Not As Good As? No, Better!

I’ve often heard staff express concern that "that open source stuff isn’t as good as…." fill in the blank with whatever proprietary software they are familiar with.  Funny thing is a lot of open source software isn’t less than or even as good as the other stuff - it’s better than it!

Case in point - OpenOffice.org productivity suite.  OpenOffice offers you the ability to use word processing (Writer), spreadsheets (Calc), presentations (Impress), database (Base), drawing (Draw) programs which is more than what you get if you buy Microsoft Office Home and Student.  OpenOffice also has the ability in all of their programs, except Base, to export your document as a PDF.  You no longer need to buy full-blown Adobe to create a PDF.  Why is this such a big deal?  Take a very frequent example here at our library. 

Customer comes in to update or create their resume.  They wish to send the resume to perspective employers either via email or online applications.  It is better to send a PDF which can not be manipulated or edited than a word processing document.

Another great feature that OpenOffice offers is the ability to create interactive (in a manner or speaking) PDF forms, again without using the full-blown version of Adobe or some online product.  I’ve used OpenOffice many times to create forms that our staff can fill out online, then print  and submit to their supervisor.  I’ve also used a trial version of an Adobe product that was nice but found it frustrating when setting up the tab order.  In OpenOffice this was not only easy to do but it allowed me to change my mind if I moved a text box from one location to another and had to change the tab order.

I understand that changing from a familiar piece of software to something you’ve never seen before can be daunting.   For some folks they just dive in and start using software with no introduction.  Case in point:   we slowly introduced our staff/customers to OpenOffice by just having it on 6 public computers in a few of our branches.  I witnessed many times customers using OpenOffice products without any help from staff or any online help.   For those who don’t like change there is the visual differences, as well as the different nomenclature, that can give you a bit of a start.  However,as my colleague, Danny Bouman, pointed out one of the beauties of open source is the community.  If for some reason you find that openoffice isn’t as easy for you to adjust to I would highly recommend that you visit Solveig Haugland’s blog, OpenOffice.org Training, Tips and Ideas.  There are other great helpful blogs and sites out there including the OpenOffice.org forums.  Trust me if you have a questions about OpenOffice, the community has the answer.

I remember the day when we first moved over to OpenOffice.  I thought there was no way you were ever going to convince me that this "free" stuff was as good as what I was already using.  And at first it wasn’t.  But OpenOffice has come a long way and as I’ve pointed out, offers options that other software suites don’t.  I can’t remember the last time I used something other than OpenOffice for work and home needs.  I guess I can proudly wear the nickname a friend of mine gave me - Open Source Convert.

 

Beth Tribe
Coordinator of Software Support and Training
Howard County Library