Like it or not, one of the most important features of any Microsoft Office alternative is being able to read Microsoft Office files.

Dell has all but bowed to pressure from Microsoft to torpedo its Ubuntu line of computers. In case you are wondering, there are still lots of other vendors that offer a choosy range of machines preinstalled with Linux for your convenience.

I tried the updated Windows Office 2007 SP2, which supports ODF, or says it does. I created a document in Office 2007 SP2 and saved it as ODF... I reasoned that OpenOffice, which I intended to use to test the result, does have the features I wanted.

The OASIS Open Document Format for Office Applications (ODF) is an XML standard that lets you store and exchange office application documents, including word-processor, spreadsheet, and presentation files. Whether you try to perform special tasks on files saved from such applications or work on applications to process such files, you should become familiar with this important format.

Have you just started to experiment with Linux? Are you looking for more than the basic applications? Here we'll quickly review 10 Linux apps you might want in addition to those preinstalled with Ubuntu or other Linux distribution (distro). Now lets get started!

Groklaw member Tyche got a Dell Inspiron 530N with Ubuntu Linux and when I saw him post that he'd ordered it, I asked if he'd please write up a quick review after it arrived. He has done so, and as you will see, he found getting online so easy he had nothing at all to do to make it happen. Just poof.

Portable Ubuntu is a Free application Software for Windows, runs an entire Linux operating system
as a Windows application. It is superb, and it is portable application , so you can carry it on your thumb drive. You can run Linux applications on your Windows desktop, Portable Ubuntu is a stand-alone package.

OpenOffice.org 2.4.0 is a free, open source alternative to Microsoft's Office application suite. It is fantastic if you need basic office applications — such as a word processor or spreadsheet — at no cost. However, large organisations and power users may be disappointed by its lack of features and support.

"I received my XPS with Ubuntu today. The first thing I will say is that when the Fedex guy delivered it he asked if Dell was having some kind of liquidation sale because he has delivered more Dells today than ever before. He told me that he had already delivered five and there were eleven more on the truck. (Just throwing that out there.)"