[SC.LUG] Linux MS Office look-alikes in practice.

[George]

Roger Gibson wrote:
> I just wondered if a Linux look-alike of MS Office would be a step too 
> far for this application.
> 
> Any experiences out there would be most welcome.

I wouldn't be inclined to give them Linux unless you know that you are 
going to be able to provide technical support long term. If something 
goes slightly wrong with one of the computers - say a hardware failure 
then "My son Billy-Bob who's good with computers and is on that 
EM-ESS-EN all the time" is going to have a hell of a learning curve to 
try to fix things. Similarly if they receive something new like a 
multimedia CD catalogue program thing through the post then they're 
going to want to be able to run it.

OpenOffice on Windows is an an option - I've certainly not had any 
problems using it for what I wanted it to do, although there wasn't last 
time I looked anything that could replace Access (perhaps a good thing).

You should probably also look into the cost of Microsoft Office on 
Windows. If memory serves charities can get an insane level of discount 
on retail price for Microsoft Products (assuming they qualify) - in the 
region of 90% discount. It might prove to be the easiest option just to 
give them what they're used to if cost isn't as much of an issue.

George