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OpenOffice 2

The open-source version of Sun Microsystem’s StarOffice 8, the OpenOffice 2 is a good offering for home or small business activities but not for big corporate offices, who will be better off exploiting StarOffice 8.

Features of OpenOffice 2 include word-processing, database, spreadsheet, and some presentation applications as well. As such, it is not a bad substitute to Microsoft Office 2003, more so if you are only need a program for home or small offices. You will have to be prepared for the fact that product support will be available only via online forums, which cannot be a trusted source. But then, you need to keep in mind that this is after all a freeware version.

OpenOffice 2 is capable of reading and writing Microsoft Office files, though the lack of precision is rather evident.

Additionally, it is compatible with several operating systems, which includes GNU/Linux, Mac OS X, Sun Solaris, and of course Windows. Sun and its associates are still in the infant stages as far as far as manufacturing a suitable product that can give Microsoft Office a run for its money is concerned. But they have certainly come up with something substantial that will cater to cater to a niche segment, its economical price being one of the chief selling factors.

As mentioned in the beginning, this an open source version of Sun Microsystem’s StarOffice 8. A quick glance at the two software might misguide you into thinking that OpenOffice 2 and StarOffice 8 are quite alike. It’s true that the core applications in both like Base, Draw, Impress, Calc, and Writer come with matching interfaces. However, there are a number of differentiations with the latter encompassing more superior features.

StarOffice offers uses as many as 70 visual backgrounds in its Presentation Wizard as opposed to OpenOffice’s three. The 1,800 clip-art graphics provided by StarOffice too are double in number compared to OpenOffice. Not least of all, OpenOffice does not offer tools for administration and Microsoft Office migration, something which StarOffice is capable of providing.

Both applications recognize the PDF file format and OpenDocument Format (ODF), a feature not available with Microsoft Office 2003. Even so Microsoft Office has far superior features for either of the two to be considered as a suitable substitute.

But businessmen can still opt for StarOffice 8 while home and small offices can look for OpenOffice 2 as a good economical alternative.