I had never heard of Zoho prior to this assignment, but I do regularly use open access software. We have Open Office which came out of a combination of naivety and necessity. Last year we got a great deal on a new computer. Our old computer was so ancient that it was running on Windows 98 which might explain why we were so out of the loop on the fact that new computers, especially bargain ones, don't come preloaded with software like Microsoft Office Suite. When we realized this (and the fact that without Microsoft our brand new computer was a pretty spectacular paper weight!) we were stunned to discover the cost of software. On our tight budget, which was blown by the bargain computer, we could not afford anything more. This is where my frugal techie brother came to the rescue and told us about Open Office. What an awesome product -- and all for free. Now that I also know about Zoho and Google Docs, I don't know why anyone drops that kind of coin on Microsoft products when equally useful, user friendly alternatives exist. (Plus it feels kind of fun to stick it to "the man.")
For this assignment, I used my Google account to open a Zoho account which took about twenty seconds -- EASY! Then I typed this document and posted it directly to my blog as a draft, double checked the formatting and published it. Nothing could have been easier. I also checked out Google Docs which was also accessible via my existing Google account. I like the seamless interactions between applications and the ease of use of both word processors. They are completely navigable by anyone familiar with any other word processor. I am looking forward to using the presentation (Power Point counterpart) applications as soon as I have a reason! As the economic downturn continues to be an unwelcome guest at the table, it will be interesting to see if more and more people turn to open access software options. I see only exponential growth in their future.
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