Version 3.0 of OpenOffice.org, a free alternative to the Microsoft Office suite, was released today. You can download it at the OpenOffice.org website. The site is currently running very slow due to the large number of people downloading, but once it's back to normal, I'd recommend checking out the 3.0 features list.
For those of you who are unfamiliar with OO.o, it is essentially a drop-in replacement for Microsoft Office. This new version offers a bunch of new features, including the ability to read OOXML files created in Office 2007 (you know, those .docx, .pptx, etc. files) and a bunch of other usability improvements. It also supports extensions, similar to Firefox, so that you can add a lot of new functionality to your office applications that isn't already there. Also similar to Firefox, it is free and open source, which means that anyone with the proper skills can contribute and improve it. Another notable feature is that Mac users are getting quite a few new features, including some that are unavailable in MS Office 2008 for Mac.
I, for one, am a big fan of OpenOffice.org. It's available for many different systems (including Windows, Mac, and Linux) and in many different languages (Spanish, French, German, etc.), which is incredibly important for non-English speaking computer users. It does everything that I need it to do for medical school, and it doesn't cost me a penny. I feel like so many students could save money by switching to it and never really notice a difference. A few people I've spoken to have expressed their dislike for OO.o for one reason or another. Common complaints are that it loads a little slower than MS Office and that this or that feature doesn't work right or the same as in MS Office. Also, some people like the "Fluent User Interface" new to MS Office 2007. Perhaps all these things are true (even with the new OO.o improvements), but I think it's important to remember that OO.o is (and always will be) free, and they will continue to use file formats that are also free [1], so that your data always remains yours. In other words, just because MS only charges you $60 for its Office Ultimate suite when you're a student, don't feel bad when they coerce you into purchasing a new copy for the low, low price of $680 in the future [2].
Still, if you'd prefer to use Microsoft Office, you should definitely take advantage of the Ultimate Steal. Students can purchase a copy of Office Ultimate 2007 for $60 through Microsoft's "Ultimate Steal".
*[1]: Just to be clear, the default file format of OO.o is the Open Document Format (a true open standard). If you plan on using OpenOffice.org to complete homework assignments you must either "Save As" an MS Word file (.doc) or convert it to a PDF, which is built into OO.o. If you turn in your biochem paper as a .odt file (the default), Dr. Cs-Szabo will not be amused. She will most llikely be using MS Office, which doesn't currently support .odt files. You can change the default file format in OO.o so that it always saves as a .doc file if you want via the Preferences. If you'd like to try OpenOffice but are unsure about something, leave a comment here or send me an email.
*[2]: Just a word to the wise: Piracy = Bad. If you're not willing to pony up the $60 or $680 for MS Office, you shouldn't be using it. There's no sense in being a criminal when you don't have to be.
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Open Cards
Just as a for-instance on OO.o extensions, there's an extension called Open Cards. It's made to turn a slideshow presentation (powerpoint) into a set of electronic flashcards. You can quiz yourself right on your computer. Not only that, but it has tools built in to help you learn them, especially the ones you're getting wrong (via self-reported feedback). The nice thing is that the flashcards can easily be shared with others.