Revitalizing Vista (and Windows)

As I write this, the Microsoft Windows Vista Beta 2 has just been released, and everyone is looking for software to run on it. Ironically, though, a lot of Microsoft’s own products don’t work properly. Vista, it seems, only runs new, Vista-optimized versions of Microsoft’s most stalwart software.

If you want software for Vista or want to spruce up your existing Windows XP system with some great software, look no further than Open Source. The catalog is large, so let’s get started.

Let’s face it: Without an office suite and productivity software, you can’t do an awful lot with a desktop operating system. On Vista, you can go with the new Office 12 beta, but it’s greedy (consuming disk space and memory), and well, it’s eventually going to cost money when the final version comes out. Instead try some open source desktop productivity software, which has matured nicely and runs great on Vista and Windows XP.

Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the last several years, you’ve likely heard about OpenOffice.org. While most people think it’s unique to Linux, it actually runs on many platforms, incuding Windows and Mac OS X. OpenOffice.org 2.0 (http://www.openoffice.org/, pictured at the top of Figure One) has everything you need to be productive in Vista or XP, and the software is highly compatible with Word, Excel, and Powerpoint files. For the most part you shouldn’t have a…

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