opinion & features
Which Word?
Corey Shefman
There’s more than one way to write a letter
Microsoft Word has become synonymous with what used to be known simply as “word processing”. Where it once competed with Wordperfect and later Apple’s iWork, today Word has by some estimates up to 90 per cent of the market share in word processors. The remaining 10 per cent may be professionals using Wordperfect for a specialized market, low-income families and students using free services such as OpenOffice or Google Docs and Apple fanatics sworn to iWork.
But how does Word’s competition add up? Is it really worth $179 to buy a single copy of Word (or between $129 and $669 for various Office configurations, including programs like Excel, Powerpoint and Outlook)?
Today, all of the word processing formats are more or less compatible with each other (though that was not always the case). To pick one over the other, consumers should look primarily to features and ease of use. Word is the most popular and for good reason. Especially since the new “ribbon” user interface was introduced, the program is designed to make creating different types of documents quick and painless. The new 2007 and 2010 versions of the software also introduced more creative options. Word will become increasingly useful with the release of Windows 8 expected in 2012. The new Windows is said to have deep integration with Microsoft’s online versions of Word, Excel and Powerpoint.
OpenOffice is an open source take on Microsoft Word. With the same basic functionality in a stripped down box, users get free word processing, spreadsheets and presentation creation software. To devoted users of OpenOffice, people who pay for Word are really just paying for the bells and whistles that Microsoft can afford to include in its software. That point is valid – to an extent. The basic computer user, someone who might just be word processing to write letters or take notes (in other words – using it simply as a replacement for pen and paper) will definitely be satisfied with OpenOffice. It gets you where you need to go. But it doesn’t do much more than that. OpenOffice has limited templates, few creative options and let’s be honest, is pretty ugly. It also (at least in my experience) struggles to integrate with the rest of your Windows software, which Word does easily. On the other hand, it is entirely free.
Google Docs has been the favourite of students and collaborative projects for a few years now. Because all of the data is stored with Google (and associated with your Google account) you never have to worry about backing up your documents. Even better, you can have multiple authors working on the same document at the same time, watching each other’s edits and saving instantly – a huge time-saver for students. The apps themselves are unquestionably stripped down. They lack the customization options, templates, creative features and ease-of-use features of Word, sometimes to the point where your ability to complete your document is hindered. But again, they’re free, and as a Google user, they’re easily accessible from any of your online services.
– Corey Shefman is a Winnipeg-based freelance writer.
