Open Office as an alternative
One of the examples of the grip that Microsoft has on home computing is the large number of people who pay for Microsoft Office when they don’t need it. Sometimes, they do this inadvertently since many PCs now come with a trial version of Microsoft Office and people are inveigled into purchasing it when the trial period expires. Also, PC salesmen often try to convince you that everyone should have Microsoft Office.
In fact, in the home, few people need Office. Unless there are students in the household, few people need any kind of software of this type. And even fewer actually use more than a small fraction of the features. Microsoft Ofice is designed for businesses, government, and other institutions. As I wrote last year:
One of the mysteries of life is why so many people waste their money buying expensive software that they don’t understand and barely use. A case in point is Microsoft Office. There is no question that it has a lot of features and is a versatile and powerful program. But I doubt that most ordinary computer users even know of the existence of most of what’s in Office, let alone actually use all the features.
Those who want an office suite have a perfectly good, free alternative in Open Office. Such is the power of the Microsoft label, however, that Open Office remains in obscurity. For those who want to learn more, the How-to Geek has a discussion of Open Office.
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You should also try SSuite Office for a free office suite. They have a whole range of office suites that are free for download.
Their software also don’t need to run on Java or .NET, like so many open source office suites, so it makes their software very small and efficient.
You may try these links:
http://www.ssuitesoft.com/index.htm
or
http://www.ssuitesoft.com/ssuiteexcalibur.htm
or
http://ssuite5element.webs.com/thefifthelement.htm