PC World: Linux Office Suites Do Battle

“Office suites are like a pair of shoes. If your shoes are
comfortable, you’ll get where you need to go with nary a thought
for your feet. But put on a pair that pinch or bind, and you’ll
feel it with each step. Similarly, when you install an office suite
that fails to meet your needs, crashes, or burdens you with
intrusive functions that you don’t use, it can turn everyday work
tasks into difficult chores.”

“When it comes to Windows, most users reach for what’s most
comfortable: Microsoft Office. Linux users, however, have not had
such a choice–until now. We tried on two recently released Linux
suites: Corel’s WordPerfect Office 2000 for Linux and Applix
Applixware 5.0. After walking a mile in both suites, we found
that Applixware, which is native to the Linux platform, was more
stable and generally easier to use, and provided most of the same
features as WordPerfect Office 2000. Corel’s suite, which was not
written expressly for Linux, exhibited some performance flaws that
made it difficult to work with….”

“Should you wish to create a file that’s Microsoft-Word
friendly, both suites’ word processing programs let you create
files Microsoft can read. In WordPerfect you can save files in
native Word .doc format, while Applix can create only a
Word-compatible Rich Text Format file. Both programs can open Word
.doc files, but with Applixware, you’ll lose all formatting.”

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