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Disestablishmentarianism is not dead!
Have you ever found yourself frustrated with the high cost of software today? Even if you pay the huge prices, you will need an upgrade in a year or two and pay it all again!
The vast majority of computers today use "Microsoft Windows" as their operating system (OS). Windows has always been the most popular, powerful and sophisticated OS in the world. Since it is so common, you will find far more support and compatible products for Windows than all other systems (yes, even Apple's "Mac"). Windows costs $100.00 to $400.00 depending on the version.
The other product from Microsoft that most of the world uses is "Microsoft Office". MS Office is a suite of products that includes "Word" (word processor), "Excel" (spreadsheets), "PowerPoint" (presentations), "Access" (database) and "Outlook" (personal information manager - PIM). Outlook is similar to "Outlook Express" that comes free with Windows but with more features. Many people think that MS Office comes with Windows because many brand-names pre-install it on new systems. Even if it comes pre-installed, you are still paying anywhere from $150.00 to $700.00!
Some of us need Windows (not all), but almost nobody actually needs MS Office. This article looks at FREE or almost free alternatives to Windows, MS Office and other common software that we all use.
 As a total replacement for MS Office, I recommend: "OpenOffice.org". It's not just the name of a website, but also the name of the product. "OOo" (it's nickname) is the best alternative to MS Office you will find at any price, and it's completely FREE! It replaces every major component of MS Office except Outlook. An alternative for Outlook is listed below. I cannot say enough good things about OpenOffice.org. I've been using it for a couple of years now, and I don't miss MS Office one bit. It is completely compatible with MS Office file types such as .DOC, .XLS, .PPT, etc. It will open these files and can save them as well. That allows you to exchange files with MS Office users who refuse to switch.
 Recently, I finally checked out "Mozilla Thunderbird". It is an Email client (like Outlook Express) that has lots of plugins and extensions like all cool Mozilla products. I installed the Lightning extension that integrates a calendar into Thunderbird. The result is a very close approximation to Microsoft Outlook and seems to do everything I need.
EDIT: I'm moving the Linux part of this article to another post below since it's gotten quite big.
In summary:
OpenOffice.org is a free alternative to MS Office that will run on ANY system including Windows and Linux.
http://www.OpenOffice.org
Mozilla Thunderbird & Lightning is a free alternative to MS Office Outlook and will run on ANY system including Windows and Linux.
http://www.Mozilla.com
Linux is a free alternative to MS Windows that is great for most office PCs and many home users alike.
http://www.Linux.org.
So, with all this free stuff, and the low cost of computer hardware today, you can have a brand new Linux-based PC for under $300! A Windows-based PC with equal power and capabilities could be as much as $1000.00!
UPDATE: I've discovered and tested a free alternative to the most common finance management programs, Quicken and Quickbooks by Intuit, and Microsoft's Money. It's called 'GnuCash', and it seems to have everything needed for the vast majority of users. Right out of the box it is usable by most, and it can be configured to do some pretty powerful stuff like managing investments, retirement, etc. The only thing that wasn't instantly simple for me is the importation of existing clients. Transactions are a breeze since it can handle the same files as Quicken and MS Money (OFX,QFX. To be honest, I haven't spent much time on it yet, but I suspect there is an easy way to import customers that I just haven't found. From what I've seen online, it seems that support for this project is building, so improvements are bound to come soon. I'm not quite ready to uninstall Quicken yet, but perhaps by the next time Intuit holds my finances hostage for another $80.00 by refusing updates and support to older customers I'll feel confident enough about GnuCash to cut the cord with Intuit. Almost...
If you know of high-quality, free software for Linux and/or Windows, please tell us. As always, if you have questions, just ask.
The Free Software Foundation is a very good source of information about these titles and much more. They need your help.
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