Newsletter Archives

• Decisions to be made before moving to Windows 11

  Posted on April 7, 2025 at 02:42 CDT by Susan Bradley • Comment in the Forums

  TAME YOUR TECH

  

  By Susan Bradley

  I’ve been promising a step-by-step guide to help you migrate to Windows 11 as neatly and safely as possible. This isn’t it.

  I’m planning that for May, assuming the stress from tax season has dissipated and I can return fully to the Zen of Windows.

  This column is about the decisions you must make before you make the leap to Windows 11. After all, when you buy a new toaster you usually make sure it suits your needs.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (22.14.0, 2025-04-07).

  Tame Your Tech AI, LibreOffice, Microsoft Account, Microsoft Account Bypass, Migration, Newsletters, OpenShell, Patch Lady Posts, Start11, Thunderbird, Windows 11, WordPerfect Office

• Web-based Microsoft 365 is a win-win for all

  Posted on July 1, 2024 at 02:43 CDT by Ben Myers • Comment in the Forums

  BEN’S WORKSHOP

  

  By Ben Myers

  I never thought I would write a paean to a Microsoft product.

  Whether I pound out an article like this one, respond to emails, prepare invoices for clients, or keep track of sets of information with spreadsheets, I am most productive at the tower computer right here — with its fast multi-core processor, lots of memory, a 27-inch monitor and, most importantly, the best-ever keyboard.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (21.27.0, 2024-07-01).

  Ben's Workshop Excel, Google Docs, Google Sheets, LibreOffice, Microsoft 365, Microsoft 365 Basic, Newsletters, PowerPoint, Web, Word

• The legacy and vitality of LibreOffice

  Posted on August 23, 2021 at 02:42 CDT by Sandra Henry-Stocker • Comment in the Forums

  PRODUCTIVITY

  

  By Sandra Henry-Stocker

  If you’re a little nervous about getting started with LibreOffice, you might be asking yourself where this office suite came from, whether it’s still being developed, and where you might go for support.

  Here’s some information to help answer those questions.

  Read the full story in the AskWoody Plus Newsletter 18.32.0 (2021-08-23).

  AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Productivity AskWoody Plus Newsletter, LibreOffice, Linux, Productivity

• Sliding over to LibreOffice — or not

  Posted on July 19, 2021 at 02:41 CDT by Sandra Henry-Stocker • Comment in the Forums

  PRODUCTIVITY

  

  By Sandra Henry-Stocker

  LibreOffice is a great replacement for Microsoft Office.

  It provides a very similar set of applications. All are top-quality, easy to use, versatile, and well supported. This includes tools to create documents, spreadsheets, slide shows, databases, drawings, etc. LibreOffice and MS Office are similar enough that you’re likely to get off to a fast start when you first use any of the apps. LibreOffice is also completely free — no initial price tag and no monthly fees.

  Read the full story in the AskWoody Plus Newsletter 18.27.0 (2021-07-19).

  AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Office, Productivity AskWoody Plus Newsletter, LibreOffice, Office, OpenOffice, Productivity

• Freeware Spotlight — Staying at home edition

  Posted on April 27, 2020 at 01:00 CDT by Tracey Capen • Comment in the Forums

  BEST UTILITIES

  By Deanna McElveen

  We’re certainly living in a different world right now — social-distancing with friends, co-workers, and others; social-bonding with family.

  Those of us still working are in many cases doing so from home — some with the added complication of kids. And then there’s the drain on our bank accounts. All of which make the community of open-source and freeware software development more important than ever.

  To help you get through the current trials and tribulations, here’s a compendium of utilities and apps, for both adults and kids, that might make your stay-at-home experience a bit easier.

  Here we go …

  Read the full story in AskWoody Plus Newsletter 17.16.0 (2020-04-27).

  Best Utilities AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Calculators, Gaming, LibreOffice, TeamTalk, Video editing

• Open source rushes in where Microsoft fears to tread

  Posted on September 13, 2011 at 19:54 CDT by woody • Comment in the Forums

  I mentioned two weeks ago that Microsoft was shutting down its user-submitted Office template site.

  Now comes word that LibreOffice is ramping up their user-submitted template site.

  OpenOffice.org has had one all along, and it holds almost a thousand templates.

  Details in my InfoWorld Tech Watch blog.

  Other LibreOffice, OpenOffice, user submitted templates

• OpenOffice.org or LibreOffice?

  Posted on February 21, 2011 at 10:54 CST by woody • Comment in the Forums

  Tough choice, and MS Office compatibility continues to be problematic, especially with DOCX, XLSX and PPTX files.

  See Neil McAllister’s InfoWorld Applications blog.

  Office News LibreOffice, Office, OpenOfice.org