But, if anything, 's coding challenges are exactly the opposite of what most people assume. Within another four years, the word processor had been joined by the rest of the suite.Īlmost certainly, none of this original code remains in current versions. StarDivision, the office suite that is 's ultimate answer, released its first component - the word processor - twenty-five years ago. If I used Windows or proprietary software, I wouldn't be using MSO.īut, my initial reaction aside, this rationale irks me, because the idea that code is new simply isn't true. And this reaction isn't anti-Windows or anti-proprietary prejudice the information is widely known among power users. To anyone like me, who can quote chapter and verse about the instability of MSO, or point out what has been broken for over a decade in it, this comment makes me burst out in a fit of giggles. 'I'd like to use ,' I often hear, 'But I need software I can rely on, so I have to stick with with Microsoft Office.' Once I learned the software, I never had any difficulties. I know, because - unlike most of 's detractors - I've used it professionally, even when I was a lone user interacting with an office full of MSO users. Overall, in almost every instance where you would use MSO for professional purposes, you can easily substitute. Other software does not come bundled with, but often you can download free software to make up the difference - for instance, you can use Mozilla Thunderbird rather than Outlook. In the main office applications, the only place where lags behind MSO is in the presentation software Impress remains less able to handle should than PowerPoint.

And, to be honest, sometimes it's true, in that some free software compares unfavorably with its proprietary counterparts.īut in 's case, the myth is far too sweeping.

Most free software has faced this myth at one time or other. Here are the top five that I have kept stumbling across in eight years of advocacy: Most people only know about it second hand (if at all), but few are slowed by the fact that they don't know what they are talking about.Īs a large desktop application that is also cross-platform, (or should I say LibreOffice?) seems to have attracted more myths than most.

Openoffice vs libreoffice review