The Linux-based office suites are adequate for my needs, but anyone who considers themselves an MS Office "power-user" will likely be sorely disappointed in the Linux alternatives.
I disagree.
I run financial models for a living, and do all of our customer correspondence (roughly 200 customers with frequent contact) via heavily-scripted mail merges. I most certainly consider myself a power user, and my demands on my office software are very heavy. I have been running Sun StarOffice 6.0 since it came out, and have had:
* no tasks I could not perform
* no crashes
* a few tasks for which MS Office was significantly better
* a few tasks for which StarOffice was significantly better
* three patches to download
* no security holes
* quite speedy performance
* excellent read/write of MS Office files (95/97/2000/XP)
* native file sizes averaging 40% smaller than xls/doc/ppt
* cost savings of nearly 80% ($75 vs $370)
I am quite eagerly awaiting Sun StarOffice 6.1. Having tested and run SO-6.0 for maybe more than a year (don't recall exactly), when 6.1 comes out I will upgrade all 25 Windows machines in our offices to SO-6.1. The total savings in licenses alone will be over $7000, and I don't expect to need any outside support at all. Plus, those users who prefer Linux will now be able to run their preferred OS (saving me another $200 in OS license costs) with no file format incompatibility.
While the gratis ($0 cost) office suites may have their rough edges, I think that's something you should expect from a project that large and that complex which is staffed only by volunteers. Shell out a little cash though (and I do mean a little), and the situation changes drastically. I buy subscriptions from Red Hat, and I buy StarOffice licenses from Sun. I am now able to buy new hardware more frequently, lower support costs, manage all machines centrally, increase security, lower risks of hacking (not eliminate, lower), and still save money on direct costs.
Sorely disappointed in not moving to Sun StarOffice on Red Hat sooner, maybe...
-- Rodolfo J. Paiz [EMAIL PROTECTED]
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