Replace Pricey Microsoft Office with Free OpenOffice 2.4

Before you spend hundreds of dollars on the latest version of Microsoft Office, consider a less-expensive alternative: OpenOffice, which offers business-caliber word processing, spreadsheets, presentations, databases, and drawing. Because it's open-source software, it doesn't cost a penny. The latest version, 2.4, adds a host of minor fixes and improvements.

In case you're unfamiliar with OpenOffice, you'll be glad to know it offers total file compatibility with Microsoft Office documents -- arguably the most important capability of any alternative suite. Although OpenOffice defaults to the OpenDocument format, you can easily open and save Word, Excel, and PowerPoint files. (The exception is Office 2007 files; to work with those, you'll need to wait for OpenOffice 3.0 or use Microsoft's own Office Compatibility Pack.)

Some users find OpenOffice a little intimidating; for those folks I'd recommend Lotus Symphony, which has OpenOffice underpinnings but a much prettier, simpler interface. (However, it lacks the drawing and database modules.) [via Download Squad]