August 2018

William Blinn Communications n Worthington, Ohio 43085 LightenedThoughts www.blinn.com • 718.577.1054 Should You Still Be Using ’s Office Suite?

Microsoft has virtually locked up the office suite market, but there are other options

and some of them are free. It’s worth considering those options.

In the 1980s, dozens of programs existed: , Ami Pro, XyWrite, Star Office Writer, WordStar, Before there Wordperfect, , Lotus Script, and were office many more. There were a lot of programs, too: was first, followed suites, users by Lotus 1-2-3, , , Lotus selected Symphony, SuperCalc, and others. There were no suites. individual Users found the word processor that best programs. met their needs, the spreadsheet application that they liked, a suitable email program, and a manager if they needed one. It wasn’t uncommon for someone to use XyWrite with database manager. shelved company’s pricing reflects this concern. For Lotus 1-2-3 or MultiMate with Quattro Pro. But WordStar when Wordperfect became avail- $100 per year, Office 365 users have access the interfaces were different and confusing: able as a component for their new suite. to all the applications, both computer-based The action that would save a document in one Today about half a dozen contenders exist and cloud-based; they can install the applica- application might close another application in the office suite market: Microsoft (Outlook, tions on up to 5 computers and mobile devices; without saving. There were too many incon- Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, Skype, and, if they don’t have 5 computers or mobile sistent applications and not all of them could OneDrive, Publisher, and Access), Corel devices, they can share the annual subscrip- survive. Eventually the word processor field (Wordperfect, Quattro Pro, and Presentations; tion with 4 other users. In other words, $20 narrowed to WordStar, Wordperfect, and an Paradox is only in the Professional package), per year per computer. upstart from Microsoft called Word. open-source OpenOffice and LibreOffice Although at $20 per computer per year, (Writer, Calc, Base, Math, Draw, and Impress), Microsoft’s Office Suite isn’t exactly free, it’s Kicking Wordperfect to the Curb and cloud-based services such as affordable for most people. Even if you’re a By using a bit of misdirection (also known as and Zoho Office. single user who needs the suite on just one outright lies), Microsoft convinced Wordper- computer, $8.25 per month is about the cost fect to develop for OS/2 that was being built Finding the Right Combination of a fast-food meal and less that the cost of a jointly by Microsoft and IBM. The overarching decision is between free and 6-pack of good beer. But those who need the So when Microsoft eventually made it clear paid options. office suite on just one computer can sign up that Windows would supplant OS/2, Wordper- There’s no question that OpenOffice and for Office 365 Personal at $70 per year, so that fect was left in a distant second-place position LibreOffice are sufficient for most users, but cuts the cost to less than $6 per month. from which it never recovered. Microsoft includes an email application, task Some occupations all but require Microsoft Then came the suites. First, from Micro- manager, and on-line storage that the open- applications. Editors, for example. Although soft; then the Corel Corporation answered source applications lack. other applications can read and write files by acquiring the mortally wounded Ventura Nonetheless, Microsoft should be nervous in format, they don’t always Publisher, WordStar, Quattro Pro, and the about these open-source applications and the write a file as the recipient expects it. So if

nLightened Thoughts (ISSN 1543-1533) is for clients and friends of William Blinn Communications, Worthington, Ohio. Phone 614.785.9359 (Columbus) and 718.577.1054 (NYC). On the Web at www.blinn.com. All rights reserved. Each of the suites has a different look and feel, but all of the applications are capable of performing similar tasks. These are the word processor applications (left to right) from Costs Are Relative , Wordperfect Office, and Libre Office. Remember the cost of a gallon of gasoline in you’re being paid to work on files that will be ’s formatting is primitive and 1975. Forty cents! Wouldn’t it be great to have used by others, the safe bet is to stick with the unpredictable, though. Those who care those prices today? Microsoft applications. about visual representation may find that The trouble with the implied logic is that There are other reasons to consider Micro- Evernote’s capabilities are insufficient. average incomes were considerably lower in soft, though. The Office suite includes features • Microsoft Publisher: Today’s main word 1975, too. that the others don’t: Outlook, OneNote, processors are all roughly capable of In some cases, higher prices today are Publisher, Sway, Lens, and Microsoft To-Do. performing the design tasks Publisher effectively lower than they were back then. OpenOffice and LibreOffice have a database can. It is, after all, a most basic page layout No matter which office suite you choose, the manager, but Corel’s WordPerfect Office application. cost is likely to be lower than what you paid suite includes Paradox only in the pricier Although Publisher can handle simple 20 or 30 years ago for a series of individual Pro version. newsletters and internal documents, those programs. who need more advanced capabilities will The equivalent of $100 in 1985 is more than What About the Extras? want Adobe InDesign. $230 today. Assuming the word processor, spreadsheet, and • Microsoft Sway: This is a “storytelling app” But licenses were perpetual in 1985. Many presentation applications all generally get the that Microsoft positions as a way to create of today’s paid applications use the subscrip- basics right, and they do, do the extras have and share interactive presentations. It’s tion model, so the Microsoft Office Suite will any value? similar to Adobe Spark, which has a free cost about $1000 over a decade. • Microsoft Outlook: Although Thunderbird version and a more capable paid version In the old days, you could license an appli- is a worthwhile email client, it doesn’t inte- that’s part of the Creative Cloud package. cation and use it forever. In fact, there are grate as well as Outlook does with the other Sway has no Mac version. some people who are still using the DOS suite applications. • Microsoft To-Do: Does a to-do list differ version of WordPerfect 5.1 on their Windows Outlook also includes contact manage- from a task list (already included in 10 computers, 27 years after it was released. ment, task management, and a calendar. Outlook)? The new app from Microsoft Back then, WordPerfect 5.1 for DOS was It’s an application that a lot of people love integrates with Outlook and has versions priced at $295, the equivalent $690 — a one- to hate, and with good reason, but it plays for IOS and Android, but not for MacOS. time payment. well with the suite applications and has a • Microsoft Lens: Seems like a solution in So the annual cost would be $11 per year or consistent look and feel. search of a problem. Adobe Scan is a better $25 per year, depending on whether you use Sometimes that’s important! choice for those who need to capture busi- $295 or $690 for the calculation. • Microsoft OneNote: None of the other ness cards and other printed data. Of course running WordPerfect 5.1 today suites has anything that corresponds to Scan is included in Creative Cloud, of is roughly equivalent to driving a 1991 Plym- OneNote. course, but it’s also a free download for outh Laser, which (by the way) would have Evernote is available in free and paid Android and IOS devices. That’s what cost $11,000 to $14,000. versions and it performs as well as OneNote makes it better than Lens, which works on Today’s office suites, even the free ones, does if the sole task is capturing data. Microsoft mobile devices but not Android have many more features than what anybody or IOS. Versions for Android and IOS are offered or even contemplated in 1991. Ω planned.