The maturity of OpenOffice is fast winning over many of those still deep-rooted in a Microsoft Office way of working, and while this latest release isn't likely to tip too many more over the edge, it's a further move forward in the quest to be accepted as the legitimate alternative that it already is.

OpenOffice 2.4 is the last update to the 2.x development line of the software, before it moves on to a full version 3 later in the year. Version 3 looks interesting, too: that's when support for Microsoft Office 2007 is said to be integrated into the software (something that even early versions of Microsoft's own Office tool don't offer by default!), along with PDF importing facilities and a few other progressions.

It's still worth downloading and giving version 2.4 a spin, though. For those new to the software, OpenOffice is a fully featured office suite that brings together a word processor (Writer), spreadsheet (Calc), presentation package (Impress), database tool (Base), a scientific formula creator (Math) and a drawing program (er, Draw).

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It's a comprehensive toolset, and a capable one. In fact, taken in isolation, OpenOffice is genuinely a package that ticks the vast majority of boxes for the standard home office. However, the key problem it's continually faced has been one of compatibility, particularly with its Microsoft rival, and the problems do still exist here to an extent. Version 2.4 improves the crossover with Microsoft's Access, but there are still - as you'd probably guessed by now - problems, particularly with the 2007 editions of MS Office.

But generally things are far better than you'd expect in that department. Our macro-heavy test spreadsheet created in an earlier version of Excel fared surprisingly well (once we'd altered the default security options), and the main problem was that it took OpenOffice a little longer to work its way around it than the Microsoft application. And to be fair, as OpenOffice evolves, more product compatibility is finding its way into the suite, with an assortment of import and export options in each of the component programs.

The fact that version 2.4 is a mild update rather than an overhaul means that the functionality of the suite hasn't changed dramatically since we last reviewed it, save for a collection of bug fixes and slight improvements behind the scenes. The crucial factor here, though, is that it's a rounded, comprehensive and strong piece of software, and one of the finest products of the open source movement. That it's free of charge is remarkable, and the early pointers are that version three will be even more interesting and competitive.

A brilliant office suite: it has the odd rough edge but nonetheless seamlessly does the job of far more expensive alternatives. And it's getting better all the time.