Even more noticeable for users, however, is that all modules of the suite are undergoing extensive rewrites to incorporate new features, improve compatibility with Microsoft Office and generally offer more consistent performance.

2. It's Free of Oracle

Ever since Oracle acquired Sun Microsystems early this year, there has been over the future of OpenOffice.org as well as the other open source projects Oracle inherited in the process.

While Oracle has publicly asserted its commitment to keeping OpenOffice going, its behavior toward open source projects in other areas has caused many to doubt its real intentions. The company has over its use of Java in Android, for example, and it's also on the OpenSolaris project.

Most recently, Oracle has claimed ownership of the open source project originally developed by Sun.