An outline of information about Open Office I prepared to present to school teachers and administrators.
Facts About Open Office
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Contains word processor, spreadsheet, and presentation tool (also drawing, math editor, and database)
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Looks a lot like Microsoft Office 2003 (same features, but some options are in different menus)
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Is free (can be installed on ∞ computers)
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Is open source (like Firefox, Moodle, and Android phones) extensions and modifications are allowed (democratic community guides the path of the software instead of dictatorial corporation).
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Is lightweight and runs on any operating system (Windows, Mac, Linux & new/old hardware)
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Can open files created by Microsoft Office 2003 and 2007 (.doc, .xls, .ppt, .docx, .xlsx, .pptx)
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Some issues with converting files with complex layout (lots of images embedded in a word document)
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Can save files in Microsoft Office 2003 format (also has its own file format)
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Can save files as .pdf (don’t need to have cute pdf installed)
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Is popular (108 downloads of Open Office 3 in one year)
Who uses it?
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Some examples from a company that installs open software http://bit.ly/9q9WLV
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http://wiki.services.openoffice.org/wiki/Major_OpenOffice.org_Deployments
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All high schools in Indiana http://www.doe.in.gov/olt/InACCESS/about_inaccess.html
Why Are We Considering Open Office?
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We will need to upgrade software eventually
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We are currently using Microsoft Office 2003
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This is software that was released 7 years ago and will eventually be phased out
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Microsoft Office 2007 is available (MS Office 2010 is in beta testing
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The interface is quite different from MS Office 2003 and will require extensive training
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Since training is going to be required, why not invest money we would use on buying software into training people?
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To buy MS Office every 5-7 years is enough money to pay every teacher for 3 hours of training every year!
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You can keep using MS Office 2003 during the transition (since we already purchased it)
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If we choose MS Office 2007 we will have new computers with 2007 and old computers with 2003. (mixed environment)
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If we choose Open Office we can install open office on all computers right away (free to install, consistent environment).
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Makes a $400 netbook a $350 netbook (12% savings)
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Can be installed for free at home (on Windows, Mac, and Linux-a $150 savings per student
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Google Docs is free and complements any office suite we choose.
- Ideology – Public education and open source have similar goals
Arguments for Microsoft Office 2007
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The presentation software has more templates
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Microsoft Office has a large market share so we should expose students to the dominant brand
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Some features on MS Office 2007 work better
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Looks slicker
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Complex MS 2003 documents (lots of tables) might open more consistently
One school going open source not to save money but for the ideology (they also save money)
http://theopensourceschool.blogspot.com/2010/01/free-as-in-freedom-not-as-in-free-beer.html