Open Source Software

Would you like to have the power of Microsoft Office without the high cost? It's a tempting idea but is it feasible? The answer is yes. All you need to do is look at open source software - but until the launch of Logotron School Office, it wasn't the perfect answer.

The idea of open source software is simple. Instead of being secretive about their work, the developers share everything they know. The result is that programmers all over the world collaborate to produce software which is as good as commercial products but which is freely available at zero or very little cost.

It all seems too good to be true and there are those who argue that that is the case. Microsoft in particular, argues the point very strongly, but amongst computer users world wide the jury is out and open source software has a huge army of fans.

Microsoft claims that it has two great advantages. One is that there are huge benefits to be had if everyone uses the same product. It means there are no compatibility problems. The other is that Microsoft pours millions of dollars and hours into software development and this makes their products better than any of the competition. Let's take the two arguments in turn.

Compatibility
Do you remember the video war between VHS and Betamax? Many people believe that Betamax was the superior format but VHS won the battle resoundingly and is only now beginning to give up its crown to DVD. It's a simple fact of life that there are advantages if everyone uses the same format and this leads eventually to market domination. In the case of videos, rental shops no longer had to stock every film in both VHS and Beta formats. And home users were able to share their home movies with all their friends, not just those who used the same format. Software is similar. If everyone uses the same software then exchanging files is simple and this is exactly what has happened - the world dominance of Microsoft Office makes sharing files easy. But the fact that almost everyone uses MS Office doesn't of itself mean that it's the best, merely that it's the winner in the commercial stakes.

The developmental side is another matter. If you remember earlier versions of MS Office you'll be familiar with how it is changed over the years. Early versions of Word had a set of toolbars and menus items which covered all the basic things you do with a word processor. All of these basic functions are still there but they have been added to as each new release appears. Drawing, inserting images and videos, text boxes and tables, and even the office assistant (often referred to as "that darned paperclip") have all been added to the basic program over the years. It's the way in which Microsoft tries to stay ahead of the competition - and they have been very successful.

An alternative office suite
But what if there was a different suite of office software which was completely compatible with Microsoft Office? What if every document produced using MS Office could be opened by users of this software and every document they produced using it could be exchanged with people who use MS Office freely and easily? Would that change things? Would it threaten Microsoft's domination of the world of office software? It's a question that many people are beginning to ask, especially as Microsoft continues to charge increasingly large sums of money for its flagship product.

As an individual, you might not have a few hundred pounds to spare to buy an office suite of software, but because you need one and because it's the market leader, you may well bite the bullet and pay out. Microsoft relies on enough of us doing this and clearly enough of us are. But what if a whole school, even an entire Local Education Authority made the decision to switch from MS Office to an open source equivalent? Think of the savings that could be made. Think of the curriculum software that could be purchased with the money saved.

In that case, Microsoft's product would have to be far better than the competition to justify the expense and this is a point of view which is being examined very closely throughout the education community.

The main contender, as an alternative to Microsoft Office, has been Open Office. This is available free of charge. It's a complete suite, consisting of word processor (compatible with Word), spreadsheet (compatible with Excel), presentation program (compatible with PowerPoint) and database (compatible with Access). It also has a very good object drawing program included in the suite - something that Microsoft Office doesn't have!

But Open Office has one great disadvantage - it lacks support and documentation. In the words of Julian Pixton of Logotron, "perhaps having no support and no ability to customise the configuration of the software, plus no teacher documentation, training materials or teacher templates is what has taken away the shine of the idea of 'free', for all but the most zealous enthusiast".

The solution to this problem used to be Star Office. It's the same suite of programs as Open Office but adapted and published by Sun Microsystems. There is a modest charge and Sun offer support and documentation but this has never been an ideal solution for UK schools because it's an American product with an American English dictionary. And with the best will in the world, Sun is more familiar with the needs of business than of schools, particularly those in the UK.

The perfect solution
So it is with great delight that the UK Educational world has welcomed Logotron School Office. This is also a version of Open Office but unlike the Sun version, Logotron has adapted it for the United Kingdom and more specifically, for education. The dictionary is UK English and it comes with documentation and a set of templates designed especially for UK schools. And support is available from the highly respected team at Logotron in Cambridge.

What's more Logotron School Office will not absorb the large sums of money that Microsoft Office does - it can even cost you nothing at all! The complete suite is free to all purchasers of Secondary Essentials, £24 to buy it on its own on CD or £40 pounds for an unlimited site license with email support and upgrades. With an offer like this on the table the only remaining question is what will you buy with the money you save?