[Smokin' Joe]

I got my first copy of MS Office at a rummage sale, unopened, on 25 floppy disks for two dollars. I did not even have a computer yet but I knew the price was good and when I got the machine I was going to need it.

I have been running Office 97 since that version chugged to a halt with my second computer. It does everything I need, and is much cheaper than the newest version.

It also has the advantage of being thorouchly tested in the marketplace, and aside from that annoying paper clip thingy, does what I need without problems.

If you want the latest, with all the whistles and bells, it usually costs more.

I haven't checked out Open Office yet, but will get it for the next computer and 'play' with it.

[Richard Kimball]

Office 2007 was a huge step backwards. They moved all the menu commands and made it very confusing, then began zipping the files to create the docx format. They did this primarily to fubar the open office suites and force people to upgrade.

That being said, Office 97-2000 was probably the best Office Suite. If Apple would fix a few things in iWork, it would be great, and only costs $79.