The word on Word.

I've been sitting here putting together a short list of Word alternatives for my Word class. I have noting against Word. It has, after all, provided a lot of employment for mopes like me who've managed to figure out how to use it. But it's become miserably bloated over the years. Worse, it's very seriously overpriced and I have difficulty recommending its purchase to people who are currently unemployed - or, for that matter, anyone who just wants a workaday word processor without all the seldom-used, exotic features Word provides. (I have a copy of Word myself - indeed, Office - but only because I need it for occasional reference, and prefer using Apple's Pages, Nisus Writer Express, or Mariner Write.)

So then, for what it's worth, here are a few Windows alternatives. I haven't spent extensive time with any of these products but all of them come with good reviews (and there are surely many more - products, I mean, not reviews - floating around). Nonetheless.

There's a lot of buzz right now about web-based software so here are four of those, all free to use:

AjaxWrite
ThinkFree
Zoho Writer
Writely

ThinkFree is also available as a local, Java-based application - in that incarnation it gets mixed reviews. But as the web application is free, it's worth a try. Writely is now owned by Google (for the information of those who like Google software, as I do, or those who don't).

Atlantis is a downloadable, locally installed application - $35.00, 30-day free trial.

And then there's Open Office.org. Open Office.org started life as a Sun Microsystems project and has developed into a successful open source project, well regarded in the Windows world. (There's a Mac version but it lags somewhat and is not, IMO, ready for prime time, although it does get the job done.) As it includes alternatives for all the Office programs (and then some) it's a massive download and I wouldn't advise attempting it on a dial-up. However, if you have the bandwith and the time to download it, it's free. CDs (which include clip art) are also available from numerous sources (see the web site) and are priced at about $10.00.