Microsoft Office, Iwork, or Google Docs; Which one do you use?

Microsoft used to be king in the office documents area.  As king, they could charge a premium for their office product.  They even worked out a deal and moved into the Mac market with Microsoft Office for Mac.  Microsoft has worked hard at being and keeping the title of king.  The only good thing, in my opinion, that has come out of this is compatibility.  Everyone else that has created office software has made theirs compatible with the king.

This has allowed people to save money on less expensive software options.  Inter Google Docs! Free is a very good price, if it works; and work is does.  I have been testing Google Docs for a couple of weeks now and have moved documents back and forth from Office XP, 2003, 2007, Iwork09, and Open Office.  All have worked well. It helps to save as a word document in Iwork!  There are times when you had whistles and bells in one format that doesn't always translate well in the other programs.  So keep it simple if you're sending your document out to a wide audience via electronic means (which seems to be the norm these days).

NOTE: Open Office is another free office program that allows you to down load the software on your PC for free.

The benefit of Google Docs is that its online and available on any computer as long as you have internet access.  This also allows for multiple people to collaborate on projects especially utilizing Google Wave. And did I mention its free!  Of course if you need more space than what Google provides for free, then you can always buy more space from Google for a very low price!

Microsoft is starting to feel the heat, as their office prices seem to be coming down. I do believe that as some of these new contenders take a bite out of the market, we will see Microsoft adding more options while also lowering their price.

Give Google Docs a try. I'm betting you will feel right at home.