OpenOffice.org is a free and very capable office software suite. Included in the OpenOffice suite is a word processor, spreadsheet app, presentation software and drawing tools.

OpenOffice has been free software for the past several years. I used OpenOffice to work through my master’s degree and no one ever noticed a difference.

It’s quite capable in its own right and does nearly everything that Microsoft Office does. The only major component missing from OpenOffice is a comprehensive e-mail suite.

I think e-mail software is a dying breed, due to the growing capabilities of web applications like GMail. If you absolutely must use a local e-mail application, Mozilla’s Thunderbird is an excellent solution.