Open Source Software - Essay Example

? OpenOffice.org 3.0 and NeoOffice 3.0 as possible alternatives to Microsoft Office Introduction A recent surge in technological advancements in software development has seen a need for better software solutions and utilities on which the end users can launch their program needs, it is against this background that Open Source Software (OSS) has developed to far more reaching heights and familiarity among software users. Commonly referred to as Free Software, FLOSS, FOSS or Libre programs (Shukla) Open Source software are ideally commercial programs that offer the end user an opportunity to freely run the program for any use. They participate in software modification, and to some extent being able to redistribute the modified version of the new program without having to pay royalties to the original developer. (Wheeler) Several peer-reviewed literatures suggest that using the OSS programs in many cases offers superior user interface and approach in contrast to their proprietary competitors. (Wheeler) Even with the above background review, many software users still are unaware of the very many user options that this utility presents. It is against this information that this paper examines two open source software (Neo Office 3.0 and Open Office) solutions as an alternative to Microsoft office 2010 applications. The paper examines the Open Source Software. The discussion compares the Open Source Software on grounds of the platform on which they are available, their affordability, available technical support, major features to meet the standards of a commercial product and arguments for and against the Open Source Software as a Commercial alternative to Microsoft Office 2010. Wheeler suggests that whatever the program, there are universal procedures for their evaluation. These steps are; identification of the candidates, examining existing literature reviews, applicability of the desired program to one’s personal needs, and analysis of the top candidates. Wheeler sums up the four sequential steps as “IRCA”; identify, review, compare and analyze. (Wheeler) Review of Microsoft Office 2010 Microsoft Office is a commercial workplace utility quite popular with most workplaces. The Office 2010 has a ribbon interface modification different from the traditional Office 2003 interface, additionally it has a file menu back into the tool bar making it easier to save and open files. Minimal system requirements for the program include 700MHz and a 512MB RAM with windows 7, XP or vista to be fully functional. Microsoft Office enjoys unlimited technical support: Microsoft Company, people with licenses from Microsoft, professional call centers and numerous books and websites that offer on time assistance to users with tips on configuration, modification and using Microsoft Office with free resources especially for non-profit uses. Document sharing is simplified for this program because Microsoft has created standard file formats such as .doc, .docx. (For word) and .xls (for excel files). Microsoft also has enabled easier remote access using “Skydive” with standard file security if procedures adhered through allowing users to install Microsoft updates; firewalls, antivirus management and antispyware (Bonfield and Quinn). Equally, through the utilization of Microsoft outlook users are able to receive and send emails from Microsoft office. Other in built features includes; grammar checking, view document options, and pre-posted document formatting. (Bonfield and Quinn) Review of alternative Open Source Software to Microsoft Office 2010 OpenOffice.org OpenOfice.org 3.1 is the latest version of OpenOfice.org with the former being 3.0. The OpenOfice.org is versatile with Windows, Mac, Linux, and free suite being a preferred alternative to Microsoft Office suite. Additionally it is able to read and write to Microsoft Office supported formats and supports the Open Document Format (ODF) 1.2 standard. The suite is inbuilt with a word processing application, spreadsheet, presentations, graphics, database and formulas. Additionally for clients trying to save documents compatible with a Microsoft Office application, it makes it even easier to save documents in MS formats by default (Turner). Being open software the utility is free commercial software, therefore, a handy program for many commercial outlets. Compared to MS Office 2010, the user interface of OpenOffice.org is similar to MS Office 2003, therefore, for anyone who has background knowledge in MS Office 2003 this become the most preferred tool, but with an improvement slightly above MS Office 2003 by having slightly different templates with opportunity for user modifications. (Shukla) As opposed to MS Office 2010 with higher system requirements, OpenOffice.org 3.0 requires 256 MB RAM and is able to run of Windows 2000 and 2003 with compatibility to Linux. As (Bonfield and Quinn) argue, OpenOffiice.org 3.0 adopts a community driven support initiative, a free with documentation project and development forums spearheaded by volunteers. Although MS Office offers numerous user support utilities, tailored support comes at a cost. Contrasting licensing requirements of MS Office 2010, OpenOffice.org is virtually a free program with loose licensing modalities offering a platform for unlimited installations to friends or partner organizations. (Shukla) One area where OpenOffice.org has been criticized is the failure to offer document sharing features and loosely upheld security protocols when compared to MS Office 2010. NeoOffice 3.0 This is ideally a special version of OpenOffice suitably designed for Mac OS X (Osalt) NeoOffice is specifically designed to bridge the gap between Mac OS X and OpenOffice by providing ‘Aqua menus, copy/paste options with other similar Mac applications and drag and drop support’ since OpenOffice requires that one runs X11 (Osalt). Additionally all the files are compatible with all files used in OpenOffice and MS Office. With a free license and all the support features of OpenOffice, NeoOffice is ideally the best program for smaller organizations. Why Open Source alternatives? Open Source alternatives cost almost nothing, therefore, organizations will not have to incur cost in purchasing the program. Additionally as the name suggests, the updates of the Open Source are also free of charge, one is also able to modify the Open Source so that it suits one’s personal needs something that Microsoft Office does not offer. Subsequently, the interface might perhaps for Open Source programs be less polished which could be attributed to the fact that developers for Open Source programs are more concerned with developing tech savvy applications to suit end user needs. Therefore, Open-source codes live beyond the company’s life, it is not entirely dependent on current developers and sponsor organizations a contrasting fact for closed-source commercial projects like Microsoft Office 2010 and affiliated programs. Works Cited Bonfield, Brett and Laura S. Quinn. july 2010. Microsoft Office vs. OpenOffice.org. Web. 19 March 2012 . Osalt. Open Source as an Alternative. Web. 19 March 2012 . Shukla, Anurradha. "Unixmen." 12 March 2012. The Growth of LibreOffice over Microsoft Office. Web. 19 March 2012 . Turner, Adam. "Digital life." November 2008. OpenOffice 3.0 a fresh blow for Microsft. Web. 19 March 2012 . Wheeler, David A. "wheeler." 16 April 2007. Why Open Source Software / Free Software (OSS/FS, FLOSS, or FOSS)? Look at the Numbers! Web. 19 March 2012 . Read More