OpenOffice 3.0 is already here, at least in beta version. The most popular alternative to the almighty Microsoft suite has released its first public beta to allow users to provide feedback and help fine-tune the final product. So here's our two cents.

First, though the OpenOffice site displays a warning about possible instability issues in this beta, fear them not. The complete suite was perfectly stable during our tests, with all its applications running as smoothly as expected. This new OpenOffice is compatible with all file formats from Microsoft Office, including the latest docx, xlsx, pptx and so on from Office 2008.

All OpenOffice tools, along with your more recent documents, are easily accessible from a launcher ("Start Centre") with freshly designed icons, which is one of the main new features in this version. The launcher includes a handy template manager as well, though it's quite empty at the moment.

The suite's applications met our expectations in every aspect: they're easy to use (especially if you're used to working with Microsoft's suite) and feature all the necessary tools to create complete documents, spreadsheets, presentations and databases. I particularly liked the wizard-style interface in Impress (the "Power-Point" app) which enables you to create presentations in no time.

OpenOffice 3.0 left a very good taste in our mouths. In spite of being labeled as Beta, the whole suite works perfectly fine and enables you to enjoy all of its new features right now.

Download OpenOffice.org 3.0 RC 3 in Softonic

I've always used MS Word for my word processing needs but if you don't have Office installed, then it's not exactly a cheap option.

AbiWord can read and write all standard industry docs ranging from open source efforts such as those created in OpenOffice to those created in professional apps such as Microsoft Word. It also features support for WordPerfect documents, Rich Text Format documents, HTML web pages etc. Although the editing options can't compare with Word, I do like the fact that this is a very light word processor that doesn't take up much more processing power than even MS Text. This makes it especially suitable for those working on slower machines who haven't got a decent word processor installed. What's also nice is that AbiWord is fully customisable with several different plugins to extend its capabilities. These can vary from format converters, document importers and thesauruses to image importers and a text format managers.

This may be basic but it's generally a very impressive word processing app that has everything you need to edit simple documents.

Download AbiWord 2.6.4 in Softonic

In the beginning was Microsoft Office. Then OpenOffice appeared as an open-source alternative. And now IBM makes a new move and offers its own productivity suite, all free of charge. The idea is not new: there have been a few free suites launched lately, but all of them were online. IBM Lotus Symphony is the only desktop suite that, together with OpenOffice, can offer a free alternative to Microsoft's proprietary apps.

IBM Lotus Symphony offers three tools: word processor, spreadsheet and presentations. It's true that other productivity suites are usually more complete. However, Lotus Symphony stands out for a convenient, single-windowed interface from which you can launch the three apps. Simply click on the "Open" button and select the kind of document you want to open: the program's toolbar will change accordingly. What's more, you can have as many opened documents as you want at the same time, no matter which type, and switch between them in the top tab bar.

The suite includes all the basic tools that you could expect in such an application: spell checker and tables for documents, predesigned templates for presentations and charts for spreadsheets - to name a few - besides the usual configuration options as regards fonts, colors and the like.

In my personal opinion, I'm glad to have another possibility to choose from when deciding which suite I'm going to use. A little rivalry is always good and usually produces better and wider options for computer users. And it seems IBM is beginning to take the suite competition quite seriously.

IBM Lotus Symphony has left the beta stage behind and now offers a stable, highly functional productivity suite that, despite not being as complete as other suites, may perfectly fit your needs.

Download IBM Lotus Symphony 1.0 in Softonic

Linux is one of those things that most general PC users stay clear of because traditionally it has been viewed as intimidating to setup and use especially when it comes to installing external components.

However, did you know that you can enjoy all the benefits of a Linux environment without installing it courtesy of Ulteo? Ulteo is a virtual desktop that allows you to run Linux applications in a Windows environment. You’ll have to sign-up for an Ulteo account to synchronise data stored on your hard drive with Ulteo but once done, it’s a surprisingly powerful and useful way to run Linux without installing it. Ulteo comes preinstalled with all the major tools you need to work and surf the internet and is intended as a replacement for Windows. Amongst the packages you receive are Firefox, OpenOffice (that can now work with MS Office 2007 and 2008 documents), KPdf to deal with your PDF documents, Kopete (a cross-client instant messenger), Skype, Thunderbird, Enigmail, Gimp and Digikam to manage your pictures and Inkscape and Scribus to create great graphics and DTP projects. It’s a genuinely exciting package filled with open source applications that are easy to use and won’t bug you with ads or registration requests.

For anyone that divides their time regularly between Linux and Windows, this tool will speed up your productivity significantly.

Download Ulteo Virtual Desktop 20080514 Beta in Softonic

OxygenOffice Professional is an office suite completely based on the famous open source package OpenOffice, but with more templates, cliparts, samples and fonts. All six applications included in OpenOffice are present, but if you click on File, New, Templates and Documents, you’ll find ten categories to choose from with dozens of pre-formatted documents, so you can save time and have more eye-catching works in minutes.

The categories go from Business Correspondence to Presentation and Education. In each one you can find templates for different type of files, like spreadsheet, presentation, andwriting documents.

Although it’s appreciable the effort of providing more materials to work with, OxygenOffice doesn’t add that much to OpenOffice. Having aimed to be more graphically efficient, the program could have improved the general GUI of the Open Office application. In this case it would have been a real plus and people would have had more reason to use it.

OxygenOffice offers many templates and cliparts for you to be more creative while creating personal or professional documents. It would have been nice if the program had improved the GUI also to differentiate the package from OpenOffice though.

Download OxygenOffice Professional 2.4 in Softonic

I've always used MS Word for my word processing needs but if you don't have Office installed, then it's not exactly a cheap option.

AbiWord can read and write all standard industry docs ranging from open source efforts such as those created in OpenOffice to those created in professional apps such as Microsoft Word. This is the portable version which means you can put it on a USB stick and take it pretty much anywhere. It also features support for WordPerfect documents, Rich Text Format documents, HTML web pages etc. Although the editing options can't compare with Word, I do like the fact that this is a very light word processor that doesn't take up much more processing power than even MS Text. This makes it especially suitable for those working on slower machines who haven't got a decent word processor installed. What's also nice is that AbiWord is fully customisable with several different plugins to extend its capabilities. These can vary from format converters, document importers and thesauruses to image importers and a text format managers.

This may be basic but it's generally a very impressive word processing app that has everything you need to edit simple documents.

Download AbiWord Portable 2.6.2 in Softonic

They say everybody should write a book, plant a tree and have a kid. I've decided to follow this wise rule of three, but as I'm not sure about the order of elements, I'm going to start by the book. And no other tool could be more helpful in this personal project than StoryBook.

This software app enables you to organize all the elements regarding your book, namely characters, locations and different plots, including main story and secondary threads. Each element is defined and configured on their own, which makes the whole job much easier because it enables you to have a clearer view of your book's structure. Plus, Storybook lets you have multiple active projects (books) as you want, and also organize elements on its interface by following color codes.

Bear in mind that this is no word processor. It's more of an organized database where you keep small bits of information which, once properly developed and linked together, will produce a book.

Whenever you plan to write a book, Storybook is a really helpful tool that will assist you in the creation, management and organization of ideas, characters and locations.

Download StorYBook 0.4.3 Beta in Softonic

One of the most handy features of any text editor worth its salt is the Find and Replace funtion. This is normally very practical when working within the same document, but what happens if you wish to change the same word or value in several different documents? The first option is to open every document and perform a Find and Replace in each one, the second is to install TextCrawler.

The program saves you having to open all of the documents that you want to modify. The best thing about the program is its easy handling. You simply select the folder containing the files you wish to modify, indicate the format (text or DOC) and the words or values that you want to replace and TextCrawler will automatically do the rest. This makes the program especially great for editing values within source code across multiple web pages. Perhaps the developer might like to go one stage further and turn it into a Dreamweaver extension or an OpenOffice add-on.

Download TextCrawler 1.0.6 in Softonic

Tomahawk Gold gives you a complete word processing program with the ability to create PDF files without Adobe software installed on your computer. Tomahawk can be used as an advanced editor for rtf, txt, tmd (our own format) and other file formats. Convert files to other formats. Converts and saves: Html, RTF, Txt and Tmd formats to Html, RTF, Txt and Tmd files. Browse through the features below and take it for a spin if you like what you see.

If you can create a document in Notepad, insert a table in Word, or Spell Check a document in OpenOffice, you won't have any trouble creating PDF files with Tomahawk Gold. The standard features are all there. Professional results are easily attained in your first session with Tomahawk. Includes built-in photo package printer.

Download Tomahawk Gold 3.4 in Softonic

ChordBook v3.4 provides chord lookup and diagraming for guitar in standard or alternate tuning. ChordBook's purpose is simple--it provides a way for you to create your own, customized chord listings....in the order and with the voicing YOU choose.

Chordbook is designed to work along side a graphical editor of your choosing (Excel, OpenOffice, Paint, etc.). This enables you to not only create documents of chord diagrams but also to write in lesson notes, song lyrics, and combine them with other graphics (depending on the capabilities of your editor). Over the years, this has been our user's most asked-for feature.

The Neck Window -- or the Fretboard is where the real power of ChordBook lies. This window allows the browsing of chord fingerings over the neck and has a Name-that-Chord function which recognizes more than 60 different chord types in any key, in standard and non-standard tunings. These user-created chord voicings may then be diagramed in the Diagram Window.

Download ChordBook 3.4 in Softonic

The Dictionary Installer is a small program for Microsoft Windows which makes it easier to install spell checker dictionaries into OpenOffice.org 1.0.

The Dictionary Installer uses a standard wizard-style interface, so should be instantly familiar. It collects a list of currently available dictionaries from the Internet, then allows you to choose which ones you wish to install, before downloading them to your computer.

Download DictInstall 0.9.3.0 in Softonic