ThinkFree Offers Freedom From Microsoft's Office

ThinkFree includes four modules (Write, Calc, Show and Folders) that mimic Word, Excel, PowerPoint and a file manager. It isn't a perfect match in terms of feature by feature with their Microsoft analogs--ThinkFree representatives state it is closer to about 60% and I would agree with their assessment based on my own tests--but they include most of the frequently used functions.

The Write application can save files in Word, Windows Write, RTF and HTML formats. The Show application can save files in PowerPoint and its own native format, and the Calc application can save files in Excel, HTML and its own native format. That is a nice arrangement. Of course, each of the three modules can read in documents from the native MS Office formats directly.

The fourth application, a file manager that works with a "Cyberdrive"--similar to those hard disk storage services out on the Internet. The nice thing here is that a user can be completely mobile and work on documents wherever and whenever there is an Internet connection. A total of 20 MB of storage is included as part of the purchase price of the software, and users can increase this for additional fees.

I liked ThinkFree, even though I use Microsoft Office all the time. It has several advantages, especially for resellers looking to help their customers move off Microsoft Office:

• First, the software is lean and mean. The entire suite is only a paltry 10 MB of software that is easily downloaded from the company's Web site. This compares to about 200 MB or more of MS Office, depending on which features you end up installing.
• Second, ThinkFree is very compatible with existing MS Office application file formats. While no application can be 100% faithful, it comes close enough for me and my applications' needs.
• Third, ThinkFree works on Mac and Linux as well as Windows, making it useful for those corporations that have multiple platforms and still need to exchange documents with some degree of reliability. Many of the low-cost or free office suites are only available on Linux, for example, but ThinkFree seems to take its cross-platform role seriously.
• Finally, ThinkFree has considered the user experience of MS Office carefully and designed its screen layouts, menu trees, buttons and dialog boxes to mimic Microsoft as closely as possible. Thus, the transition from MS Office to ThinkFree Office will be as painless as possible for your customers.
• The 2.0 version adds a few nice features, increases the speed to display and recalculate and so forth, and is more Web-aware. For example, users can post their documents directly to an FTP server, and import documents directly from a URL.
• You'll need a relatively recent version of either Internet Explorer (v 4.0 or better) or Netscape Navigator (version 4.06 or better) and a recent version of the Java virtual machine as well. If you don't have a Java VM (because of what Microsoft has done in their decision with the Justice Department not to offer it), ThinkFree will download it onto your hard disk for you. How
• considerate.
• If you buy the retail version, you'll get a free one-year subscription to the Cyberdrive service, otherwise there are varying fees depending on how much storage you'll need. And the software automatically notifies users of updates that are available, and they aren't charged for this--unlike what Microsoft is doing with its Software Assurance plan.
• Overall, I give ThinkFree high marks. And for resellers looking for ways to get their customers off Microsoft, this is a great beginning.
• Product
  ThinkFree Office
• Company
  ThinkFree
• 19200 Stevens Creek Blvd., Suite 100
  Cupertino, CA 95014
  (408) 861-9494
  www.thinkfree.com
• Price
  $49.95 purchase, annually renewal of cyberdrive account is $29.95 beginning the second year (first year is free)
• Pros
• Extremely easy and straightforward to use. Small and quick download within your browser.
• File exchange fairly accurate with Microsoft Office formats.
• Cons
• Each PC browser configuration may vary, and users need to verify that their equipment can support the ThinkFree software.
• The service is not recommended for dial-up users.
• Not all document features will be available, although most are rendered accurately.
• Overall Grade
  A
• VARability Scale
  ****
• Software Version
  2.0
• Runs on Windows 95/98/NT with SP 5/2000/XP; Mac and Linux versions as well
• Major Distributors
  Sold direct and through major retailers