ThinkFree Office Suite 3.0

[PrntRhd]

ThinkFree Office 3.0 suite is a lower cost alternative to other suites, and costs $49.99.
http://www.informationweek.com/story/showArticle.jhtml;jsessionid=VVTDXCX5HQBIQQSNDBCCK HSCJUMEKJVN?articleID=172300866
It runs as a Java application on Windows, Linux, and Macintosh OSX.
It is not for users who need advanced features but will suffice for tweaking documents and files.
You can save Word docs as pdf's as well.

:)

[Whyzman]

Or, how about this?

http://www.openoffice.org/index.html

[Paul Komski]

You can save Word docs as pdf's as well. That could be handy but I do think OpenOffice is fantastic freeware; I just don't like its database - far too messy.

[DigitalJ]

OpenOffice is phenomenal freeware, but I'm looking forward to the retail package (if it isn't already out). I might actually make the switch when that happens. I've been using the same hacked copy of of XP for years, and I'm not about to shell out hundreds of dollars for microsoft's latest shaft job.

Why is it they can't figure out they'd put a nice dent in pirating--and probably grab themselves a butload of legit customers--if they'd just charge a reasonable amount for their software?

[Whyzman]

Why is it they can't figure out they'd put a nice dent in pirating--and probably grab themselves a butload of legit customers--if they'd just charge a reasonable amount for their software?Interesting...what "reasonable amount" would that be?

[DigitalJ]

Interesting...what "reasonable amount" would that be?

Well, considering OpenOffice is remarkably similar to the $400 professional version of MS Office....for free, I'd say about half that. I MIGHT pay $200 for that and $80 or so for the basic edition.

Please don't tell me you think M$ has a "reasonable" pricing policy :)

[Whyzman]

Please don't tell me you think M$ has a "reasonable" pricing policy :)I really have no idea of their overhead...So I would not be able to render an appropriate opinion on whether I would deem their product to be "reasonably priced," or not from their marketing standpoint.

From a consumer standpoint, there are a host of reasons folks have entertained to define what they deem to be "reasonably priced." If one were to sift through the myriad of logical machinations (e.g., Price gouging, Big Business, Bill Gates' wealth, etc., just to name a few I've encountered), I submit that the bottom line is that folks are really calling M$' ethics into question.

What I would proffer for consideration is that there seems to exist a direct relationship between what is deemed unethical on M$' part and the individual consumer's income. In other words, M$' perceived "greed" is directly related to my available funds. This then, translates into "justification" for theft...something's not quite right with this picture...

[poppy]

Originally posted by DigitalJ
Please don't tell me you think M$ has a "reasonable" pricing policy

Not when you consider this. Some large corporations have a deal with M$ whereby their employees can purchase M$ products at a discount. How about M$ Office Professional Edition 2003 for $19.95?

Surely they can be a little more reasonable in their pricing policy.

[Whyzman]

So, now there's evidence of not only "greed," but "favoritism!"

[DigitalJ]

They do deals and such. If I really wanted to, I could find a student at a college to buy it for me. I'm not sure how it works accross the board, but I know here at Bowling Green students can pick up the basic edition at the book store for $60 or so. That to me seems reasonable.

And you're right, Whyzman, my views of microsoft ARE based on my income, which isn't a lot. I find it hard to believe that from version to version there is enough change made and enough coding hours put in to justify a continued $400 price tag. All I'm sying is that if you're going to take a piece of software that is widely used....and even required by many many people, and then charge more for it than than the average user can afford, you're going to run into pirating problems.