Save $400 on Microsoft Office: Use Lotus Symphony instead

(Credit: IBM)

Microsoft Office is not just overpriced--for most users, it's overkill. That's why I've been increasingly recommending IBM Lotus Symphony, a well-rounded office suite that just so happens to be free. It's built on open-source favorite OpenOffice, but sports a sleeker, friendlier interface.

Symphony (available for Windows and Linux) offers word processing, spreadsheets, and presentations. It supports Office 2003 file formats as well as OpenDocument and others. And it relies on an ingenious tabbed interface that keeps all your documents under the same roof--no switching between apps like with most other suites. I particularly like the sidebars, which keep frequently used settings close at hand while reducing toolbar clutter.

What's the bad news? Symphony is still in beta, and it has the bugs to prove it. It's kind of slow, too. But you can't argue with the price. Why spend upwards of $400 on Office when you can get most of the same features (and a less intimidating interface) for nothing?

[gsmiller88]

Thanks for supporting Mac OS X, IBM, it's greatly appreciated! :D

[ /sarcasm ]

[protagonistic]

Ah, hasn't Lotus been around a lot longer than that? IBM purchased the company many years ago. The WP was at one time renamed to Ami Pro and was part of a suite program.

[Symphony_Prod_Mgr]

Rick,

Thanks for your interest and recommendation of Lotus Symphony. I wanted to clear up a point you made in your post. Symphony is available on Windows and Linux today. In addition we have a Mac OS version planned for early summer. We showed an early version of the Mac code at our Lotusphere show in January.

We are working on improving the performance of the code and expect it to get better with follow on releases.

[rickbroida]

Thanks for the correction! Not sure how I missed the Linux version, but I've updated the post accordingly. Bad brain. Bad!

[smdelfin]

Symphony only has 3 modules (documents, spreadsheets and presentations) that seem to make it targeted for the majority of (non-power) users. For feature-by-feature comparison, it's not on the same ring with OpenOffice or MS Office. But if the needs of the majority of the users can be satisfied by these 3 modules, then I hope Symphony saturates the market.

[mhinnewyork]

Open Office is a mature product, Symphony is in beta. Both are free. Why would anyone chose Symphony?

[rickbroida]

Symphony is much more user-friendly, IMHO. I think it's a better choice for students, grandparents, novice users, etc.