FREE OFFICE/DESKTOP PUBLISHING etc SOFTWARE

danmanchester

If like me you don't want to spend or can't afford the few HUNDRED POUNDS :eek: to Bill Gates et al that it costs for Microsoft Office/Front Page etc then maybe the following FREEalternatives might be of some interest: Open Office 2.0 (beta) from:

http://www.openoffice.org/ The version 2.0(actually 1.9+) is still in beta release but I use it with no problems, or you can download the previous stable release 1.1.4.
This suite of applications does virtually everything that Microsoft Office does, and can read/open AND write to Microsoft applications too. It doesn't come with an email client but you can get a very highly regarded FREE email application called Thunderbird from: http://www.mozilla.org/products/thunderbird/ , you can also download an alternative FREE internet browser from this website too called Firefox.
If you want some feature rich desktop publishing software that includes HTML authoring software (ie:does what Microsoft Front Page/or Dreamweaver does but doesn't cost £££££s!) then look here at these FREE software downloads from Serif. You will need to register an email with Serif to receive an activation code, but all the software is totally free! They can all be downloaded here: http://www.freeserifsoftware.com/default.asp
I know some people say "you get what you pay for..." blah blah blah - but I use ALL of the above and am VERY happy at the huge amount of money I have NOT spent!

pin

Thunderbird sounds and looks great, but anyone know if you can sync is with a Windows Mobile PDA?

danmanchester

I'm not sure about that Pin...but I am sure someone on the Techie boards will know the answer! Geniuses they are over there !

busterkeye

is it just me or is there other people who cant do with the small, large, coloured etc, etc writing

sorry dont meen to offend anyone! its just anoying

danmanchester

The OpenCD also has tons of free software to use too:
http://www.theopencd.org/index.php?option=com_frontpage&Itemid=1

rogue_element

You could also take a look at inkscape
http://www.inkscape.org/

and

http://www.scribus.org.uk/

If you want more OSS check here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_open-source_software_packages

Support OSS and make sure you contact your local MEP to save your favourite OSS projects from software patents:

http://www.nosoftwarepatents.com

FREE SOFTWARE UNDER THREAT FROM SOFTWARE PATENTS!

Software patents threaten the very future of free software applications - many may be forced to stop and go out of existence because of "patent violations"

The European commission has just passed its directive on software patents, violating democratic rules and procedures to the sole benefit of big non-European corporation and Ireland and to the detriment of small and medium sized businesses (which comprise 99% of the European software industry) and free software.

The European parliament will now be taking the last stand against software patents in a voting for which an absolute majority is needed. Such a majority is hard to come by in a parliament with a low attendance level.

But not all is lost yet as long as you decide it is time to make a difference and take action. This is our last opportunity to fend off software patents worldwide, there will be no second chance for the foreseeable future. Contact your local EU representatives and educate them why software patents are bad and why they must attend that parliament session to vote against them. For in-depth information and starting points to get active visit software patent page of the FFII (Foundation for a Free Information Infrastructure) and NoSoftwarePatents.com.

Wish us luck, we will need it.

OVERTHEODDS

Thanks danmanchester! Is there an alternative to powerpoint?

danmanchester

OVERTHEODDS wrote:

Thanks danmanchester! Is there an alternative to powerpoint?

Yes..within the OpenOffice suite there is an application called Impress -
Impress

More power to your presentations

IMPRESS is a truly outstanding tool for creating effective multimedia presentations. Your presentations will stand out with 2D and 3D clip art, special effects, animation, and high-impact drawing tools.

rogue_element

OpenOffice impress is much sleeker and much cooler than powerpoint. It also loads in powerpoint presentations without any problems. It also looks slightly different to the "standard" presentations created with powerpoint and you can output it to PDF so it works on any computer and looks the same.