<orcnote>Comments in-line below between these brackets</orcnote>
-----Original Message----- From: Elliot Warren [mailto:ec...@msn.com] Sent: Sunday, November 9, 2014 07:51 To: users@openoffice.apache.org Subject: Open Office vs Microsoft 365 Hello. I just discovered this software suite when I was in the library. Due to computer issues I had to get another computer and with it a software suite like Microsoft 365. At the time I didn't know you existed. Unfortunately I have to pay a subscription to use office 365. Since I am unemployed, I need to keep money in my pocket. question: <orcnote> You will get some strong-felt responses to your questions. I am basing my response as someone who uses both freely. I pay particular attention to interoperability challenges among the different formats and Software. I am not going to speak to ideological issues. </orcnote> What can Open Office cannot do as oppose to office 365? From the looks of it, Open Office mimics what Office 365 can do pretty well but where does it come up short? Are there any advantages where Open Office is better than Microsoft Office 365 (other than being free)? <orcnote> I suspect this is not the place to expect much reasoned analysis Of Office 365. You'd be better off taking advantage of the free trials and forming your own opinions of what works for you just as well using OpenOffice and with interchange of Documents between the two. Depending on how urgent interchange is for you, of course. </orcnote> Can Documents created on Open Office be saved on Microsoft's cloud? <orcnote> Yes, you can use OneDrive, which is available on Windows (and other platforms) to store and retrieve documents in the OpenOffice ODF formats. You can also edit those using your browser and share them via OneDrive, although browser viewing and editing will be using the free Microsoft Office Web Applications (which only get better). Now that OneDrive appears just like a folder on Windows 8 (and later) desktops, it is easy to load and save from OpenOffice to those locations without having to move files separately. </orcnote> Will documents generated in Open Office shift when opened by computers with Microsoft Word (2003. 2007 or 2013)? Would computers with Microsoft Word be able to open and edit Open Office Documents (and be saved)? Would I have formatting issues of opening Open Office spreadsheets by computers with Microsoft Excel (2003, 2007 or 2013)? <orcnote> I am not going to get into feature-comparison claims. There is shifting in both directions in all mutually-supported formats. However, this will depend on the nature of your work and how much you depend on particular features. For simple documents and spreadsheets, the differences should be minor and easily adjusted for. If you want to ensure accurate viewing without allowing editing of documents you create, you should save them as PDF using either software. In terms of Office releases prior to 2013 (and 365), the support for ODF is not as good and you are then dependent on the quality with which OpenOffice saves documents in Microsoft formats. </orcnote> How good is the security against data theft and hacking on Open Office? Where would I get security updates? <orcnote> It is not clear that there is significant vulnerability in office- and personal-productivity applications themselves, although there are always new security issues that arise that might be exploited by crafted documents and visits to malicious web sites. With regard to security updates, the update process for OpenOffice is usually by releasing a full package that needs to be downloaded and installed. To know about security issues, there is a web page that you can check. Also always download OpenOffice distributions via the http://www.openoffice.org site. This is open-source software and there are many faux distributions that include malware of various kinds. Be cautious. Also, support information is only for the distributions made by the Apache OpenOffice project (and equivalently, the LibreOffice project). There is no automatic updating of the kind that Windows performs for software from Microsoft and for software obtained in the Windows Application Store (since Windows 8). </orcnote> I like this software suite a lot but I need to be able to use it in the business world. Thank you for your time. <orcnote> You are in good company. It will all depend on how demanding use in the business world happens to be. You know what the easy answer is. You saves your money and you takes your chances. If you can limit what you do to what can round-trip via the Microsoft OneDrive and Office on the Web applications, you should be on safe ground and also have a way to interact with folks who use Microsoft Office programs from their Macintosh, iPhone, iPad, and Android devices. </orcnote> Elliot C Warren --------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, e-mail: users-unsubscr...@openoffice.apache.org For additional commands, e-mail: users-h...@openoffice.apache.org
