Tuesday, May 5, 2015

More Windows Help: Office Suites...

There's a free trial of Microsoft's Office 2016 available.....





Or, if you want something that's very similar but made by the open-source community (formerly distributed as 'OpenOffice') this also does a very nice job.
This is also available in the free and open-source operating system PC-BSD, which is derived from the same Unix sources as Apple's OS-X.



So you have a choice: you can opt for the one that costs you, or you can install and start using the freebie suite right away - and it does everything Microsoft's version usually does, including working with Microsoft's files. I've tried it, and I like it, but at the moment, being retired, I really don't have need of an office program, so I don't have one installed at the moment. But you should try this one before you buy you-know-who's. It's very popular, and it really works.

This is the website for the free and open-source operating system PC-BSD...



I have a word of caution about this, however. This system uses a completely different format of your hard-drive, which means that it isn't compatible with your installed Windows. It must be installed into its own separate partition on the hard-drive, and you must follow special instructions to get it able to boot in a Windows Boot Manager setup. If you simply let it do its own thing while it is installing itself, then when it finishes, you won't be able to access your previously installed Windows, even if Windows is still there in its own partition, because this will install its own boot manager which doesn't recognize Windows.
So be careful, and "read the directions". It can be dual-booted with Windows, and I've done it, but you have to do that carefully to get the right results.

However, it's a very nice system, quite similar to Apple's OS-X, which means that it comes with its own library of specially-made programs (about 20,000) and you choose from those to get the ones you want to install. It has a nice desktop, and you can change its backgrounds much like we do in Windows. It also comes with a selection of widgets (like Windows gadgets but different) and you will find that it doesn't lack anything compared with a Windows or a Mac computer. Except a hefty price tag, that is. This is totally free, and again, it works fine. After I used it for a while, I wondered why we're all paying these prices for Windows and Mac systems when this does essentially the same things for free. They'll happily accept donations, but they don't demand your cash.

No comments:

Post a Comment