The last time I checked, just upgrading Microsoft Office Suite cost $329. If you want to buy a brand new copy of MS Office, then you’ll have to part with $533.

What if I told you that you can keep your precious money in your wallet and still do everything that you can do with MS Office for FREE, as in zilch, nada and nothing?

Welcome to OpenOffice, an office suite downloaded by over ten million grateful users around the world. You can download it too for FREE from http://www.openoffice.org

In case you are wondering what to do with all your MS Word documents, let me tell you right away: OpenOffice opens all versions of Word documents and then allows you to save them again in any Word version you like. It works like a charm because that’s what I’ve been doing for the last year.

OpenOffice (OO) works on all platforms, Windows, Mac, or Linux. It’s an open-source application available in over 30 languages and continuously developed by hundreds of volunteer programmers all over the world.

This is what you get for paying nothing:

1) WRITER -- A fantastic word processor with probably more features than MS Word, including built-in images for your HTML pages). Styles, exporting as PDF (without Acrobat!), text frames and linking, autocorrect dictionary, document wizards, are just some of the features of this amazing word program. Click http://www.openoffice.org/product/writer.html for more info.

2) IMPRESS – is the equivalent of MS Power Point. A splendid multimedia presentation tool with Master Pages, different viewing options, slide show animation and effects. You can use your old MS Power Point presentations or even create your own Flash (.swf) files. Click http://www.openoffice.org/product/impress.html for more info.

3) CALC – the all purpose SPREADSHEET program, like MS Excel. Pull in your data from corporate databases with DataPilot technology, use natural language formulas, insert sums with the click of a button, plenty of styles and formatting to satisfy even a graphic designer, plus Design Themes, etc. You can of course import all your MS Excel sheets and work them in CALC. Microsoft compatibility is a feature shared by all OO tools. Click http://www.openoffice.org/product/calc.html for more info.

4) DRAW – An excellent drawing program that combines best features of MS Visio and Acrobat Illustrator. Perfect for all kinds of organizational diagrams and charts with a Gallery of clipart and styles galore. Import graphics in many formats (including BMP, GIF, JPEG, PNG, TIFF, and WMF) and export even as a Flash (.swf) document. Arrange and align objects any way you like. Use Smart Connectors to connect your objects in a dozen different ways. Create 3D rings, cubes, spheres. And more… Click http://www.openoffice.org/product/draw.html for more info.

5) MATH – Create complex scientific and mathematical equations for your scientific papers and books. Smoothly integrated with WRITER, CALC and IMPRESS. Click http://www.openoffice.org/product/math.html for more info.

6) BASE – A great relational database, just like MS Access, with everything you need to create tables, records, queries, print reports, and manipulate your data in any way you want. Perform simple (single column) or complex (multi-column) sorts. Create filters to see only subset of your data. Use the Form Wizard and Report Wizard to guide you through the necessary steps. Based on a full version of the HSQL database engine, storing data in XML files. Click http://www.openoffice.org/product/base.html for more info.

So the choice is yours. But you owe it to yourself to download it today and check it out for yourself.

After all it’s FREE. What have you got to lose?

If you don’t like it, you can always go back and give that $500 to Uncle Bill, as most of us did for decades.

And if, on the other hand, you like your OO, then perhaps you can donate a small chuck of your MS-money to the folks who have brought us this amazing free gift (http://contributing.openoffice.org/donate.html).

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