This week I am re-running part of an article from September. It’s newly applicable because the software I’m discussing, OpenOffice.org, has released it’s latest version, 2.3. In it, they’ve added compatibility with documents created in Microsoft Office 2007′s newest document format, making it even more compatible with Microsoft than ever before. They’ve restructured much of the code to make things run work faster and more smoothly. Also, IBM has taken a big interest in the continued development of OpenOffice.org and has released their own version of it under the name “Lotus Symphony.” This is good news for all of us. With IBM’s research and development money and added talent pool in play, OpenOffice.org will undoubtedly benefit with newer features and tighter integration with other programs in the near future. It’s an exciting time for Open Source software!

OpenOffice.org contains all the software necessary for you to create documents, spreadsheets, presentations, edit photos and clip art and much more. It also allows you to read those same types of files that were created in other office suites. In other words, the OO.org word processor can open a document that was created by someone using Microsoft Word, and the OO.org presentation module can open a Microsoft PowerPoint presentation.

The big difference, however, is that OpenOffice.org is completely free. You don’t pay to download it, install it, register it, use it or keep it updated. Also, when you save a file in an OO.org format, you can rest assured that they’re not keeping any secrets – the format that their files are saved in is an approved, “open” format. That means that your files will never be enslaved by corporate copyrights or proprietary formats. Anyone with the gumption could include code in their software that could read an OpenOffice.org file without having to reverse engineer the file to try to “guess” how it’s been created.

I have used OO.org for many years and couldn’t be happier. I write this column using the OO.org word processor, and when I’m ready to submit it, I click one button in the toolbar that creates a “PDF” (otherwise known as “Adobe Acrobat” format) of the file to send to the Star. What you are reading right now looks exactly as it looked on my screen, and the software I used to create it cost exactly zero.

Getting it is easy, just visit their web site: www.openoffice.org. You can join their mailing lists and read user guides and other documentation on their site. Find a bug in the software? Submit it to the developers and take part in the ongoing improvement of the software! When have you ever had that kind of control?

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[Author’s Note: “Ask the Geek” is published weekly in the Stratford Star - the penultimate reading experience for residents of Stratford, Texas, population 1,920. It is posted on WritersCafe.net for posterity. Feel free to comment, but I can’t promise you’ll make the Star.]