“There’s a feeling that one thing is keeping Linux from being a
realistic alternative to Windows on the world’s computing desktops:
the lack of a serious set of “office tools.” You know what I’m
talking about: a word processor, spreadsheet, presentation program,
a database, and maybe an electronic organizer. Offices and small
businesses rely on these tools day in and day out, and Microsoft
Office 97 and 2000 in Microsoft Windows have become the standard.
Because Microsoft has been cagey about its plans for a Linux
version of Microsoft Office, there’s really little reason for
anyone who deals with MS Office files daily to even bother trying
Linux. That is, until now.”
“Enter Corel WordPerfect Office 2000 Deluxe for Linux, which
packages the following programs: WordPerfect 9, Quattro Pro 9,
Paradox 9, Corel Presentations 9, CorelCENTRAL 9, and Netscape
Communicatior 4.7, along with 1000 True Type fonts, 12,000 pieces
of clip art, 200 stock photos, and a copy of the Corel Linux
operating system itself–in case you don’t already have Linux
installed somewhere. All for $159! In terms of sheer dollar
value alone, Corel has a suite that deserves a close second look,
along with a strong case to consider a “free” operating system like
Linux in the first place.“
“The first question that comes to mind is, “What features and
abilities from Windows do I lose in Linux?” Frankly, I am amazed to
reply, “I don’t really see any.” Corel is making use of a set of
programming tools called “WINE,” which, in essence, permit software
written for Microsoft Windows to run in Linux. As a bonus, the
Linux version looks almost exactly like the Windows version. The
upside is that the Linux version of Corel’s Suite is basically
compiled from the same source code as the Windows version, meaning
the Windows and Linux versions are just about twins. Though some
developers haven’t had much luck with WINE, Corel seems to have
figured it out–all the programs were very stable. Perhaps not as
stable as Linux-native software (WordPerfect seemed to freak out
after running for 4 days straight), but I would argue it’s at least
as stable as Windows software.”