Windows Starter Kit

OpenOffice.org

CNET editors' rating: 5.0 stars

A credible rival to MS Office, OpenOffice.org includes powerful applications for making text documents, spreadsheets, presentations, diagrams, databases, and HTML and XML documents. It handles complex equations and multipart documents as easily as simple letters and faxes.

Even advanced Office users will find the templates, collaborative features, macros, and programming language familiar. Extensible and open source, it lets you both import and save documents in formats as diverse as MS Office formats, PDF, HTML, WordPerfect, XML, and others. However, the default is to save files in the open-standard Oasis OpenDocument XML format for maximum compatibility with other applications.

Multilingual and cross-platform, OpenOffice.org is a compelling option for anyone in search of an alternative office suite. A zippier version is available as the OpenOffice.org remix Go-OO.

AbiWord

CNET editors' rating: 4.5 stars

OpenOffice can be too much for many users, so we suggest AbiWord when you're looking for just the word processor without the massive suite behind it. It has a quick learning curve with an interface similar to those in Word and WordPerfect, and is compatible with both MS Word 2007 and OpenOffice.org 3.

All the basics are here, including highlight, notation, and a bevy of common formatting tools. Although we did miss a grammar-checker, AbiWord has a multilingual spell-checker. A huge plus is the ability to open and save Microsoft Word documents, though the program also has its own proprietary file format. You can download plug-ins at the publisher's site to import and export a wide variety of other formats, including OpenDocument Format.

Foxit Reader

CNET editors' rating: 5.0 stars

Foxit Reader is everything that Adobe Reader isn't: lightweight, effective as a Web browser complement, and streamlined. Foxit's main purpose is to read PDFs, but it also has annotation tools. The interface mimics Adobe's, so you won't have to change your reading habits. Text readability is nearly the same, and the 5MB Foxit starts surprisingly fast compared with Adobe. It's a nice touch that it opens PDFs from the Internet in their own Foxit window, instead of sucking resources from within the browser.

Hyperlink clicking is now functional, as is multimedia support, printing highlighted-only sections, and tabbed PDF reading, so you can read multiple PDFs simultaneously and with ease.

PrimoPDF

CNET editors' rating: 4.5 stars

PrimoPDF is a handy and lightweight utility that converts just about any file type to a PDF by using the Print command in the source program. It installs as a global printer option in nearly all of your programs. The conversion process is quick and efficient, bolstered by a clean, simple interface. The included security features allow you to wrap your PDF in 40-bit or 128-bit encryption, and there's PDF merging and password protection, too. The user also can restrict editing to basic interactions such as comment-making.

The four conversion quality settings have been exposed upfront, too, so you can easily toggle quality settings from Screen to eBook to Print to Prepress. There's a Custom setting, as well as a new interface that makes it easier to manage your conversion details. It works and feels fine, although there's a large ad from the publishing company, and the interface needs to be closed for the conversion to work. Those hitches aside, PrimoPDF is an effective tool for quick and casual PDF creation.