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Help! I had to reformat my computer and now I don't have Microsoft Word. What can I do?
Whether your disks are at home or you borrowed the software from someone in the first place, replacing Microsoft Word (or Excel or PowerPoint) need not be stressful – or expensive.
Instead of buying a student version of Microsoft Office, try downloading OpenOffice.org, the open-source, multi-platform, and multilingual office suite that is compatible with all major office suites.
OpenOffice.org is multi-platform, which means that there are versions available for Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux, and Solaris. It is available in over fifty languages and can open, edit, and save files in all Microsoft formats (including .doc, .xls, and .ppt). OpenOffice.org can even open files from older version of Microsoft Office and damaged files that Microsoft Office often cannot open.
OpenOffice.org was developed with the goal of breaking the market dominance of Microsoft Office by providing a free, high-quality, and open-source alternative. The Windows version of OpenOffice.org includes programs that can easily replace Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access, Equation Editor, and CorelDRAW.
What does open-source mean?
Open-source software refers to computer software that is available with its source code and under an open-source license that allows individuals and organizations separate from the inventors to study, change, customize, and improve the program's design. Open-source is a term that is often applied to the concept that the creation and organization of knowledge is facilitated best through open and cooperative efforts.
What other open-source software is available?
Mozilla Suite
highly customizable web browser, email and news client, address book, palm toolkit, IRC chat client – http://www.mozilla.org/
Mozilla Firefox & Thunderbird
stand-alone web browser and email/news client – http://www.mozilla.com/
Pidgin
instant messenger client that supports AOL IM, ICQ, Google Talk, Yahoo! Messenger, et. al. –
http://pidgin.im/pidgin/home/
FreeMind
note taking and brainstorming software similar to Microsoft Visio – http://freemind.sourceforge.net