One of the first pieces of marketing material I produced for OpenOffice.org (version 1.0!) was entitled “How can software this good be free”? The latest release of OpenOffice.org has just picked up an “IT Reviews Recommended” award (that’s the logo on the right). The reviewer is amazed that software this good is free:

OpenOffice is an office suite you can download completely free of charge, which is quite the bargain, especially when you consider that it’s not a load of old tat. Not even close, in fact. This is a fully functioning office suite that’s compatible with Microsoft Office files, consisting of a word processor (Write), a spreadsheet (Calc) and presentation (Impress) programs, along with a database (Base) and a vector drawing tool (Draw).

And again

We can’t stress enough how impressive this is for a freebie suite. Both Write and Calc in particular perform admirably compared to full-priced rivals, and Impress and Base are right up there in terms of power and usability.

For those who know how many “reviews” work, I’d like to stress that OpenOffice.org does not buy lots of glossy advertising at the same time as submitting software for review. Neither do we buy lots of expensive reprints if a reviewer gives us a good review. Reviewers find OpenOffice.org for themselves, make the decision to review it, and decide what to write, without any financial considerations.

So if they say OpenOffice.org 2 is good, believe them. Better still, download it and try it for yourself.

This entry was posted on Friday, June 29th, 2007 at 8:02 am and is filed under OpenOffice.org. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.