Internet Tools

I have chosen three internet tools to explore and discuss in my personal technology blog. I just wanted to share a bit about one of the Internet tools that I already use on a regular basis.

OpenOffice is a free office application suite, very similar to the Microsoft Office Suite, that is available for a wide variety of operating systems. It supports over 80 languages and numerous file formats, including Microsoft Office formats.

I first used OpenOffice a few years ago when I had to reinstall my operating system. Most computer owners know that while Microsoft Office is included in the original system, the disk is not included in the original software bundle. I had a difficult time tracking down someone who could lend me their disk (this, by the way, is somewhat legally questionable as well!), so I had to resort to searching for an office application online.

OpenOffice has its Microsoft Office counterparts (e.g. Writer - Microsoft Word, Calc - Excel, Impress - PowerPoint). While OpenOffice's user interface is different from the Microsoft Office interface, an intermediate computer user will have no problem adapting to the nuances of the open source program. To give a simple example of one of the differences, "Font" is called "Character" in OfficeOffice, but it is similarly placed under the drop down menu for "Format" on the main bar.

OpenOffice is free of charge and updates are always developed to continuously improve the application. OpenOffice is a free alternative to Microsoft Office, especially if a lab does not have a budget for software and has computers running on open-source OS such as Linux (also free!).

If you are interested in OpenOffice, check out their website (http://www.openoffice.org/), and stay tuned for my submission to my personal blog later this semester.

(Image: OpenOffice.org)