OStatic

OpenOffice.org is in an unenviable place. Office suites -- word processors, spreadsheets, presentations and the ilk -- are utilitarian, complex bundles of software. They are a necessity of modern life, used daily by individuals and businesses all over the world.

It isn't that people take them for granted. People don't consider them much at all. It has been a long time since I've had any feelings whatsoever about an office suite. There have been developments in office software that have been innovative, such as online document creation. And though useful, I still can't honestly say that I've been enthusiastic about (or, since Clippy, repulsed by) any office application.

We often talk about how useful the productivity suite OpenOffice.org is for anyone who needs word processing, presentation, and spreadsheet software, but doesn't want to plunk down a bunch of money to get it. While you may have heard of OpenOffice.org, there are some lesser-known forks and some handy tools that you might not know about. Let's take a look.

Small business owners and freelancers typically have a need for word processing, spreadsheet, or presentation software -- and sometimes all three. Commercial software collections like Microsoft Office and Apple iWork are useful but pricey. Fortunately, OpenOffice.org is a great, and free, alternative.

Once you begin using OO.o, you'll find there are lots of things this handy suite of apps can do besides just create a letter. Let's have a look at how to make OpenOffice work for you.

Greg Bell's post on open source logos over on the OpenLogic site prompted me to think about open source branding in general.

Greg asks whether open source companies should approach logo design differently from proprietary software companies. Specifically, he wonders whether or not open source companies should be looking at open submission of logos and so forth.