Open+Office

About Open Office
If you are like most students you will find that it is expected of you to have Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, Excel installed on you computer. However, if you are reading this then you are also most likely a Graphic Design, 3D Animation, or Web Design Student and have already spent all of your money on all the other software you need for all your other classes. Now, since you are an honest citizen and would never install a 'cracked' copy of a software package, you are faced with a dilema: either you can eat 98 cent cans of ravioli for the next 16 weeks or you can install Open Office.

Open Office is a FREE open-source software package avaliable at [|OpenOffice.org] and contains applications which are very similar to Word, PowerPoint, Excel and will allow you to open, save and edit files created in those programs. [|Open office is compatible with Macs, Windows, and Linux OS.]

Another option is to use Google Docs and Spreadsheets. These web-based applications are based on the same open source software as Open Office, but they don't require a download. However, you will need a Gmail account to access these tools (also see "Benefits of Gmail").