The city of Houston wasn't impressed with Microsoft's expensive licensing strategy, so they've started using a low-cost alternative to Microsoft Office: SimDesk. A USA Today article about the switch, Microsoft loses showdown in Houston, says:
SimDesk delivers software over the Internet at a fraction of the cost of Microsoft's Office, a software suite used on 94% of America's office personal computers. Houston is giving SimDesk to tens of thousands of residents and businesses, free. And it has begun using SimDesk as an Office substitute on at least half the city's 13,000 PCs.
Houston's moves could have a profound impact not only on Microsoft, but on the computing industry. If SimDesk proves to be a cheaper, workable Office alternative here, it could help achieve what Microsoft's rivals and antitrust busters could not: puncture Microsoft's monopoly and give tech buyers more choices.
"It's very cool technology," says retired software analyst Peter Lowber, who led the Gartner research firm's review of SimDesk last fall. "It works." [continue]
Related page:
SimHouston Virtual Desktop Software Applications - Houston Public Library
Free or cheap alternatives to Microsoft Office:
Software 602 - Windows
Easy Office - Windows
SimDesk. (Works on many platforms.)
Star Office (Works on Linux and on Windows.)
Open Office (Works on Windows, Linux, Mac, and Solaris.)