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Microsoft Office Alternatives: 10 Rockin' Word Processors

Microsoft Office may be the dominant suite for office productivity software, but it sure isn't the only option. We show you 10 word processing alternatives that just might be better suited for your business.

Cool Stuff: Your 2008 Christmas Gift Guide

The holidays can be stressful even in the best of times, but this year's dismal economic climate is bringing new headaches. Not only do we have to grapple with the usual questions about what to buy for whom ("Should I get an iPod case for Aunt Mabel? Wait, no, I got her one last year..."), we also have to look for ways to cut expenses.

By Computerworld Staff | 24 November, 2008 09:40

Tags: christmas gift guide

Wikis that work: Four IT departments get it right

When you're one of just two technology managers tasked with supporting a geographically dispersed user base, any kind of self-help technology that takes the burden off IT is welcomed with open arms. That's why Ernest Kayinamura of Enel North America and his lone counterpart have actively embraced wikis as a way to make IT materials more accessible to the end users they support.

By Beth Stackpole | 14 November, 2008 09:35

Tags: it management, it strategy, wikis

Microsoft Word turns 25

If you've been using Microsoft Word for the past quarter of a century, it can seem like Word has always been the top dog of the word-processing world--and for years, it's been incorporated into Microsoft's Office suite. Today, Microsoft's domination is so complete that, from the public's point of view, there is almost no "word-processor market." (Does anyone remember Lotus Manuscript?)

By Benj Edwards | 27 October, 2008 08:14

Tags: microsoft word

Fifteen great Microsoft Office optimization tools

What's the most popular application software in the world? Most likely, Microsoft Office. You use it, your colleagues use it, your relatives use it, and just about everyone you know uses it.

How to get paid for your PDF files

Adobe's PDF (Portable Document Format) is one of the most popular ways to distribute printed information electronically.

Norton Internet Security 2009 beta ramps up

Security software customers are speaking with their feet: They want security updates and other security interruptions out of their faces, and they won't hesitate to dump their security suites because of performance drag -- whether or not it's actually the security software that's to blame.

Online office apps get real

Web-based office suites are coming into their own at last. For quite a while, Web-based suites -- which offered word processing, spreadsheets, presentations, and other tools associated with desktop office suites -- were extolled not because they did these things well, but because they could do them at all. But the three major competitors, Google Docs, ThinkFree, and Zoho, have all made major improvements in recent months. They're becoming both broader, with more applications, and deeper, with more features and functionality in existing apps.

Move your business from Windows to Linux

Windows Vista debuted to muffled applause, followed by lackluster sales. Up until June 30, cash-strapped businesses looking to avoid the cost of upgrading to new Vista-compatible hardware could still purchase trusty Windows XP. Now, however, Windows XP is available only as a costly "downgrade" from Windows Vista--if you buy a copy of Vista, you can install the 6-year-old XP operating system using the Vista license.

How to safely use Facebook and LinkedIn at work

The virtual flood gates have been opened and social networking is rushing in from the personal lives of employees and into the workplace -- bringing a host of concerns along with it.

SMB - Mail services reach out for you

If e-mail is the killer app of the Internet, spam is the scourge of the same. Small businesses that reach out via e-mail campaigns, trying to do the right thing after listening to marketing advice, often run into a buzzsaw of criticism from e-mail recipients. "Spammer scumbag" is a relatively polite response businesses see even when they carefully monitor the e-mail campaign they run themselves without help.

FAQ: Windows XP SP3 ships -- finally

Microsoft Monday finally slapped a "Done" sticker on Windows XP Service Pack 3 (SP3) and pushed it out the door. The designation of SP3 as RTM, for "release to manufacturing," wasn't much of a surprise, given how the company's schedule leaked last week.

Linux for the SMB market: slow, steady or both?

Everywhere you turn nowadays, another company is targeting the Small and Medium Business (SMB) marketplace. SMBs are growing, and represent a segment of the IT market that has not been fully exploited by many, including open source software vendors that boasted early successes with large enterprises.

OS Smackdown: Linux vs. Mac OS X vs. Vista vs. XP

Since the dawn of time -- or, at least, the dawn of personal computers -- the holy wars over desktop operating systems have raged, with each faction proclaiming the unrivaled superiority of its chosen OS and the vile loathsomeness of all others.