Do You Really Need MS Office Anymore?
By MakeTechEasier.com
Do You Really Need MS Office Anymore?
Microsoft Word vs Google Docs
With the arrival of Google Docs, people are seriously asking themselves whether they really need to pay the thick wad of cash needed to get Microsoft Office anymore. It’s not rocket science. $0 is infinitely better than any sum of money you could think of. The ability to share documents via the cloud makes the whole prospect even more attractive. But is it worth it to move onto Google Docs and abandon Office forever? Or are you better off still working with software that’s been around for ages? Let’s find out!
Only a few years ago, the thought of making a web-based word processor was unthinkable. Google Docs remedied the situation with its very existence. Everything about it had the sweet aroma of innovation. Now, more people are starting to look at the prospect of using this software for their own purposes, and for the ability to share their work across the Web to people halfway around the globe without sending an attachment. Today, a document can be transferred via email with a simple link thanks to Google Docs.
Here are the arguments for using Google Docs as opposed to Microsoft Word:
This excerpt is shared with permission from maketecheasier.com.
About Make Tech Easier
Make Tech Easier offers computer tips and tricks that will change you to a computer geek (even without you knowing it). Topics covered here include troubleshooting your computer, optimizing operating system performance (be it Windows, Mac or Linux), simplifying tasks, software review and plenty of cool stuff. If you think that computer technology is only for geeks, then they aspire to change your thinking.
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Terry Stockdale
Google Doc's is not compatable. when you have G. Drive download the doc.
Sure it does that, at least it used to. I don't know about recent versions, but I know all versions have the ability to convert.odt or.docx into.pdf in a jiffy
Lol sorry, meant that for David Union below me
I’m simply baffled than I haven’t seen KINGSOFT-OFFICE mentioned here. My new computer (April) with MS7 comes with 2010-MS-Office-starter and the Kingsoft-writer blends nicely with MSofficeWord/starter. The free basic Kingsft writer does not have the envelopes/labels.
I can see the point of collaboration, but to replace a full-function spreadsheet program that can send files converted to pdf format is hard to beat.
Google docs takes up way too much screen space. Very frustrating to use.
isn't there a problem with openoffice in that if you put e.g. a Word document into it, it converts it into its own format so that if you then change the document and want to return it to the sender as a Word document, you can't? (i.e. it converts from Word to openoffice format but doesn't convert from openoffice to Word)?
Been there done that…..That's why I use Google doc's.
David, look up!
LibreOffice/Open Office plus Google Docs works. I haven't needed anything MS Office since I uninstalled Office 2000.
Hi David … interesting, your comment, thank you.
You say "Google Doc's Works" … I think we need to define "works"…
Whether Libre, OpenOffice or web-based office app's such as Google Docs, etc. … they, seriously, are deathly slow and clunky compared to MS Office desktop.
If one is prepared to accept this inefficiency, then, by all means … be my guest. It's your choice
The reality here (methinks) is an (unfair) dislike for MS, per se. Their (desktop) MS Office is, by far and away, the "rolls-royce" of Office App's. Nothing comes close, whether speed, reliability, functionality, etc. is on the agenda. MS Office just works. Simple, sophisticated, on a higher level than anything else.
Overall, currently, to therefore have MS Office on one's desktop is infinitely faster and therefore more efficient than any web-based app. Web-based app's are, simply … un-reliable, slow, enefficient a lot of the time, due to the internet gremlins that currently still exist. Just is.
In the future, well, let's see how fast the 'Net is able to evolve to support the infrastructure for a completely web-based office system. But, that's the future, certainly not now.
So, even if you opt for alternative "office" systems such as Libre or Open Office, etc., be warned … they are not even close to MS Office. Nothing against the former – I have tried to use them on my other computers. But, the slowness, clunkiness, etc. is just not worth it. Unless you don't mind these efficiencies.
Rgds,
Dorian
Google Docs are ok if you need others working with you. But I tend to not do anything on Google that I don't have to do. KingSoft has a complete suite of office free, Open Office is fine. I wont pay for MS although the product is top notch.
Plus we have free Open Office for everything else.