I quit using MS Office after OfficeXP, same for the MS OSes, WinXP was the last one I used. I've been on Linux for years, and much happier. I used OpenOffice for a long time until Sun was bought by Oracle and many of the OO team left to start LibreOffice, which is what I use now. I find it meets all my Office Suit needs, another option is online suits which both Google and MS offer, I have used Google Docs a few times and it is an OK but very limit set of apps, but can work in any browser and on phones and tablets.

Wow, thank you all so very much for the info. I guess I never realized there were so many other free options available.

I've known about Linux for years (obviously) but am too scared to make that jump, though I would love to. (Fuck a damn Bill Gates). I can't because I'm not tech savvy enough and am mainly a gamer now (do very little office type apps anymore) and I just need my games to work when I play them. So LibreOffice will be more than sufficient for me, but I can't yet make the jump on OS.

I would write exactly the same post, so thanks for letting me free from this!

Use the Ubuntu or Mint Linux distributions. They are very user-friendly, have strong community support (more likely to be able to Google how to do certain things specific to that distribution) and can do anything Windows can (minus support for some commercial products that are Windows/Mac-only). They also come bundled with a whole bunch of free software that you are accustomed to seeing on Windows and you can search for much more free software in the Software Centre.

At this point, my Windows partition has 3 uses: iTunes, Netflix and Windows-only games. Everything else, I do on Linux.

PS: Also note that Ubuntu has a no-install trial version if you want to get your feet wet and can be installed and booted from an external hard drive (I'd be happy to assist you with that if you ever plan on going that route) so that you don't even need to distrupt your main Windows partition.

I've been using OpenOffice for years and have no issues with it, but what do you like more about Libreoffice?

I can only say good things about LibreOffice. Try it. There is no catch - just great software. I have been using LibreOffice ever since they forked from OpenOffice - and I had been using OpenOffice before that.

The way both products are licensed, LibreOffice can borrow from OpenOffice, but not the reverse.

But really, atm, both products are very similar and perform equally well.

I use Libreoffice too. The only downside is that the default topography template is a bit meh. You can make your own templates, but this is somewhat confusing.

I think the cleverest thing would be to write your text on some cloud-like system, such as google docs. Wish I could find a solution from someone less nazi than Google.

Edit: Yes, I did mean typography!

I've been using LibreOffice as my official office suite for a long while, and I don't even have anything MS anymore. Saying that as a college student who uses it about everyday. It's one of the best free things you can get on the internet.

I still prefer MS Office, but not enough to actually buy it.
I used to use a corporate license, but that feels kind of weird now that I'm no longer employed by that company.
So free stuff it is.

Some people think software should be free, so they make it so, and usually make money through grants, donations, or by selling professional technical support. Or they are just happy with the fact that people are enjoying their work, or view it as learning experience.

The catch is that you won't have any hotline you can call if you have a problem, just forums and mailing lists where you can ask the community for help.

Can anyone compare LO with MSO? Pros and cons of both products. It'll be useful.

E.g. Linux Mint is easier for a total newbie to install than Windows XP or 7, in my experience. Windows' saving grace is that most people don't have to install it, they have it preloaded on their PC they buy from the store.

If you have a free partition on your hard drive, or a an empty secondary hard drive, you can just install Linux on it. It takes care of setting up so that you can boot to either Windows or Linux, it will not do anything to the Windows partition.

Then again, if you are already using e.g. Windows 7 or newer, I'm unsure why you'd necessarily want to use Linux, other than out of interest to see what it is like (which in my opinion is a perfectly good reason to install it). Take it with open mind and as a learning experience: many things are done differently in Linux than in Windows, even using lots of command line as well, For basic use though, it doesn't differ much from using Windows (browsing the web, using utilities etc.).

I can see some other good reasons too to want to use Linux:

1. You buy a new PC without any OS, and don't want to pay for Windows. (I've never had this situation especially now that I am a laptop user; my PCs always come with preloaded Windows).

2. You have some old PC/laptop that has e.g. Windows XP, and you want to give the PC a new life (also to securely go to Internet etc., something that XP is not that suitable anymore, going online with it is like walking on empty shells of eggs, tread very carefully...).

Install Linux (Mint), and there you go. And as explained before, you can even install Linux beside your old Windows installation, you don't necessarily have to get rid of it if there is some reason you want to keep the Windows installation too (in my case: playing old Windows games on them). This is the main reason for me to have Linux Mint installed on many of my (older) PCs. My newest PC is Windows-only at this point.

3. You can visit pr0n sites and what have you without any remorse or much of fear that clicking on a link or saying yes to the dialog box would get your PC infected. Go nuts! I know you always wanted to see what really is behind that "increase your dick length" ad, but were afraid to click on it on Windows.

I guess there is a theoretical possibility for a Linux computer to get infected, but the chances are close to nil. Partly because Linux PC users are not the target of malware makers, and because it is harder to make an efficient malware that would infect a Linux box effectively.

I recall when some shady site offered to install a (Windows) driver for my Linux PC. Sure buddy, do your best. :)

Oh, and I am using MS Office on my work laptop, because my employer expects me to use it, and I want to be sure I am as compatible as possible with the documents, spreadsheets and presentations I need to edit at work.

On my home PCs, I've routinely installed LibreOffice, both in Windows and Linux. I don't use it that much though at home, I'm not writing a book or making presentations to my folks.

Bingo. Same path I took, and same result. I find LibreOffice does all that I need office software to do, and recommend it heartily.

Also concur. I recently set up a dual-boot laptop with Mint and found it a very mature and rewarding experience. Gone are the days of Linux as a clunky terminal with a Xerox PARC style windows interface. It's a really solid product now for the regular user. I fucking hate the Ribbon interface.

LibreOffice is cool but it doesn't keep the layout design of my curriculum vitae (done with MS Office 2003 and 2007), so I still have to use MS Office when editing my CV or maybe one day, I'll change the design (I don't use PDF as some "secretaries" are unfamiliar with it).