apacheSometimes “free” doesn’t guarantee the best deal. After reading our Item #3 last week, ” 3) A Free Version of Microsoft Office 365 for Non-profits,” Tim pointed out that many of our readers might be happier with the $2/month version of Office, which basically gave them all the capabilities of Office Standard. He wrote, “That is a very good price for the office suite. It takes a bit of headache to get switched over, but, so long as you have a good Internet connection, it can be a huge blessing once it is set up.” Of course, that Internet connection is key. After reading the same item, “Randy” wrote, “We supposedly live in a connected world. It seems to me that the newer software versions require connectedness. But is that so in missions? Besides traveling in many locations where there is no internet presence in other continents my wife and I have taught this past year in missions training locations in California and Florida that had limited or no functioning internet connections.” Randy’s right. Office 365 and other such “online” software is only good if you have always-on Internet. That works for many; but maybe you’re not one of the “always on internet” folks. Randy continued, “Maybe I have misunderstood the MS 365 marketing. I have still chosen use pay-for editions that help me feel in control when I am away from the internet. If budget is the problem maybe we should also consider the Open Office or other software that so many of or national colleagues in other places use?”

We can fully resonate with you, Randy. And speaking of free, the Open Office version (an Open Source version of a set of tools much like Microsoft Office) is available for free at…

https://www.openoffice.org/download/

I’m with Randy. I just returned from a week in Africa using very challenging internet. I can’t imagine depending on Office 365 for my primary office tool. Even if it’s free, unless you have dependable internet, it might not be the best deal for you. Maybe Open Office is a better deal. (Thanks for your thoughts, Tim and Randy.)