It's hard to explain to someone who doesn't use a word processor everyday how much some people use them. While some users may only use word processors once a week, they can be always open for some users. We can't really speak of word processors without mentioning Microsoft Word and Office. The interesting question is, can you live without Microsoft Office?
Microsoft Office 2010 has been available for a while, but I've been happily using Microsoft Office 2010 Beta for a while now. With the six-month activation, I've gotten used to the new features and I have to say that I was surprised at how well it works. Microsoft Office 2011 for Macs was just released as well. The six months is almost up and I'm wondering if I can live without MS Office.
There are quite a few alternatives. One of the most interesting is the suite of apps from Google. The great thing about Google Docs is that you can access it from any computer and that it's saved to the cloud. Just like almost everything from Google, using Google Docs is free, which is a welcome benefit since MS Office costs anywhere from $150 for the student edition to $500 for the professional version. The downside is that Google Docs doesn't have as many features as MS Office, especially if you're used to using Office day in day out.
Another alternative is the Open Office suite of programs. Just like Google Docs, they are free to download and use. Open Office is definitely the way to go if you want something to edit your documents when you're not online.
Just like many things in life, it all has to do with what you do with them that matters. For example, if you spend hours and hours working on spreadsheets and documents, then it might be worthwhile to get MS Office. If you're just a casual user, that enjoys using Google Docs, then you're pretty much settled. A lot of business have started using Google Docs, so it's by no means less effective. It just takes some getting used to. If you need Office at work or at school, you might be able to get them from the IT department for free. Also, some school pre-install a bunch of software on their students' laptops, so you might be able to get it for free as well.
[header image via Alan Joyce]
Must-See Small Cool Homes: Week Two
Beth's Romantic & Retro Residence
Good Food to Share 
The Big Book of Small, Cool Spaces 
Apartment Therapy Presents 
The Eight-Step Home Cure 
Shaw's Original Fir...
How To Make Perfect Bacon in the Oven
How To Cook Tender, Chewy Wheat Berries on the Stovetop
I have to use MS Office (and plenty of their other products) at work, but at home?! Not all of us are important enough to do spreadsheets and presentations all the time.
Pages and Numbers and Keynote are wonderfully nice applications that Apple put out. I haven't touched MSOffice in years and haven't had a single issue.
Ive been without them for so long, Ive used Google doc. works great and with my iPad i use "DocToGo"
I've been using Google Docs and Apple iWork software since they came out. The only time I use MS Office is when I have needed to send a resume in Word format.
Pages and Google Docs for me. Hate MS Office. Completely un-intuitive.
TextEdit is good enough for 99% of my needs.
at home I have iWork if I really need it, but use Google Docs on the rare occasion I need some sort of word processing or spreadsheeting that is more advanced than a plain text file.
At work I have Open Office on Linux.
The only time I ever have to mess with MS Office is if my girlfriend needs help with Excel.
MS products are the very last tools to use . . .
I only use it because of clients.
Now use iWork/OpenOffice and love it. However, WordPerfect was indeed Perfect, until they stopped making the Mac version.
I used OpenOffice at home earlier this year before I downloaded the 2010 MS Office beta. I use the applications for school. Honestly, OOo felt horribly clunky and slow in comparison, and it wasn't worth the small inconveniences of switching back and forth between school computers and home. I bought the Pro Academic version of 2010 Office and am perfectly satisfied.
I also use TextEdit allllll the time. I dropped MS Word a little after I switched to mac 5 years ago. MS Office was a really glitchy and bloated program then - may not be now, idk. TextEdit is quick and simple. I feel like a lot of people use Word b/c thats what they grew up on and don't realize its probably over kill for their normal needs.
I then use Google docs for spreadsheets etc.
I haven't installed them on my home computers in years.
At work, there are lots of Excel/Word files from clients but I've been using iWork and Text Edit and I've had a lot less headaches.
I hear the new Office is much better but for the price, I'm good.
yes
I get by with pages, numbers, keynote for 90% of my work. I'm a professor, but many of the things I do - like submitting manuscripts or giving talks at international meetings - require Word or Powerpoint.
As a mac user, MS products are not well supported, they always lag the PC versions by several years. And they are buggy. But the iWORK applications work really well.
There is no inducement on earth sufficient to get me to use any Microsoft product. Apple has enough out that is good to make Microsoft completely unnecessary for me.
I'm a long-time WordPerfect user (since the mid-80s). So, with the exception of Outlook, I have absolutely no use for MS Office.
Living without MS Office is pretty easy for me and people I know. We mostly use OpenOffice and find its interface superior to the "new and improved" MSO 2007 and 2010 one. How many people can really tell the difference in functionality between OO and MSO? 1%? Less? And from my experience those who complain about glitches in document formatting are using spaces, tabs and enters as their only formatting tools. No wonder their documents fall apart.
"The great thing about Google Docs is that you can access it from any computer and that it's saved to the cloud. "
Not if you work somewhere that has very picky web filtering software. I loved Google Docs for the anywhere-ness of it . . . now I have to manually save things as Office files off of Google docs at home and email them to myself at work if I want to work on something between the two.
Don't need them. I just use a couple of light word processors, Google docs and text edit. Otherwise no other office-y productivity applications. All of those Microsoft 'work' applications are bloated with thousands of functions that are great and I'm sure many people can use them, but I think most people can get along with the basics.
I have Word 2004 for Mac and I have never needed to upgrade. I may just to have the newest, but honestly, I almost never use it anymore.
I am a graduate student in engineering so I tend to use LaTeX. Not only is the quality of the output superior, but it is more powerful _for my uses_. Obviously, that would not be the case for most users. On some things like resumes, etc, it is easier to use word.
I use OpenOffice for everything and have never had a problem with formatting (and yes, my teachers are just as strict about using correct MLA formatting). Yeah the interface isn't shit your pants amazing, but it's a word processor - it doesn't need to be.
I like Office and don't think that the free alternatives are nearly as useful. But I object to the price of Office, especially as new versions of Office don't support add ons for prior versions such as the foreign language paks that are not cheap themselves. If you upgrade Office, you also have to upgrade all your language paks, which is a lousy thing for a business to do to its customers.
OpenOffice for me since day one, only Outlook to read my archived mail from work.
I use Microsoft Office at work and it's a must for work related things (we often deal with huge datasets, lots of formulas, etc.) I'm one of the people who loves the new '07/'10 interface. I also throw in SAS and SPSS for statistics work. For presentations I use my personal iMac and keynote. For word processing at work I use notepad 99% of the time but occasionally mix in Word. At home, I use notational velocity almost exclusively. I've used Google Docs and OpenOffice but found the interface lacking on both. (Which says something, when I prefer the interface of notepad).I will say I haven't used either in over a year and they may have improved.
I've been MS Office free for over 2 years now. The only MS product I use regularly is silverlight for Netflix delivery...