If you think that you always get what you pay for, the just-released beta of OpenOffice 3.0 should convince you otherwise. This free, open-source software suite provides most of what anyone could want in an office suite, including a word processor, spreadsheet, presentation program, database, drawing tools and math equation editor. Although it doesn't include all of the high-end features and the slick user interface of Microsoft Office 2007 (for the PC) and Microsoft Office 2008 (for the Mac), it will handle just about any job you need done. If you're not working in an enterprise that has standardized on Microsoft Office, you should think twice before paying full freight for Office, and give serious consideration to this free alternative when the final version is released.

...Particularly important are changes to support for file formats. OpenOffice 3.0 supports the upcoming Version 1.2 of the Open Document Format for Office Applications, or ODF, and will also be able to open documents created in Microsoft Office 2007 and Office 2008 for the Mac, which means that it's about as universally useful as an Office suite can be. It can also export files to a PDF. Mac users will be pleased to know that it can now run natively on Mac OS X without having to use X11.

Read the complete review by Preston Gralla in Computerworld.