Open Office 3.0

Open Office is one of my favorite open source programs. For those who do not know it, it's a full office suite not unlike Microsoft Office. While it is open source, it also receives substantial support from Sun Microcomputer. Sun puts out their own version called "Star Office". For educators, Star Office is free.

In terms of which version to get, I would go with Open Office unless you have requirements only addressed by Star Office. There are a few things that Star Office does that Open Office cannot do. However, Open Office tends to be ahead of Star Office with new features. While that may not be so important for Windows users, the last jump for Mac users was a big one. Star Office will not be incorporating these new features until its next release -- version 9.

But Open Office is a great tool and does not cost a thing. It can read and write MS Office documents and anyone who knows one office suite will be comfortable on the other suite. With version 3, there is more reason than ever to try it out.

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