The final version of OpenOffice.org 3, the open source competitor to Microsoft Office, came out two weeks ago and looks better than ever. I’ve been using its predecessors for years and, broadly speaking, OO3 is the most useful, widely compatible software ever. You can run it on anything: Macs, PCs, Linux, Unix workstations. It includes six full-blown applications: the Writer word processor, Calc spreadsheet, Impress presentations program, Base database program, Math equation editor, and Draw graphics program. And it doesn’t cost a penny.

OpenOffice 3: Useful, Compatible – and Pretty