Just before Christmas, my parents' computer crashed. Thanks to CrossLoop, I managed to get them up and running rather quickly. The one casualty of the whole affair was a trashed copy of Microsoft Office on their computer. And they couldn't find the install disk.
So, I installed Open Office and weathered the complaints that it was different. And slower. And, did I mention, it was different. Though I've had the time, and discovered the missing disk, the fact is that they are still using Open Office. Just for writing documents. Nothing else. And it suffices for that.
If Mom and Pops were just a LITTLE more ambitious, I think I might have gone down a different route. Open Office is perfectly fine for a power user who needs just short of actual Microsoft Office power. There's also some formatting issues if you share your files with an actual MS Office user. But it's mature enough to meet a solo worker's office needs now.
On the other hand, both MS Office and Open Office are complex behemoths at this point in their development cycle. Sometimes simpler is better. Readers, I present you with Google Docs and Zoho.
Google Docs has a couple of things going for it. It's free. Google itself is a pretty nice parent to have, and it's been out there being beta-tested for a long time. For what it's supposed to do, word processing, spreadsheeting and making presentations, it does pretty well. The downside is that you have to have an existing gmail account to get access. Those aren't exactly as rare as Toronto Maple Leaf wins, but a bit nettlesome to get. If you DO have one, click on the More|Documents choices from the top menu and you are in.
The new fair-haired child on the market can be found at www.zoho.com.
I like Zoho's ability to be simple enough for senior citizens. How does Jerry Pournelle put it? 'Aunt Minnie's Office.' The full panoply of potential jobs you might want from an Office app is right there on the opening page. You do have to set up an account, WITH a password, but it's free for the most part. And that password thing lets other collaborate with you in a more interactive way than just passing email or instant messages back and forth. I could really see two writers writing a book, much like Pournelle does with Larry Niven, using a Zoho account. (Hear that Brian Jamieson?)
Frankly, Zoho limits choices and features and that is probably exactly what 75 per cent of Word users need. A lesser amount need spreadsheet limitations, but it's still a sizable lot. Not the least of these limitations, is a reduced font list to pick from. That's a wonderful thing.
Do I use Zoho for anything myself. Nope. I have the experience and a variety of publishing needs that prevent me from limiting myself. But if the parental units had NOT taken the time to learn a little bit about Word, Zoho would have been a good alternative. Maybe even a better alternative.
There are, of course, some flies in the ointment. It's a web service, so it isn't blazing quick all the time. Reasonable, though. And, if your internet is down (happens to Bell Sympatico more often than I would like, but Mom and Dad can't get cable internet just now), you can't write that grocery list, other than by hand. Perish the thought! Security is not much of an issue, but it's an issue to some people. Obviously, sharing material back and forth with desktops works less well than the Zoho people would like you to believe it does. But it's not much different than the interplay between Open Office and MS Office.
On the other hand, it's free and accessible any time you can get onto the internet from a computer. Doesn't have to be your own computer.
Give it a look.
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