"Open Office" vs Microsoft Office?

[UBCmicrobi]

Hey all, with school approaching I need to get a word processor for my new Macbook (bought my laptop a few months back) so I can type up all my notes and reports with ease. A friend of mine suggested downloading OpenOffice http://why.openoffice.org/ and saving myself a couple hundred dollars instead of purchasing Microsoft Office for Mac. This friend, interestingly, works at Future Shop and is a pretty bad salesman and convinced me not to buy the pricey Microsoft software. Now, I'm borderline computer illiterate and just not very technologically savvy, so I had no idea such free software existed and was legal.

So my question to you is, are any of you familiar with OpenOffice? Do you use OpenOffice and does it meet your needs for word processing? How does it compare to Word 2007? Also, any of you mac users, how do you like the mac version of Word 2007, and how does it compare? I definitely plan on using my word processor a lot to type up study notes, so I want to be able to do this with minimal aggravation.

Am I a sucker if I drop 200$ on Office for Mac? Arguably I am for buying a macbook in the first place, I'm sure some of you will point out...but hey it's my money Or is the free software just as good?

Thanks!

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[lord_jeebus]

I use OpenOffice and it's great. The interface is similar to Office and you shouldn't have trouble making the transition. I'd give it a try.

My only complaints are with the spreadsheet - there are (or have been) features in Excel that aren't in OpenOffice that I've needed from time to time.

 

[UBCmicrobi]

Thanks for your response

 

[Prepharm1214]

I have used both and prefer Microsoft Office over OpenOffice, the differences really aren't that big though, and if you're about to fork out $200 just get open office. Most colleges sell MS Office at a highly discounted rate which is what I purchased, it was only $15.

 

[UBCmicrobi]

I have used both and prefer Microsoft Office over OpenOffice, the differences really aren't that big though, and if you're about to fork out $200 just get open office. Most colleges sell MS Office at a highly discounted rate which is what I purchased, it was only $15.

Wow 15 bucks, that's a steal. I've seen regular ol' Office 2007 Home & Student Edition for fairly cheap (99$) with "back to school" in full swing, and my school does give a discount (not great though, about 125$ for Office 2003, though this was a few years ago), but I'm not sure if this applies to Office for Mac though. I'm in Canada, so I'd expect to be paying more than my American counterparts, that's for sure, and more for the "mac" part too. I get the feeling I'm being ripped off...

 

[ALLNuclear]

What about waiting and seeing what your program really calls for? I use OpenOffice and I love it, because I just couldn't afford for the flash and colors MS provides (OpenOffice is... almost always the same functions, but simpler). It's like the difference between buying a brand name sneaker and an off-brand; in most cases, you're not really going to know the difference in the end.

That being said, once I got into my undergrad program (nursing), I was forcibly enrolled in classes that required me to have it.. had to do Excel functions, PowerPoint presentations, etc. So I sneaked off to the campus computer lab and have so far evaded the $200 bill coming at me.

I'd also look at eBay for a discount.

 

[tncekm]

Open office is great, and it reads DocX files. Just make sure you save in office formats and its pretty much entirely compatible to the extent of my knowledge/usage.

 

[mrblah]

get microsoft office, and make sure it has microsoft onenote. It will make your life a lot easier.

 

[UBCmicrobi]

Thanks for all your replies, guys. Is anyone here a mac user and familiar with the Office for Mac version, specifically?

mrblah, what do you use onenote for? I'm all about making my life easier.

 

[mrblah]

one note allows you to integrate notes/word and powerpoint together, but thats not what makes it easier. You can also integrate video and audio into your notes also.

So a good example, say you are recording lecture (audio), and following along in powerpoint, and typing in notes. One note will allow you to integrate all 3 info sources in real time. So later when you are reviewing your powerpoint, you can hear the corresponding lecture and read your own notes. The interface is very user friendly (everything is cut/paste).

 

[ALLNuclear]

Microsoft OneNote is a note-taking software. With this software, you create (color-coded) journals/notebooks... you can group your notebooks together based on semester, subject, etc. The notebooks are then available to you, organized by colored tabs.

Within the notebook, you can create categories and subcategories (organized tabs) and assign names, etc. to them to keep organized. "Test 1 Notes" (subcategories: lecture day 1, lecture day 2, so on).

There are oodles of templates (you can make these journals look like college-ruled paper, graph paper, wide-ruled paper, or even have rainbows and glittery hearts adorning your notebook...)

You can also share notebooks, publish them to websites/blogs, create graphs and "hand-written notes" on them (tablet PC functions), attach audio recordings to certain areas (useful if you tape your lectures).

This is ultimate portability. You won't need paper again.

However, one has to consider what your program is like. Are they going to give you a ton of handouts, in which case you'll need to tote a binder regardless? Are you the type of person who needs to write their notes for recall? Is it worth it to you to organize your notes into "notebooks," or are you OK with writing in NotePad and then printing?

eBay also has good deals on this... I'd suggest this product if you'll really get into it and keep organized notes, but for me it's easier just to click on NotePad and start typing like mad.

PS - MS has a 60 day trial of this software available for download.

 

[mrblah]

one note is perfect for paperless/powerpoint lectures, but not so perfect for traditional chalkboard lectures. Although one way around that is to scan all your notes and handouts, and then paste it into one note (not sure how time consuming this really is though).

Here at USN, we have a paperless/powerpoint intense lectures, so this program is great.

 

[UBCmicrobi]

thanks for the info on onenote, ALLNuclear and mrblah. It actually sounds pretty cool. I really like the idea of having the categories and subcategories organized and at my fingertips. I think most of our lecture notes will be pre-printed hand outs, though. I'm definitely the kind of person who likes to take hand written notes in class and then retype them (retyping is good for recall as allnuclear noted), and I don't think I'll be lugging my laptop to school everyday (I'm a small girl, too heavy and I don't want it to get knocked about or stolen). I guess pharm lectures will be a little different from my undergrad classes though, so we'll see. I don't think I'll be 100% paperless, but I'm definitely finding myself using my computer more than paper and pen these days.

 

[mrblah]

duplicate

 

[mrblah]

thanks for the info on onenote, ALLNuclear and mrblah. It actually sounds pretty cool. I really like the idea of having the categories and subcategories organized and at my fingertips. I think most of our lecture notes will be pre-printed hand outs, though. I'm definitely the kind of person who likes to take hand written notes in class and then retype them (retyping is good for recall as allnuclear noted), and I don't think I'll be lugging my laptop to school everyday (I'm a small girl, too heavy and I don't want it to get knocked about or stolen). I guess pharm lectures will be a little different from my undergrad classes though, so we'll see. I don't think I'll be 100% paperless, but I'm definitely finding myself using my computer more than paper and pen these days.

Definitely give the demo a try, and a day to play around with it. If you have to buy a word processing program, I would buy microsoft office, just for One Note alone, lol.

 

[fungikid]

Be aware that some MS Office editions don't include OneNote. You can also opt to buy OneNote separately.

 

[cdhoward]

I recently bought a macbook and purchased office 08 for mac student edition from my school. $15 for the cd. Your school has to have a contract with microsoft for multi liscense or something like that. Anyway, the note taking software is not included in this version.