Thing # 18 - Online Productivity Tools

Word, Power Point, Excel from Microsoft are all good tools. Like any tool, it takes time and practice to get used to the way things are done. It is frustrating not remembering how to do something you have done in the past because you don't do it often enough. This is how it is with any application. Since the Microsoft suite is not free, one is looking at spending close to a couple of hundred dollars for each one application. Just checked at http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&DEPA=0&Description=office&x=0&y=0

I am pretty much a Microsoft Office person and like creatures of habit, will probably continue to use it. It is the software installed in the district computers. My daughter, however, is constantly evaluating and experimenting with what is out there. As a computer engineer, she has a very inquisitive and open mind. She shared some of her insights for Open Office and Google Docs with me. So I am also sharing the information here.

Note that I was unable to download the free tools under my id. Don't know if it is already part of our software package, but do not want to take the chance of intalling under admn id like I did with GoogleEarth, then found it in web apps, deinstalled the downloaded version and lost both.

The greatest advantage of Open Office is that it is free. A disadvantage is that most everyone in the corporate environment is probably using and saving their documents as Microsoft type files. But this is not a great problem as Open Office provides the ability to save them as Microsoft files. Even users of the MS software encounter inability to open and read documents from other people with an older version. It happens to my husband when his college students turn in reports and he has to request they resend them as .rtf. Also, one would have to get used to different menus and names for some things, but pretty much everything one can do in Microsoft Office can be done in open office.

Google Docs does not have as many features as Open Office or MicrosoftOffice, but the features it has are probably all that is needed by 95%of the population. Additionally, because it is online you can access it from anywhere you have an internet connection. If you know you won't have an internet connection where you are going, you can download the file to your computer and take it with you. If you need to make a power point presentation but the computer you're using doesn't have the correct software installed on it, as long as you havea web browser you can still show your presentation. Additionally, if you have a document that multiple people need to work on, the web-based nature of it allows for easy collaboration. Much like Open Office, Google Docs is constantly evolving, adding new features, and completely free. Disadvantages of Google Docs? Some people are concerned about privacy. Your document is stored on Google's servers and presumably some stranger could figure out your password or hack the system and delete all your stuff or (if you keep sensitive information out there) steal your stuff. Don't put sensitive information out there and keep back ups on your computer if it is something you don't want to lose.