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Break the Mold [California CPA](California CPA Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Help: I'm Being Held Hostage by Microsoft! There has been one ubiquitous presence since the early thiys of desktop computing: Microsoft. The majority of the piTsonal computing world uses at least one, if not many, Microsoft products in their daily work. We all know Windows, Internet Explorer, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, One Note, Access and, more recently, SharePoinl and Sky Dn ve. Microsoft, through development and acquisition, has permeated our cyberworld Io the point that product names an· instantly recognisable for (he type of documents they create. Microsoft products have set die standard for years and have been effectively marketed, which has resulted in their marketplace dominance. But what are the alternatives? Arc there less-expensive options? How do we hreak Microsoft's control grip of our computing lives? Here are some alternatives that provide much of the functionality of the products we've been licensing from Microsoft for years. Altonuttn MtM Uw Kcnntt Office) OpenOffice (www.opcnoffice.org): ? project of Apache Incubator/ Apache Software Foundation, Open Office is free and mimica features of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access and Paint. Files are in the standard formats and are compatible with the Microsoft Office suite documents. The software is open-source, so anyone can create add-ins or features. Apache even has a process for people to get involved in development. WordPerfect Office X5 (wwwft corvl.com): Word Perfect was the eariy big player in word processing, bul lost ground to Word when Microsoft invested significant development and marketing dollars in the program. Similarly, Quattro Pro was one of the big players in spreadsheets, along with Lotus- 1-2-3, which once owned the market. Finally, there was the Paradox database, which enjoyed a brief heyday against dBase. Corel came along and purchased these also-rans from the early software wars and packaged with a Presentation tool and Mozilla Thunderbird to create a suite to compete with Microsoft Office. Their coup is offering this package at a lower price than MS Office, They also packaged Nuance í^per Pon to incorporate built-in PDF management, and included WordPerfect Lightning, which is the One Note equivalent. Corel Office (www-corel.com): A low-budget and smaller featured office suite offered by Corel includes Corel Write, Corel Calculate and Corel Show (Word, Excel and PowerPoint compatible). This really isn't suitable for professional use, but would make an excellent alternative for home and student use and retails for 549.95. An imbedded version of WinZip and WinZip Courier is included for compressing and sending targe or multiple files with the ability to encrypt the files. Finally, there is the migration to mobile computing devices, be they tablets or smartphones, for which Microsoft offers their Office 365 option utilizing a browser on these devices. A couple of options for products that allow us to utilize traditional Office files on mobile devices are Documents to Go (www.dataviz.com) and Quick Office (www.qnickofiBce.com), which can be used on iftids, iPhones, Blackberry and Android phones and tablets. UnWIMC BfOMOfB Googte Chrome (www.google.com/ chrome): Chrome is a fast, versatile and free alternative to Explorer. It utilizes the Google search engine for locating sites and offers the same multiple tab-browsing environment we are accustomed to with Explorer. You can type your search term directly into the address bar rather than opening a separate search window. You can also set up an account that allows you to sign in and carry all of your bookmarks, history and settings lo any computer where you log into Chrome. Finally, it has integrated page ITanslation features in the event you land on a websile in a language that you don't speak. Chrome works on Windows, Mac, Linux and Android systems. Mozula Firefox (www.mozUla.com): Mouilla is a nonprofit organization committed to open, web-based communications and its Firefox browser is a popular alternative to Explorer. It dubs its address bar an "Awesome Bar," which learns From your past and makes better suggestions on your search terms, Fírefoit works across most popular platforms. Opera (wwtwopcra.com): Opera came out of a project by Telenor, Norway's leading telecommunications company. As with other browsers discussed here, it is free and available for Windows, Mac, LJnux, Android and iOS platforms. One of the features that differentiates Opera from other browers is its ability to store groups of tabs as "sessions" to be opened as a group, You can set up multiple different sessions for different purposes. Opera also allows you to "pin" a tab in the browser so that it doesn't accidentally get closed when closing multiple open labs. Safari (www.apple.com/eafari): Safan is Apple's contribution to web browsing. It's differentiation point ia its minimalist interface design, which allows the screen to be filled primarily with the web page you are browsing. It, too, is free and works on Mac and Windows platforms. Another interesting feature is the "Reading List," which is essentially a special bookmark that remembers sites you want to go back and cbecl Jater. Ii integrates with iCJoud (Apple's cloud-based storage) so you can access your Safari history, bookmarks, reading lists and settings from any of your iCloud connected devices. Wkb-JwNd Storage Microsoft's SkyDrive (httpt / / explore.Kve. com / elcydrive) : This is perhaps not as well recognized as many of Microsoft's other products, but for users who are frequently on the go and utilize multiple devices, it was one of the early choices for web-based storage (also referred to as doud storage). IJke most of the offerings out there, you can get a certain amount of siorage for no cost and pay for any additional space needed. The free space allotted on SkyDrive starts at 2 GB, which provides a loi of space, particularly if you are storing mostly text data as opposed to media. Dropbox (www.dropbox.com}: Dropbox starts you with 2 GB of space for free. As an incentive for promoting the produci, they'll gii« you an additional 250 MB for each person who signs up for Dropbox using your referral code. If you're a student, that 250 MB becomes 500 MB. So, helping Dropbox market gives you more free space. You can also purchase larger amounts of space: 50 GB is 89. 99^ month; 100 GB is S19.99/month. You can also get a team-based subscription, which could provide space of I TB or more and the ability to administer the usage among the team. It is available for PC, Mac, Linux, Android, iOS and Blackberry platforms. Box (www.box.com): The free account provides 5 GB of storage, and pricing is steeper as you need more: 25 GB is $9.99/month and 50 GB is S 19.99/month. Box also offers business accounts with larger storage space and an enterprise solution that has virtually unlimited storage. It is available for PC, Mac, LJnux, Android, iOS and Blackberry platforms. Box also has integrated several other business applications, such as Salesforce.com, QuickBooks and MS Outlook - no more email attachments. Just post to a fink in a Box account. Sugar Sync (www.engareync.com}: Sugar Sync is one of the major web-based storage providers, but does not offer a free service. The 84.99/month ($4-9.99/year) provides 3OGB of storage. Upgrades are available: 6OGB at S9.99/month or S99.99/year; 100GB at 314.99/month or S149.99/year; 250GB at S24.99/month or S249-99/year. iCloud (www.apple.com/icloud) : Primarily geared toward Apple devices, iCloud does work with Windows. It won't play with Android platforms. iCloud provides 5 GB of free storage and additional storage is available: 10 GB for S20/year, 20 GB for 840/year or 50 GB for S 100/year. You can also access iTunes in the cloud for S24.99/year. PowerPoint Option (www.pred.com): One of the first things I thought about when asked about writing this article was a new tool my son showed me. It's truly like PowerRjim on steroids. It is a web-based presentation tool called Prezi. We all know PowerPoint gives us slides with the ability to embed fiies, pictures and videos, as well as animations. Now, imagine having a large whiteboard on which you can design a presentation using the same types of information you might include usingPowerRaint. Then, visualize zooming around that large whiteboard to focus in on a particular point, picture, video or list. Prezi is a different way of looking at presentations. The free license allows for a minimal 100MB of storage and the ability to create and share Prezi presentations online. For S59/year you can personali/e your presentation with your own logo and receive premium support and increase your storage to 500MB. For S 1 59/year you get 2000MB of storage and can create Prezi's offline. So, don't be held hostage. Choose the best tool for your needs from an increasing pallet of options. Microsoft, through development and acquisition, has permeated our cyberworld to the point of the product names being instantly recognizable for the type of documents they create. Don't be held hostage. Choose the best tool for your needs from an increasing pallet of options. BY BRUCE A. GRAY, CPA Bruce A. Gray, CPA Is a member of the CaICPA Technology Committee and a partner at Gray, Salt and Associates, LLP. You can reach him at [email protected] (c) 2012 California Society of Certified Public Accountants |