7 Free Office Tools to Save Non-Profits Money

7 Free Office Tools to Save Non-Profits Money

It's always striking to see how the press (aka media) normally only thinks of open source and the American consumer/business in the context of poverty: as if, If you cannot afford the good stuff, settle for this, the free junk.

Elsewhere that is not always the story. The narrative is as often about "freedom" (remember that?) and what that implies: being able to do things (innovate, again, remember?) that are not proscribed and prescribed. Open source, and in particular something like OOo, gives users the freedom to do things that are out of bounds.

Put another way, for open source, consumer freedom (not having to pay) is coupled with developer freedom. To be sure, in many regions of the world, especially in those where markets are tight and where the luxury of being able to choose freely is rare, the primary mode of engaging open source is using it without the fear or cost of (un)licensed software. And where there is the wealth to engage in the market as a free agent, alone or as part of an organisation, then there is the freedom to do that can be acted upon. I envision that as government sees the benefits of strategic investment, we'll see more and more developer groups. Sustainability, of this sort, more than saves money: innovation makes money.