I read a good review on the strengths and weaknesses of some of the Best Office Software from BusinessWeek July 3, 2006 edition. Here are the results:
(B) Brand – (U) Users – (C) Cost – (+) Pluses – (-) Minuses
- (B) Microsoft Office (U) 400 million (C) $399 (+) pc standard, 1000s of features (-) Expensive, lots of bugs and viruses
- (B) Open Office – (U) 40 million (C) Free (+) looks and works like Microsoft’s and easy download (-) some docs cannot be opened
- (B) WordPerfect Office (U) 15 million (C) $299 (+) longtime player, comes with Dell and Lenovo PCs (-) some docs cannot be read
- (B) IBM Workplace (U) 1 million (C) $69 (+) simpifies IBMs server and desktop tasks (-) lack lots of features compared to Microsoft’s
- (B) AJAX13 (U) 10,000 per day (C) Free (+) allows people to work and share online (-) Currently do not support offline use
I have tried 4 out of the 5, and although I stick to Microsoft because of familiarity, I really like AJAX13. I think the trend is moving to web based software. AJAX still has a long way to go to be the Best Office Software.
