Computersight -

Usually the term “free” is associated with the term “cheap.” However, in the computing world, the definition of free does not always reflect the quality of the software, and believe it or not, there is such a thing as free software.

Downloading has received a bad name because of the media’s coverage on piracy, but there is a vast amount of software, files, and even music that is placed under a public license. With this content under the public domain, a person is free to download, and in some cases, change it for his or her own specific use.

Besides browsing the Internet, the most commonly used application of the computer is office productivity. Every time you want to type a paper, make a spreadsheet, or create that dazzling presentation, you usually call upon Microsoft’s Office Suite to accomplish the task. However, many computers do not include the suite by default.

Instead of buying Microsoft’s product for a price, you can download a free office productivity suite called OpenOffice maintained by Sun Microsystems. This free alternative sports all the familiar features of Microsoft’s including a word processor, a spreadsheet program, and a presentation creator. These three components will satisfy the needs of even the most demanding person.

This software is available, legally, for free at Open Office for multiple platforms. Windows, Mac, and Linux versions are distributed from this site. However, the Mac version needs an additional component which needs to be configured for the system.

OpenOffice is very usable and compatible with Microsoft’s products by saving your documents as the Microsoft format. That means you can both read and write your files, so you can share files with your friends.

Because Microsoft does not own OpenOffice, there is currently no support for Microsoft 2007 products. However few people currently use the Microsoft 2007 format, so that is not a major issue.

If you are looking for a free alternative, OpenOffice is a good candidate for your basic productivity needs.