Computer experts: How write essays, burn to a CD, without Office?

[oscar111]

Hi,
Liberal arts type needs your brains to help this babe in the woods figure out some computer stuff!!

Help!

I want to write some DU-type ideas , then burn them on a CD.

I dont want to pay for a subscription to Microsoft Office. I just don't like MS. Really, really don't like MS.

It seems my laptop, eleven months old, is loaded with one way to burn .. Sonic.. and that Sonic seems to only receive written stuff as data files from Office sources I would use on the laptop.

I can also do essays as drafts in the email .. but cut and paste cant seem to get them into Sonic.

Any other way?

Help!

befuddled liberal arts major thanks you,
Oscar

[atomic-fly]

1. Go to Kinkos and get them to burn it to a cd...ask for help

[oscar111]

2. thanks, but i need a more rapid, easy way

i appreciate the thought, and it would work for many,

but i need a way to do it on my laptop. Just real short on time, mon ami.

again, thanks.

[Ravenseye]

3. Hmm

What system are you using? Apple or PC?

If PC, does it have wordpad installed? That is a low grade word processor that has everything you need, without all the crap of Word, and it's usually a free install in Windows. Go to start->accesories->wordpad

Then save those files (probably as rtf = rich text format) and then drag those files into Sonic to burn them.

[oscar111]

9. Hi, i am using PC. Think it has wordpad.

I will sure try that! I hope it works. Crossing fingers and offering up prayers.
so glad you took the time to reply. These essays of mine are very important to me, and i hope to others later on.

thanks,
Oscar

[JCMach1]

4. Try OpenOffice

http://www.openoffice.org/

Seriously, it's the best...

It's open source and FREE!!!

[Fredda Weinberg]

5. Try Open Office

http://www.openoffice.org/

It might be compatible

[jrandom421]

6. Not totally

OpenOffice will mangle anything with complex formatting, tables, and so on.

[meegbear]

7. If you have Windows XP, burning CDs is built in sunshine ...

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/setup/expert/bridgman_august13.mspx

[oscar111]

8. Hello all, i'm back after some errands

sorry for the delay!

All those ideas look promising!

I am now going to try some of them. I am so thankful for the help, each one of you! Tekkies are the greatest.

Anyone else have ideas that might work, if these ones don't?

I really need to get some fine DU-type ideas on society, down on a CD. They vanish down the page, if they only exist here on DU forums. And, the Demopedia now seems to have no links from forum pages, so i guess it is going to go unseen from now on, ... unless cognocenti google for it. But no new viewers for that fine permanent repository of LW facts. It needs to come out in paperback form.

the grateful ox,
oscar

[oscar111]

10. dup

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

[oscar111]

11. ??how can i read what was burned to the CD? arruuugh

frustration!

first, many thanks to Raven for the idea of using Wordpad! It appears to have been burned to the CD.

But, i gather that only from seeing the title of what i burned. I cannot get the comp;uter to show me the actual essay i wrote . The title is 'THINGEE". The essay's full length is three words....."testing this thingee."

Sonic opens only a list of titles on the CD. I cannot get it to show the essay on the burned CD.

I rambled all over the desktop links and My Computer, ... looking into "Drive D" and other relevant links. Nothing. Help...., no help.

Just to do the simplest thing, Microsoft gives no instruction. arrrughhh. How is this done in Norway? Must be better way to make software and the net in general.

Any clues on how to read the essay on the CD, to verify it was realy burned?

HELLLLLPPPPPPPPP !

oscar the ox.

[Gidney N Cloyd]

12. After you burn the CD (or think you have)...

Close Sonic
Eject the CD
Reinsert the CD
Go to MyComputer
Look at Drive D (or whatever drive letter is assigned to the CD drive)
Whatever files you tried to burn to CD should be listed.
Doubleclick on a file name.
Whatever program on your computer is associated with that file type will open and load the file so you can read it.

[oscar111]

13. Wow! Thanks, gidney, that worked!!

A round of "huzzzah"s for Raven and Gidney !

Raven got it to burn, and Gidney got it to display from the burned CD !

Now some important DU ideas will get recorded for posterity {or just my dog, whoever reads it}

I have successefully avoided MS Office both in burning and in reading! Joy!

whew.

Thanks also to the others who answered, i just tried the first listed idea and did not have to go on to their ideas.. but i do thank them for being true Dems,.... helpful, compassionate folks.

I am so glad there are such as you in the tekkie world.

"big dummy" oscar

[leeroysphitz]

14. Download Open Office

from http://www.openoffice.org/ It's an office suite just like MS office but it's open source and FREE. It's fully featured and compatible with all of MS Office's file formats.

It works wonderfully and is absolutely FREE. This should solve your problem as you can use Open Office's word processor and save the document in whatever MS office file format you need and burn it with whatever software you have.

I have Open Office and I love it.

[Spider Jerusalem]

15. Download the MS Office 2007 public beta

no fee involved. Free to use (until the end of the beta period). Thenget decent CD-writing software like Nero and use that to burn the docs to CD-ROM (or else just use the built-in XP burning utility).