Kickin’ the Microsoft Habit
It’s one of those shameful admissions, but I have to say, I am still holding onto my Microsoft Office applications. I have clung to old habits for no other reason then habit. I have all the replacement software on my computer and set up, it’s just a matter of getting out of the habit of launching Office applications rather then their open source replacement.
I gave up on Internet Explorer a long, long time ago. But I was pushed off that ship. I think it was 2003 when Microsoft stopped providing updates for Internet Explorer (IE) for Mac.
I recommend any and everyone kick the Microsoft habit. I use Mac, but even if you use PC you should still make the switch. Why? First and foremost, is Microsoft’s total insistence of a slavish devotion to their software across the board. Microsoft is like a date gone from bad to “Fatal Attraction” bad. Dialogue boxes with cryptic warnings that try to discourage you from changing default applications (Microsoft One’s), they so conveniently link together. Don’t be afraid! Not to mention all the alternatives I provide below are FREE! Not only can you keep your hard earned cash, but these applications represent the BEST software available PERIOD!
Here are some suggestions for alternatives to the Microsoft applications you currently use.
Firefox
Firefox will change the way you browse the web. Throw away Internet Explorer and start using this open source browser developed by Mozilla. With regular updates and an entire community providing support and developing add-ons to extend Firefox functionality there is no better browser around. You can download Firefox for free and browse the add-ons available to extend Firefox here.
Thunderbird
Thunderbird is a free email client also developed by Mozilla. Thunderbird replaces Entourage, Outlook, or Outlook Express. Just like Firefox, Thunderbird offers a wide range of add-ons to extend it’s functionality.
Open Office
Open Office is an open source project that has been sponsored by Sun Microsystems (Find out more about Open Office). Open Office is a free application that offers word processing, spreadsheet creation, multi-media presentation creation, and data base management software. Open Office competes directly with Microsoft Applications, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. You can use Open Office to open any of your current Word, Excel, or PowerPoint files. Open Office is used by millions of users around the world and best of all it is absolutely, completely FREE! You can download it from their Web site.
Similar Posts: How-to, Ruminations, Favorite Links, Web 2.0.
Comments Feed: RSS 2.0
You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.