Alternative Software Options

One software I use regularly, is an Office package. We all know the type: A bundle of programs that have in them things like Word Processor, Spreadsheet, Presentation software and the like. The last time I used Microsoft Office was when it was Office 2000, long before it became the visual display nightmare it is today. I honestly hate it, and try to avoid it like crazy. Interestingly, the likes of George RR Martin and Anne Rice, to name but two writers, avoid Microsoft Word altogether, citing Wordstar to be a far more logical and superior product.

Wordstar is now a very much a defunct piece of software, and I certainly don't recommend it to people, because of numerous problems getting the archaic program to work on modern computers. I do, however, suggest to people that they look into the software I use; that being LibreOffice. It came into being in 2010, due to concerns within the group making it that Oracle, the company who had bought Sun Microsystems, (and the previous owners of the parent software,) would try and make it proprietry.

I'm throwing terms about, so I will work on explaining them now. Proprietry software means software that has all of the code owned and privately controlled by the company that owns it. This is in direct contrast to Open Source software, whoch follows set protocols to make it visible to all. It means that these are collaborative efforts, the collaborators being potentially anyone in the world.

In the end, there was a massive split, and the bulk of the team for OpenOffice (the parent software that was owned by Oracle,) walked out, going to the newly formed organisation called The Document Foundation. It had been set up to create a protected space for the software to continue being developed as Open Source. Due to the deep hostility of Oracle, the end result was a splitting off, and the creation of LibreOffice. And this is what I'll now focus on, OpenOffice can be discussed at a later date.

LibreOffice is a free to use piece of software, certainly for the average person at home. There are Corporate packages, and also funding is found theough donations. I remember downloading it when it was a simple Beta version, as in still experimental and unfinished. I did it as an experiment, and found myself amused at the fact I was using it as a proper replacement to my older copy of Open Office. It was so much more feature laden, and really was a great step forwards.

To this day, LibreOffice is still being innovative and inventive, with me now running the latest version, Version: 6.0.1.1 (x64). the x64 means I am using an up-to-date processor type, but those with older computers, (as in those with an x86 processor,) it works with Windows Vista and later, Mac OS 10.8 or newer being required. I'm not sure on the Linux side of things, but if you are keeping up to date with your Operating System, then you should be able to run it without issue.

For those who wish to download it, or want to investigate it further, they can do so at the official website for it: www.libreoffice.org/

This is an office package I use all the time, (at least on computer, and I'll get into that at some later point,) and have no intention in changing from.

Hope this helped people.