Kingsoft Products ...
Carolyn: << What is wrong with Kingsoft? >>
There is nothing wrong with Kingsoft, the Chinese software developer of Microsoft compatible Office products and it's own antivirus/malware security products as far as I am concerned. There is also nothing wrong with the (non-upgraded) free Kingsoft Office up through versions released in 2013 [i.e. up through Kingsoft Office Suite Free 2012 8.1.0.3385 I believe, which is still available here although I have not tested it, but plan to on my Win7x64 system, backing it down from a later version I inadvertently upgraded to]. The problem with later free versions is that after 30 days use the program creates a watermark on all printed documents and overdoes screens that nag the user to upgrade to a paid version.
In my estimation the last truly great Microsoft Office Suite was Office 2003 Professional which improved on Office XP and 2000 Pro which were great themselves. I once was a Word power user (and strive to be one again) and was reasonably proficient in Excel, PowerPoint and Access. I last taught Microsoft Office classes at the local community college a decade ago. Today I'm focused on brushing up my deteriorated Word/Writer and Excel/Spreadsheet skills.
Office 2007 blew things off track (much as Vista did) although Stephen Elop did an exceptional job of getting it reasonably back on track during his Microsoft tenure. I'm not a fan of ribbon bars and not long after their introduction in Microsoft products Kingsoft and WPS Office allowed the option to switch the UI to the classic view in paid if not free versions, offering the best of both worlds. As far as I'm concerned since it's early days Kingsoft's Office products have mirrored Microsoft's closer and were more compatible (with format and UI) than any other competing free or paid product.
Below is an excerpt from WPS Office Free Review from Gizmo's staffer Jojo Yee who recently made it a Gizmo's Freeware 'Editors Choice' despite the watermarked printing limitation which others pointed out in comments:
>> WPS Office Free, formerly Kingsoft Office, is ideal for those familiar with Microsoft Office 2003 prior to the creation of the 'ribbon' feature in 2007. It will let you feel perfectly at home. To say that it is similar to Microsoft Office would be the understatement; they are practically identical. There are three main packages:
1. WPS Writer, a word processor that can import from Microsoft Word (.doc & .docx) with the ability to have separate documents in a tabbed interface.
2. WPS Spreadsheet, a spreadsheet application that can import from Microsoft Excel and having the same cells range (65,536 rows * 256 columns) as the Microsoft Office 2003 equivalent.
3. WPS Presentation, a presentation suite that can import all Microsoft Powerpoint documents.
For a freeware equivalent to Microsoft Office and for those who liked the simpler old style 2003 interface then WPS Office Suite Free is the application. There isn't a single feature I found that isn't IDENTICAL to the Microsoft Office 2003 equivalent. The similarities even go far into the styles of WordArt.
WPS did offer a unique tabbed experience allowing multiple documents or spreadsheets within the same window making switching between them quick and simple. There are however two annoying selections upon installation: the startup of a browser linking to WPS's website, and the other is a popup asking to switch to another UI (basically the new ribbon effect which isn't free). <<
Kingsoft's Security division also produced Kingsoft PC Doctor, an exceptional free One-Click Windows 32-bit optimizer and privacy cleaner for Windows XP/Vista/7 and I bemoan the fact that they stopped supporting it some time ago. I use it on My secondary Win7x64 desktop, running it at startup and in the background. I'll likely comment on it in a future post. I'll also likely comment on the paid WPS Office 2016 Business Edition I just bought and installed after I optimize it and familiarize myself with it.
Best, - Eric L. - |
