by Dave Moore, CISSP
02/19/2023
Ah, the mighty word processor: perhaps the most used computer program ever. I’m using one right now to write this column. When I learned years ago how to copy, cut and paste words, sentences, paragraphs, and even entire documents, my epiphany was profound: “Behold, this is why computers were invented.”
And, as most modern computer users know, the all-time top of its class word processor, around since 1983, is Microsoft Word. The world’s top spreadsheet program: Microsoft Excel.
One thing many people don’t know is that Microsoft got its earliest huge successes in the 1980s writing programs for Apple Computers. Bill Gates and Steve Jobs were, in the beginning, friends. Gates publically admired the Apple Macintosh computer, calling it “S.A.N.D.,” which stood for “Steve’s Amazing New Device.” Apple had the world’s best-selling computers, and Microsoft worked furiously to make their top programs, Word and Excel, the best options for people wanting to use Apple Macs.
Microsoft succeeded. After releasing Mac versions of Word 1.0 in 1984, and Excel 1.0 in 1985, the buying public spoke with their wallets, greatly preferring Word to Apple’s own MacWrite word processor, and Excel over all comers. Software made for Apple Macs was Microsoft’s main source of revenue.
Back in those days, and for years following, buying computer software like Microsoft Office (a bundle including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and other programs) was easy. Your software came on a disk. You inserted the disk into your computer, followed the instructions, entered the serial number or “product key,” and installed your programs. That was it. After that, you could enjoy your purchase for as long as you wanted.
Gradually, though, most software companies, including Microsoft, started making things more difficult. Sadly, today, it has become a big, annoying hassle to buy and install Microsoft Office, now called “Microsoft 365.”
Microsoft 365 is a download over the Internet. Even if you buy it in a store like BestBuy, all you get is a credit-card sized piece of paper with a scratch-off space like a lottery ticket. Under the scratch-off goo is your product key, and you are instructed to visit a website address to download your product.
At this point, you are tied to the Microsoft 365 “subscription-based” service. This way, you are actually renting the product, paying a monthly or annual fee that must be renewed in order to keep using it. You can still buy a full version of Office, called Office 2021, for $250 (if you can find it), but there will never be any updates.
To add insult to injury, the final requirement for using Microsoft 365, no matter what version you get, is that you have to setup a “Microsoft Account.” Yes, you have to establish yet another stupid online account, complete with username, password, and verification steps usually tied to your main email address. Ugh.
For many people, it’s not worth it. Fortunately, there is a high-quality package of programs that will do most everything Microsoft 365 will do, and it’s free: LibreOffice.
LibreOffice, a product of the non-profit Document Foundation, is an amazing package of products, including those for word processing, spreadsheets, presentations, drawing diagrams, databases, math formulas and charts. It is compatible with all of the Microsoft file formats, as well as those from other products like WordPerfect.
With LibreOffice, you can open and use your existing Word and Excel files with ease. In fact, when you open your files in the corresponding LibreOffice program, you may think you’re using the original Microsoft product; the look and feel are almost identical. Did I also mention LibreOffice is free?
What’s not to like about that? Visit libreoffice.org and get started. I think you’ll like LibreOffice.
Dave Moore, CISSP, has been fixing computers in Oklahoma since 1984. Founder of the non-profit Internet Safety Group Ltd., he also teaches Internet safety community training workshops. He can be reached at 405-919-9901 or www.internetsafetygroup.org