Sun Microsystems offers a free alternative for struggling online college students to Microsoft Word, Access, Excel, and Powerpoint through a free and open productivity suite, OpenOffice.org. All of the source code is available under the GNU Lesser General Public License (LGPL), and you may use OpenOffice.org binaries for commercial use. In short, OpenOffice.org offers a free version of Microsoft Word for those of us who can’t afford or do not wish to buy Microsoft Office.

If you want to try Open Office before installing it, Google Docs is a good way to experiment. It is free and you can create and download documents in OpenOffice. You may also save your online college documents to Google Docs for storage and later retrieval. You may make documents private or share them with your online college buddies. Sign in to Google Docs using your Gmail account or create a new one.

You may want to check out Google’s hundreds of other apps that can only supplement your online college career. Most, if not all, are free. http://www.google.com/intl/en/options/#utm_medium=et&utm_source=catch_all

Free Google Applications include:

• Gmail – fast, searchable email. You can create as many free accounts as you’d like, and with Google’s massive storage, you almost never have to erase any messages. Great for online college students as an extra email address.
• Google Earth – View earth from any address.
• Blogger – create your own blog for free. A great way for online college students to grab some computer experience and expertise and share their experience with the world.
• Picasa – edit and share your photos
• Google Maps – free directions from almost anywhere to almost anywhere. Great for occasional trips to your college campus if you forget how to get there.
• Google Chrome – a fast, stable browser that you’ll love to use

Make sure to peruse all of Google’s free apps for use in your online college and university material. You may also download and install the Google Toolbar.

• Scholarships for Online College Students and Where to Find Them Online college students can also find scholarships online. The process is much the same as the scholarship finding process for traditional students. There are millions of scholarships and grants out there that may help to fund your college education. Knowing where to look and what to look for can......
• Income Based Repayment for Online College Loans  Still worried about racking up debt at an online college and not being able to repay it? No worries. Income based repayment is here. What this means is that, if you qualify, your online college loan payments could be as low as $10 a month. Family size, income and......
• 3 People That You Must Meet Before You Enroll in Any Online College or University The Financial Aid Counselor – You must meet with or make an online appointment with your Financial Aid Counselor for your online college or university before enrolling in courses. This is an absolute MUST! Do not skip this step for convenience. Do you think you know everything about financial......
• Is Googling Your Answers Cheating?   I routinely Google my answers to online college homework. Sometimes Google provides you with tutorials, hints, and even direct answers. The temptation is definitely there to recreate the answer as your own. Is this illegal? Some college guidelines say so. At Clayton State University, the guidelines are as......

• Free Christmas Music Online I admit it. I am generally old school when it comes to Christmas entertainment. I imagine there are lots of other baby boomers like me. We own the It's a...
• Use Google Apps to Start Your Business for Less As we continue in this recession, their has been a continued focus on both cutting spending and finding alternative streams of income. Whereas some people try get rich quick schemes,...
• How to Build a Garage While many homes already have basic garages built into them, this isn't always the case, and some families find themselves seeking free plans, garage plans and the like. Some newer...
• Online Forex Trading Is Usually A Small Business Which Is Worth Getting If online forex trading interests you, you would do well to produce an entry into this small business, due to the fact all indicators point to it getting a venture...