and when I page preview them I can see exactly how they will look on my reader.

Also, I used to use an RTF word processor called Jarte, and found it to be an excellent word processor for typing out documents that don't require complex formatting. It wasn't as overwhelming as MS Word is sometimes. Since I've begun formatting my ebooks as PDFs, I make much more use StarOffice than Jarte, but it is still a very good word processor.

[pking36330]

Originally Posted by hidari

Interesting, So...the next question...why don't more people gravitate to Open office....oOo???

Pssst. [in a whisper] Because there are still MANY of us who use and enjoy MS Word, have invested the time to learn this powerful program and know why its worth the cost. But we can't say that out loud in most places because in order to be politically correct, you have to bash Microsoft and not mention how thankful you are they've provided an incredibly stable, full-featured product in Word 2007. But don't telll anyone here I said this or they'll automatically flame me for even mentioning the quiet majority that actually use and love Word because they rely on it day in and day out. [slinks away while looking over his shoulder]

[hidari]

MS makes good products, but I prefer their OS...ie...I like Vista....and have two machines with Vista...but I am not a fan of Word.. but it is a good program....just pefer the free version.....

Originally Posted by pking36330

Pssst. [in a whisper] Because there are still MANY of us who use and enjoy MS Word, have invested the time to learn this powerful program and know why its worth the cost. But we can't say that out loud in most places because in order to be politically correct, you have to bash Microsoft and not mention how thankful you are they've provided an incredibly stable, full-featured product in Word 2007. But don't telll anyone here I said this or they'll automatically flame me for even mentioning the quiet majority that actually use and love Word because they rely on it day in and day out. [slinks away while looking over his shoulder]

[dsvick]

Originally Posted by hidari

Interesting, So...the next question...why don't more people gravitate to Open office....oOo???

Inertia

Honestly, though I would bet that it is mostly a case of it being the most common so they use what everyone else uses. Yes, OO can save as a doc file, excel file etc. but for the average person it is just easier to go with the flow. Which is too bad since I would bet that over 90% of the people that use them only use 10% of the features and so would do just fine with OO.

We need to upgrade here and I'll be submitting a proposal to convert almost everyone to OO just to save several thousand dollars. Sure it will take a bit of training but it will be well worth it I think.

[nomesque]

I don't think OOo is for everyone. If you know Word already, and you're doing the things that Word does well... might as well stick with it.

But take a large (300 page) document with tables and images, create a Word version and an OOo version, and have a race to open, edit, update fields and PDF it (with hotlinks etc included). The Word person will generally be weeping after 5 minutes That's why I use OOo in preference to Word. Although I'm not fond of MS, either.

[Solitaire1]

Originally Posted by nomesque

I don't think OOo is for everyone. If you know Word already, and you're doing the things that Word does well... might as well stick with it.

But take a large (300 page) document with tables and images, create a Word version and an OOo version, and have a race to open, edit, update fields and PDF it (with hotlinks etc included). The Word person will generally be weeping after 5 minutes That's why I use OOo in preference to Word. Although I'm not fond of MS, either.

I agree that OpenOffice.org (OO.o) is not for everyone, but I do think that it is suitable for many users. Although it doesn't have all of the features of MS Word, the ones it does have work very well.

I know from experience about how painful creating a complex document in MS Word can be. Two examples:

- Once, I had to create writing guide at work, one about 60 pages long. On some pages there would be a portrait example, and on others there would be a landscape example. It became such a formatting nightmare that I ended up printing the individual pages, scanning them, and saving them as a series of graphic files. Then I created the guide in Powerpoint, inserting each scanned page on a different slide. It wasn't the most elegant way to do it, but it did get the job done.

- In another case at work, we ended up having to FAX a certain type of document back and forth, even though it could have easily be sent via e-mail. The reason for FAXing: The document we received had to be identical to the one they sent to us (absolutely no differences were allowed between the two versions, even a small amount of extra space between two words could not be accepted). With MS Word documents, often the formatting of the received document would change on our system because of differences between the system the document was created on and our system (for example, a difference in printers can affect the document's formatting). The only way we could avoid the problem (we didn't have the ability to generate PDFs at that time) is to FAX the document.

[lene1949]

I have Office 2007 on my main computer, but Open Office Org on my laptop... Had too much money in 2007 and bought MS Office..

I like OoO, and I don't use a fraction of the features in Office 2007. I'll never buy MS office again.

[hidari]

You give a great example of why people should not get MS WORD. Also, as stated above 90% of users only need the basics services of WORD or Excel...which Open Office and Google Docs both are more than adequate at handling...

VIVA OPEN OFFICE!!!!!!.....

Originally Posted by lene1949

I have Office 2007 on my main computer, but Open Office Org on my laptop... Had too much money in 2007 and bought MS Office..

I like OoO, and I don't use a fraction of the features in Office 2007. I'll never buy MS office again.

[saturnblackhole]

i use linux (ubuntu) so open office is the only thing thats available. its great but i will admit the new microsoft word with the ribbon ui is better. i find the controls more intuitive and i find it fun to navigate around. though i find openoffice ui dated i think its more capable than ms word because openoffice has lots of plugins to choose from that expands functionality.

I've used google docs a few times its good but VERY basic one of the main reasons i dont use it more id because theres no ruler bar (the ruler that hovers above the document). i'll wait till the end of this year to make my final decision on google doc since google said they're going to add more stuff to it.