OpenOffice and AbiWord: Alternatives to MS Office?

OpenOffice and AbiWord are two open-source (and free) pieces of software that you can download and use instead of MS Office, if you have a computer and do not have a word processor or office suite.  MS Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint and, in PC versions, Access) requires the purchase of software and a license from Microsoft; Apple Computers also sells an office suite (iLife) that costs money and requires a license.  Both suites, and others like them, will do what they are advertised to do – provide you with the tools to create documents, spreadsheets, presentations, and possibly databases, as well.  For those on a budget, whether purchasing a computer or upgrading an existing one for resume creation, school use, and the like, one way to save money is to bypass commercial software for open-source(free) alternatives.  (None of this should be interpreted as criticism of commercial software, but rather as a money-saving suggestion only.)
Open Office (the Mac version is called ‘NeoOffice’) comes with a word processor, spreadsheet, presentation software and a database; it can open Word documents and can save in Word format.  It can open .docx files from MS Office 2007/8, which MS Office versions made before 2003 will not do.  After using it on both Mac and PC platforms for a couple of years, this writer can attest that it works as well as its’ commercial rivals.  OpenOffice can be used on computers running Windows, Mac OS (NeoOffice) or Linux.  Generally, any computer that can run MS Office can run OpenOffice or NeoOffice, as applicable.
AbiWord is a stand-alone word processor that will open MS Word documents and will save in the same format.  It is ‘light,’ meaning that it is not resource-intensive when it comes to processor power or how much memory you have, so it is a good fit for older machines.  It can be used on PCs (Windows or Linux) or Macs.
Using either AbiWord or Open/NeoOffice is easy; if you’ve used MS Office, you’ll have little to learn, as far as how things work.  They are both visually attractive, easy enough to use (for basic tasks) for any veteran of MS Office, and can create documents that will look just like what Word, etc. make.  People you send things to, if you create or save in .doc format, will not necessarily know that you weren’t using Word.
Given the price difference, free software is worth a look, as it can save you money while still getting the job done.  OpenOffice can be found and downloaded from www.openoffice.org.  NeoOffice can be found and downloaded from http://www.neooffice.org/neojava/en/index.php.   AbiWord can be found and downloaded at www.abisource.com.
The following links will provide more information on these open-source alternatives to MS Office and iLife:

http://www.apple.com/downloads/macosx/productivity_tools/neooffice.html

(Apple computers page on NeoOffice)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Openoffice

(Wikipedia entry for OpenOffice)

http://www.pcworld.com/downloads/file/fid,7196-order,1-page,1/description.html

(PCWorld Magazine’s review of AbiWord for Windows users)