Free/Open Source Word Processors A while back, I wrote about two web-based word processors, Writeboard and Writely. While these are really cool word processors, that, I should point out, don't even require you to have a computer, some of you may want something you can actually use offline. Obviously, you can use Word, but many of us don't have the money to purchase it for ourselves or want to support open source software.

At home, I use AbiWord, a very nice open source word processor that imports and exports to Word. It works on Windows, Linux and Mac OS X (my system at home is OS X). It does footnotes and endnotes. I have been able to do everything I've needed to with it.

Another option, and one that I wrote my Master's thesis in, is OpenOffice Writer. Like AbiWord, it can import and export to Word. It can do everything that Word can do. I also used it to comment on student papers and write lots of other papers. OpenOffice Writer is part of a larger suite of software that includes presentation software, spreadsheet software, and drawing software. The only drawback for me is that it doesn't work well on a Mac. In fact, there's a whole separate project for it. It takes a little technical skill to get it installed and running on a Mac. On all other systems, it's quite simple.

I encourage you to try one of these out. They're not any more difficult to install and use than Word. And they're free and open. If you like them, donate some money to them.

word processors, open source, education ¶ 9:52 AM, posted by Laura