First, this is not a philosophical article.
It will not attempt to tell you why you "should" try to live your computing life without Microsoft products.
For many people, corporate especially, Microsoft is essential to doing business.
But for others...
not so much.
Similarly, this article will not attempt to pigeonhole different types of people into groups who "should" or "should not" switch away from Microsoft. This article, simply, will tell you how you CAN live your life without Microsoft, should that be your choice.
It will focus on areas where Microsoft products are ubiquitous, what other options are available, and how a computer user can be freed from using Microsoft products should they choose. The three main areas where Microsoft products are heavily used are: 1.
Operating System - Microsoft Windows 2.
Office Software - Microsoft Office 3.
Web Browser - Microsoft Internet Explorer Depending on your needs as a user, you may find that one or two of these areas are potential deal-breakers.
If you just can't live without a program, for whatever reason, then by all means stay with what you have.
Maybe the company you work for demands everything you submit be sent in using a particular format, or a certain Windows-only program is key to what you do.
If that's the case, then sorry, this article is not for you. But if not, and you're ready to make the jump, the most obvious alternative to Microsoft is to get a Mac.
It's not the only option out there - many people (including myself), have selected Linux as a viable alternative to both Microsoft AND Apple, but that's a subject for another article. The Apple Macintosh, since its introduction in 1984, has been viewed as Microsoft's biggest competitor.
From the easy-to-use operating system to a good variety of software options, the Mac will truly do all most computer users need.
Buying a Mac isn't the only option, but it's the one this article will choose as its focus. OPERATING SYSTEM: Should you decide to go the Mac route, your operating system is taken care of.
For years, computer experts and users have been clamoring for Apple to release their operating system - OS X (as in 10) - for machines which would typically use Windows, but this has not happened.
So, the only way to use this operating system, which does all the basic "stuff" the computer does, such as provide access to programs, manage files, provide structure and a graphic view of the data on your computer, is to purchase a Mac. OFFICE SOFTWARE: The second area Microsoft dominates is in office software.
Apple has traditionally included their own office suite, called AppleWorks (before being changed to ClarisWorks, then back to AppleWorks).
It has everything a basic user would need, such as modules for word processing, spreadsheets, painting, drawing, slideshow presentations, and databases.
The problem with this solution is its age.
In computer years, AppleWorks is ancient, and has not been updated in the last three years.
It still runs, but many users will find it has a limited feature set, especially for power users, and may only be a good solution for home users. So, if you decide that AppleWorks isn't for you, then what?
Well, Apple has recently introduced a new suite of office programs called iWork.
Currently, iWork includes two programs, called Pages and Keynote.
It is, at the moment, a very incomplete solution for someone used to Microsoft Office.
The individual programs are quite capable, and while not perfect substitutes for Microsoft Word or PowerPoint, Pages and Keynote are high quality software.
And it will get better, as rumor sites are already saying that the next release of iWork will include a spreadsheet program - expected to be called Numbers or Charts - which will inch iWork closer to Microsoft Office. There are other options, of course, including standalone programs to replace the individual components from Office.
If you do this, you'll need to consider the three main tasks Microsoft Office takes care of: 1.
Presentations - PowerPoint 2.
Spreadsheets - Excel 3.
Word Processing - Word Different versions of Office include different programs, of course.
The version marketed to home and student users includes a note-taking application, while the professional and corporate versions include more enterprise solutions, such as Microsoft Access and Exchange.
But for the majority of users, the three programs outlined above are the programs they will use most often. PRESENTATION: There are numerous word processing programs for the Mac, but not nearly as many spreadsheet or presentation options.
In fact, if you want variety, you'll be sorely disappointed.
For putting together a presentation, you basically have two enterprise-level options: Keynote (from the iWork suite), and the presentation module of NeoOffice. NeoOffice is a complete suite, like Microsoft Office.
In fact, NeoOffice (a Java port of the open-source OpenOffice), has the goal of being a near clone of Office 2000.
Now that Office 2007 has been released, OpenOffice (and NeoOffice), will attempt to gain compatibility with Office 2003.
Because of this, some of the newer eye candy features might not be available to you, but if you want something that is highly compatible, NeoOffice is the way to go. Keynote, on the other hand, has eye candy to spare.
Tons of transitions, wiz-bang graphics effects, loads of templates.
It's quite easy to put together a fantastic presentation in a very short amount of time.
However, Keynote (and iWork) are only available for Mac, so you run the risk of preparing a fantastic presentation, burning it to disk, and then not being able to use it, as the only computers available are running Windows.
Keynote does have an option to save your presentation to Microsoft PowerPoint's format, but in the process of exporting, you run the risk of losing some of what makes Keynote so easy to use, and what makes it look so good. SPREADSHEETS: Spreadsheets is even more barren, if you're looking for options.
As mentioned above, iWork will eventually include a spreadsheet program, but at the moment it does not.
AppleWorks includes a spreadsheet module, but it may not be as up-to-date as a user might want.
This leaves us with only a few options. NeoOffice also has a spreadsheet program, and as mentioned above, it is quite capable, if a bit slow to open and load worksheets.
If you are used to Microsoft Excel, then the spreadsheet module (called Calc), will make you feel right at home. Mariner Software sells a commercial spreadsheet program, also called Calc.
It claims more than 150 built in functions, as well as charts, named ranges, the ability to split and freeze a portion of the worksheet, along with find, sort, preview, and formatting functions.
Mariner Software has been in business for many years, and puts out good quality software, but their current programs are a bit old, and may not feel quite the same as newer programs, but they will do the job.
Mariner Calc is a commercial program, and sells for $59.95, although it is available in a variety of money-saving bundles with other Mariner products. Tables - Tables is a recent player in the spreadsheet market.
Its website has a good set of overview pages, although some reviewers have said the program, which is less than a year old, has a tendency to crash.
As well, the ability to import existing Microsoft Excel worksheets appears to be somewhat limited at this time.
Tables is a commercial product and sells for roughly fifty dollars. Mesa - Mesa is the final spreadsheet option available, although it has not been seriously updated in a few years.
It's last update showed Mesa to be a capable spreadsheet program, although quite limited in what it could do with existing Excel spreadsheets.
Mesa, a commercial product from the UK, costs $34.00 to license. A note about spreadsheets and compatibility: With programs like word processors, having 100 percent compatibility would be ideal, it is often not considered "necessary," as a certain amount of tweaking is common, even between different versions of Microsoft Word.
With spreadsheets, however, accuracy and compatibility are much more important.
Because of this, unless you are looking for a spreadsheet program just for personal use, with no intent of importing or exporting to different formats, a program like NeoOffice Calc is probably your best bet. WORD PROCESSING: Word processors, as mentioned above, are a bit different.
Many people don't need the features (or perceived "bloat") that Microsoft Word offers.
Indeed, a vast majority of computer users never use Word for anything other than writing letters or term papers.
The collaborative, editing and high-end features Word offers are never touched.
Because of that, a simpler, cheaper option is often welcomed.
This is an area where the Mac user will find an abundance of options, from completely free to high-quality commercial offerings. Some of the common word processing options are: Abiword - Abiword is an open-source word processing program.
It will read and write many standards, including Microsoft Word, WordPerfect, Rich Text (rtf), HTML (web pages), and more.
It will perform mail merges, and is available in many different languages.
In addition, Abiword has an extensive plugin system, to provide importers for other document formats, as well as to display images, among other features.
Abiword is free to use, as well as being open-source, so if you are a programmer, you can submit feature requests and fix bugs if you choose. Mariner Write - Mariner Write is a commercial product, available for around fifty dollars.
Like Abiword, Mariner Write will open and edit Word documents, as well as plain text and rich text.
Additionally, Mariner Write can save your word processing document as a pdf file, so anyone can view your document exactly the way you formatted it.
The current version of Mariner Write is based on code a few years old, but in spite of this, Mariner Write is fast, easy to use, and a good choice. Mellel - Mellel is another commercial product, again available for around fifty dollars, although educational discounts are available.
Mellel is probably the most commonly chosen replacements for Microsoft Word on the Mac, and has many customization options, including allowing the user to select their own toolbar sets.
Like the other Mac offerings, Mellel can open and save as plain text, rich text, pdf, and has partial support (with more planned), for numerous other formats. NeoOffice - NeoOffice is a Java port of the open-source OpenOffice suite of office programs.
As such, it has by far the largest code base and feature set of any of the options listed in this article.
It opens and saves in half a dozen common formats, as well as the new document standard Open Document.
NeoOffice, because of how the Mac supports Java, can be a bit slow to open documents, as well as start up the program itself, but once everything is running, it is quite responsive and is probably the closest, feature-wise, to Microsoft Office that is available for the Mac.
It is completely free to download and use. Nisus Writer Express - Nisus Writer Express has probably the best integration with the Mac operating system, along with Mellel.
Both are Cocoa applications, which means that whenever the OS gets a new feature, Nisus Writer Express can take advantage of it.
NWE features a sleek interface, where tools you need are available to you but not in your way when you don't.
It also opens and saves to rich text, Microsoft Word, plain text, WordPerfect, AbiWord, and pdf.
Because of its integration with the operating system, NWE can easily display text in more than 100 different languages.
Tables, styles, forms and easy customization are also options.
Nisus Writer Express is a commercial program.
It comes with a high quality thesaurus program, and sells for $45.00 (more for the non-download version or if you want a printed manual). WEB BROWSERS: Web browsing is another area in which Microsoft currently rules supreme.
It is estimated that Microsoft Internet Explorer is currently used by around 80 percent of all computer users.
But a Mac user does have options, and they are good ones. Safari - Safari is the web browser that comes standard with a Mac.
It has a ton of great features, including tabbed browsing (so you don't have to have multiple windows open at once), as well as a built-in RSS feed reader, for all your blog and news sites.
In addition, Safari has built-in content controls for parents.
Safari was the first web browser to pass the Acid2 test, a test for web browsers to see how standards compliant they are. Firefox - Firefox is second to Internet Explorer in overall users, is highly standards compliant (although the newest version still fails the Acid2 test, although not as badly as Internet Explorer), and is completely free.
It also has tabbed browsers, but what makes Firefox so attractive to so many users is its use of extensions.
With extensions, you can block advertising images, change the look of Firefox, give it new features to better integrate it with your life, get weather updates in the status bar, and control your music player.
The drawback to this is the more extensions you use, the more memory Firefox takes.
But Firefox is easily the most extensible browser available today. Camino - Camino uses the same rendering engine as does Firefox, so pages appear identically in the two browsers.
Unlike Firefox, which is cross-platform, Camino is only available for the Mac.
Because of this, the widgets, buttons and controls are consistent to other Mac programs, unlike Firefox, which can feel a bit out of place.
Camino does not, however, take advantage of all the extensions Firefox can use, but does have several enhancements built in, such as pop-up blocking, advertising blocking, and more.
Camino is a free download. Opera - Opera is not open-source, but is free to download and use.
Opera, like Firefox, comes with a load of features, including a built-in email module, news reader, download manager and bittorrent client.
It also takes advantage of what it calls Widgets, which are tiny one-trick programs to make your browsing experience more fun and efficient.
It also includes standard the ability to take notes and have them associated with a web page, the ability to control Opera by voice commands, and the ability to change the look and feel of the program via skins. The above lists are by no means complete, but hopefully gives you an idea of what is available to you.
If you are among the people considering the move away from Microsoft products and have selected a Mac, a good recommendation would be to try out a new program before buying any.
Try to write the types of documents you currently write.
Attempt to open documents you've previously saved, to check for compatibility issues.
Visit commonly-viewed websites to see if the browser feels good to you and if it displays the websites the way you're used to. In my lists above I have included both commercial and free programs.
It is up to you to decide if price is more important than complete software freedom, which is why you may want to consider Linux.
Linux use today is often based on the feeling that software should be free, both to use and to modify.
If this is something you believe, then be sure to look for a follow-up article, where I will go over the numerous open-source alternatives to Microsoft, as well as to Apple.
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