Microsoft Office vs Alternatives

[Dr. Nathan Parker]

Tried to buy SoftMaker today, but couldn't get my account to create at all across multiple browsers.

 

Trying FreeOffice. Maybe it's enough for me and saves me the $100.

[Dr. Nathan Parker]

FreeOffice is asking for a license key, and I'm also having issues getting the free key. I have an email into their sales and website teams.

 

If they can help me, I may be able to move to the full SoftMaker Office.

 

If not, I'll probably be stuck going with LibreOffice.

[Brian K. Mitchell]

6 hours ago, Dr. Nathan Parker said:

If not, I'll probably be stuck going with LibreOffice.

In the end that's probably not so bad! Remember the old StarOffice?

It was the little engine that could back when WordPerfect and Microsoft Word were the only games in town.

 

Anyway, a derivative edition of LibreOffice currently meets 95% of my office needs.

I currently run Collabora Office (link # 1) on my Mac and there is also a subscription-based version called Collabora Online (link # 2)  and according to LibreOffice's official website even  LibreOffice Online "has been mainly developed by Collabora(Link # 3)." 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Dr. Nathan Parker]

Thanks! I've been told SoftMaker is pretty responsive, so maybe they can get me going. Wonder if my Mac is the issue with getting the account going. Might try on my Windows PC. I've had a similar issue with another website.

[Brian K. Mitchell]

7 hours ago, Dr. Nathan Parker said:

Thanks! I've been told SoftMaker is pretty responsive

It seems that a lot of users on this thread speak highly of it. 

[Dr. Nathan Parker]

I got FreeOffice activated on my devices tonight, so I can at least run with it.

 

Still seeing about getting my account provisioned in case I can try purchasing SoftMaker Office full version, but at least FreeOffice is fully working no matter what.

[Brian K. Mitchell]

2 hours ago, Dr. Nathan Parker said:

I got FreeOffice activated on my devices tonight, so I can at least run with it.

Thanks for sharing the good news! But, remember LibreOffice and other open source software are free so not only do you have alternatives to follow back on, there is also no dilemma or dichotomy provided you have space on your SSD/Hard Disc. So you do not have to pick only one.

[Dr. Nathan Parker]

12 hours ago, Brian K. Mitchell said:

Thanks for sharing the good news! But, remember LibreOffice and other open source software are free so not only do you have alternatives to follow back on, there is also no dilemma or dichotomy provided you have space on your SSD/Hard Disc. So you do not have to pick only one.

 

True. I may end up throwing it on my machine as well. I wonder if on a Mac if LibreOffice is still the best move or if NeoOffice is better.

[Brian K. Mitchell]

15 hours ago, Dr. Nathan Parker said:

I wonder if on a Mac if LibreOffice is still the best move or if NeoOffice is better.

 

@Dr. Nathan Parker  NeoOffice is no longer active as of December 2023 check out the offical website:

 

 

As for LibreOffice, you can get from:

(1) Apple App Store (for a small cost) 

https://techcrunch.com/2022/09/20/libreoffice-begins-charging-mac-app-store-users-8-99/

https://www.howtogeek.com/835839/libreoffice-is-now-available-on-the-mac-app-store/

or

(2) For free from LibreOffice's Website

https://www.libreoffice.org/download/download-libreoffice/?type=mac-aarch64&version=24.2.0&lang=en-US

 

 

[Dr. Nathan Parker]

Good to know. Thanks!

[Dr. Nathan Parker]

B&H Photo sells SoftMaker Office (at a discount as well). Going to try placing my order through them and have them provision my account.

[Dr. Nathan Parker]

Got my download and license key today, so should be set!

[Dr. Nathan Parker]

I already bought 2024, but they're putting 2021 on sale for $9.95 through Tuesday in case anyone here needs a low-cost way to edit Microsoft Office docs.

[Brian K. Mitchell]

On 2/17/2024 at 5:15 AM, Dr. Nathan Parker said:

I already bought 2024, but they're putting 2021 on sale for $9.95 through Tuesday in case anyone here needs a low-cost way to edit Microsoft Office docs.

 

Thanks for mentioning this! I am sure someone out there who happens to be in the market for a new Office Software may find this useful.

Hmm, I wonder how SoftMaker Office compares to Collabora Office Offline/Collabora Online in terms of being a low-cost way to edit Microsoft Office docs? 

[Alex Huggett]

Not an answer to your question (I'll always choose 'not Microsoft' if that's an option). But I'm just starting post-grad research (at 55 y/o, go figure) and am trying to decide which tools I'll use. Since you said you have all three, is Nota Bene worth the substantially higher cost over Mellel or NWP for academic work? (I have Scrivener and an old version of DevonThink Pro but will need to learn how to use them again, so everything is a learning curve.)

 

FWIW, I'll be looking at pastoral theology rather than heavy exegetical work. Masters level potentially looking at doctoral work down the track.

Edited February 18 by Alex Huggett
Updated info

[David Purton]

Learn LaTeX. Walk away happy. (Not a spreadsheet of course, but will produce better graphs and charts than any spreadsheet ever will.)

[Dr. Nathan Parker]

If you own Mellel and DevonThink, I think you can get BookEnds and be set if you don't want a major investment/learning curve. I would also use Scrivener.

 

If you're going to work across Mac and Windows during your program, then I would definitely recommend NB since it can run on both platforms (I even got it running on Linux). I still love NB and use it since I can run my entire workflow in one app.

 

If you want NB, I have a group coupon code for it (NBNP) since I purchased their beta a while back. Disclaimer: This is all my personal opinion and a personal group code they gave me since I purchased their beta a while back. This is not an official endorsement of any word processor by Accordance, nor does Accordance have any affiliate with any word processor.

[Alex Huggett]

Thanks for the info. MAC only so I’ll pass on NB and use the other options.  Cheers.

[Dr. Nathan Parker]

I'd look into BookEnds. I've heard it works well with Mellel, but I haven't tried it yet.

[Brian K. Mitchell]

German state ditches Microsoft for Linux and LibreOffice

Why? Schleswig-Holstein cites cost, security, and digital sovereignty - though not necessarily in that order.

 

https://www.zdnet.com/article/german-state-ditches-microsoft-for-linux-and-libreoffice/

[Dr. Nathan Parker]

Yep, they had thought about doing it for a while and tried gradually moving there.