Homework/Forum Response

Respond to Discussion minimum 150 Words

Throughout my life I haven’t had to work with any other word processing programs other than Microsoft Word. While reading this weeks discussion requirements I was boggled since I had never heard of other word processing software programs. After doing some research I found an article that summed up the differences between MS Word, StarOffice, and Corel WordPerfect. We are all aware of the ruler bar we use and would be useless without it. Well, MS Word and StarOffice are use it by default but WordPerfect does not. Also, StarOffice uses the left side of the screen for some of their shortcuts. All three programs have the luxury of automatic underlining; the only downfall with StarOffice is that sometimes it doesn’t recognize some common words and underlines them as incorrect words. Another downfall with StarOffice is that the help systems are not useable and comprehensive (Lowe).

Throughout organizations, some have chosen to use different Word processing programs and there are various reasons that they make this decision. First of all the three different programs have different file formats. When converting formats WordPerfect is unable to convert to MS Word format and vice versa. StarOffice on the other hand is able to read and write to MS Word but is only able to read to WordPerfect. A disadvantage to some companies would be the inability to convert their files with other companies software programs. I believe that being able to work with different companies is highly important. If you are unable to share important documents it makes it more difficult to create the positive relationships between companies.

 

Lowe, S. (n.d.). Choose the right word processor: WordPerfect, StarOffice Writer, or Word XP - TechRepublic. Retrieved August 18, 2016, from http://www.techrepublic.com/article/choose-the-right-word-processor-wordperfect-staroffice-writer-or-word-xp/

-Kathy

Respond to Discussion minimum 150 Words

Like most people, Microsoft Word is the software that I am most familiar and comfortable with. However I have used a few other Word alternatives such as OpenOffice and Google Docs. For basic documents, I found OpenOffice was very similar to Word and also provides you with spreadsheet and powerpoint options as well. OpenOffice is a free software however I still prefer Microsoft Word. Word has many more advanced options and truly has a user friendly design. I think with some improvement Google Docs could pose more competition to Word. Similar to Word’s SkyDrive, Google Drive allows you to access your documents from any device. I think one of the biggest benefits to Google Docs is not having to download a software. Google Docs allows you to create your documents right from the web browser. However, Google Docs also just does not have as many great options as Word.

I think the biggest disadvantage an organization would face in choosing another software over Word, is the ability of their users to use that software effectively. The majority of people have at least a basic knowledge of how to use Word, and I think we will continue to see an increase in people like us who have expanded our knowledge on the software. However, a company could save a lot of money by choosing to use a much cheaper alternative to Word that can still preform mostly all the same tasks. I think that choosing the cheaper option is risking the productivity of the company since they will probably have to educate their users on the different software.

-Breana