SLIDESHOW: Microsoft Office Alternatives


Microsoft's longtime hammerlock on the productivity suite market is loosening in the face of increased competition. New challengers to the Microsoft Office throne are gaining traction and longtime competitors are getting a second wind. Office isn't going away, but there are now more options to consider when choosing a productivity suite.



<A HREF="http://www.apple.com/iwork/" TARGET="new">iWork '08</A>

iWork '08

It would be easy to peg Apple's Office competitor as Steve Job's pulling a page from Scott McNealy. However, StarOffice has grown into a viable professional alternative, whereas iWork is a consumer-level entry, though a powerful one at that. The interface has the expected smoothness of an Apple product and a word processor ready and able to handle page layout, but lacks such basic productivity features as mail merge from spreadsheets (only OS X address book). Then again, the price is accessible and for Mac users the integration with OS X is alluring.

  • Operating system: Mac

  • Features: Word processor (Pages), spreadsheet (Numbers), presentations (Keynote)

  • Cost: $79


Don't Miss: iWork's Play for the Small Biz Desktop


Next Slide






Browse by Category

bMighty Tech
Term Of Day:

Boost your tech
vocabulary!
bMighty's SMB
TechEncyclopedia
defines more than
20,000 IT terms.



FREE Technology Services Locator!

Search our database of 200,000 solution- provider locations by business activity, technology, vertical market, and customer size. Find a technology partner NOW.

go