Just in case you haven't yet adopted one, though, here's your chance to get a lifetime subscription to Password Boss for $19.99. But I also know many of you are probably sick of password managers, because they're a regular fixture around here. Your thoughts?īonus deal: I almost made this today's featured deal, because it's singularly awesome. If you're looking for a free (technically, open-source) office suite that can handle the big-three productivity tasks with aplomb, look no further than LibreOffice 5.1. (Yep, I said it.) But I still think it's overpriced, and Microsoft shenanigans like this drive me insane. I like Microsoft Office, and in fact I rely heavily on Outlook because it's the only desktop mail client worth a damn. If you're a regular Cheapskate reader, you know I'm a bit conflicted about this. docx and all the other "x" files), and it offers some of the more obscure features (macros, track changes, etc.) not typically found in freebie suites. It's fully file-format compatible with Microsoft Office (read: it can open and save. That gripe aside, I like pretty much everything about LibreOffice. (I know plenty of folks who despise the Ribbon interface that's prevalent across newer versions of Office.) I do wish it offered a tabbed view for multiple documents, though, of course, Microsoft Office doesn't, either. LibreOffice, for its part, borrows heavily from Microsoft Office circa 2003 - and that's just fine. Interface isn't everything, but it's something. shall I go on? Plus, and let's be honest, Google Docs is a really ugly place to spend your time.
So why bother with a desktop office suite? I can think of any number of reasons: mail-merge, text boxes, change-tracking, custom styles.
Tools such as Google Docs and Microsoft's own Office Online afford plenty of basic features, without extra software to install or money to spend. For many a user, word processing, spreadsheet management and presentation creation work just fine in a Web browser, thank you.
This is, of course, a decidedly old-school option. LibreOffice 5.1 has an interface that's streamlined and familiar. So what's the alternative to that alternative? Ladies and gentlemen, the 2016 Cheapskate Award for Best Free Office Suite hereby goes to LibreOffice 5.1.
I'm guessing few users bothered to pay for the pro version.) Talk about ruining a perfectly great freebie! (To be fair, developers gotta eat, and the free version really was almost too good.
Then the developers renamed it WPS Office, built in a bunch of clunky online features and added a watermark to all printed and PDF documents. Just e-mail few years back, I dubbed Kingsoft Office the best free Microsoft Office alternative. Quick housekeeping note: If you grabbed the VPN deal I mentioned the other day (or its even better successor) and you're having trouble with activation, the folks at StackSocial have assured me they'll help get you straightened out.
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