Although the office applications category contains such gems as accounts packages, OCR tools and speech recognition software, these are dwarfed by the big three - there simply wouldn't be PCs as we know them if it wasn't for the word processor, spreadsheet and presentation software. Instead, you'd be reading this on a computer you bought in kit form from a hobbyist shop.

In the early 80s, back when IBM PCs really were made by IBM, three companies came up with 'killer applications' that sold PCs more effectively than any salesman. The companies were WordPerfect, who produced a word processor of the same name; Lotus, whose 1-2-3 spreadsheet revolutionised accounting; and Harvard, whose simply-titled Graphics made attractive presentations dead easy. Suddenly gone were red hardback accounting ledgers, and the IBM Golfball typewriter was demoted to an expensive but effective doorstop. The revolution had begun.

But this was a golden era which would soon end. Put basically, Microsoft arrived on the scene. Marketing carnage ensued. Within two years Lotus, WordPerfect and Harvard had become little more than historical footnotes.

As always when discussing Microsoft, full credit is due. The latest version of its Office suite, Office 2000, is a damned fine product. It's based around Word, Excel, PowerPoint presentations software and Access database. Excel can as easily cope with home finances as 10-year financial projections for a international bank. Access can as easily catalogue your home CD collection as run a bought-ledger department.

The only problem is expense. Office 2000 Standard costs as much as many cheap PCs, which is absurd. How many of us pay as much for furniture as we've paid for the house? This situation has lead to many Office disks being 'borrowed' from work to be installed on home PCs - definitely illegal but residing in the moral netherworld.

There are alternatives, however. Lotus SmartSuite is one of the cheapest and most common, often coming bundled with new PCs. It provides a retirement home for Lotus 1-2-3 which, even today after several revisions, is a terrific piece of software. You also get WordPro, a sophisticated word processor, Freelance Graphics, Approach database and the Organiser scheduling software (like a Filofax on your PC). Also out there is Corel Office, which contains the latest incarnation of WordPerfect amongst other things. Small-fry like Ability Office, which are budget priced but capable, fill in the gaps.

The trouble is that these packages are not Office. And you won't believe how important this is. Do you know where to find the word count function in Corel WordPerfect? Would you know how to insert clipart using WordPro? An office suite is like beer - the first beer you drink as a teenager will probably be your lifelong favourite. And Office's ubiquity means many of us are trained in using it at work or even school. Even if you do decide to make the leap, the chances are one of your colleagues will hand you a file written in Office 2000 that your new suite won't be able to read properly.

However, just as Linux is giving Windows 98 a run for its money, a new and entirely free office suite called Star Office has been making waves. This is still being developed and has some distance to go - it has a habit of wanting to take over your PC's desktop for example, which can be irritating. But most importantly it looks, feels and operates in a way not dissimilar to Microsoft Office. Unlike SmartSuite, or Corel, it's not too proud to take the odd leaf - or branch - out of Microsoft's book. Download it for free from www.sun.com and see what you think.