One of the bigger challenges I faced when switching to my Mac was the fact that my FANTASTIC deal on Microsoft software did me little good. I’m a subscriber of the Action Pack which allows me access to tons of Microsoft titles including Vista, Server 2008, and Office for a flat annual (and very affordable) fee. Unfortunately - but perhaps understandably - the software is all based on Windows operating systems.
Interestingly, this has presented a fairly ironic solution: open source. Ironic because my switch to Mac - a traditionally closed world - has “opened” my eyes to all of the great free software available today. I have found a great wealth of apps to solve nearly every problem I’ve run across with my Mac.
Who needs to spend hundreds to write a few letters? Instead of shelling out a bunch of bucks on Microsoft Office for the Mac, I found NeoOffice. It’s basically a front-end for OpenOffice, the free office suite champ. It worked okay, but was a bit rough around the edges.
Well, OpenOffice itself has been upgraded to version 3.0 and now is native to OS X. I tried it out for about eight minutes this afternoon and immediately threw out NeoOffice. OpenOffice is faster, has more features (and programs), and just plain-out looks nicer.
If you’re a NeoOffice user, I strongly encourage you to download OpenOffice today. It’s well worth the price! =)
