Tools and tasks
For most people and situations, office suites are the basic tools for content creation. Arguably the most widely used of these is Office 365, which can function as an online application for sharing and collaboration or as a traditional installed programme. By combining the advantages of both approaches, it can be seen as a bridge between traditional software and the cloud. Among installed suites, LibreOffice is particularly worth mentioning, as is iWork for Apple products. As for online tools, Google Suite is undoubtedly a key player, offering very interesting collaboration and sharing options, as are its alternatives such as Zoho Office.
When it comes to individual components of an office suite, the question arises as to whether other specialised tools for creating digital objects might not be used more effectively and to a higher standard. As there are relatively few suites available and they feature fairly standardised templates, there is a significant degree of formal and aesthetic standardisation. For presentations, notable alternatives include Prezi, Haiku Deck (for iPad), Slid.es and Focusky. With the use of AI, many people now also turn to Gamma, Pitch or the versatile Canva.
When it comes to word processors, minimalist tools designed primarily for focused writing—such as FocusWriter, ZenPen or iA Writer—offer a viable alternative. The advantage is that you can concentrate solely on the text without being distracted by an unnecessarily extensive menu. The overall design is also generally more minimalist and functional. Conversely, for more extensive and structured texts, Scrivener can be used. Although primarily designed for writing prose, it can also have significantly more versatile applications. Logically, AI will be an essential aid for the majority of authors.
When it comes to spreadsheets, options include applications for statistical data processing such as QtiPlot, SciDAVis and the like. More demanding users can utilise R or Gnu Octave for more complex tasks.
A specific aspect is graphic layout, which we strongly advise against leaving to a word processor. Apart from expensive, paid-for tools such as Adobe InDesign, you can use , Scribus or Lucidpress. However, for simple layout of a poster or, for example, a social media banner, even the standard Canva is often sufficient. You can work with vector graphics in Inkscape, for example.
For photo editing, you can again turn to paid applications such as Adobe Photoshop or Adobe Photoshop Lightroom, but there are also simpler and cheaper options – ranging from robust programmes like Darkroom or the Czech Zoner Photo Studio to Pixlr on mobile phones or online. For certain tasks, Krita, GIMP or Paint.Net are also suitable.
Another interesting area is website creation, whether for personal use or for a specific project. Among the simplest (and most practical) tools is undoubtedly WordPress (or WordPress on your own domain). The new versions of Google Sites work very well, or you could opt for the Czech-based Webnode or the international platforms Weebly and Wix.
If you’d like to start a blog, there’s still a fairly wide range of services available to help you do so. Apart from the aforementioned WordPress, Tumblr is a particularly aesthetically pleasing option. For those who prefer traditional services, Blogger, WordPress and Wix are certainly suitable choices. Conversely, Ghost and Medium offer a somewhat more modern approach to blogging or publishing in general. Generally speaking, there is a noticeable shift towards social interaction between readers and authors, or an emphasis on building relationships between individual authors.
When it comes to programming, it stands to reason that one would choose a development environment suited to their preferred language – be it Eclipse or NetBeans, or perhaps some other specialised development platform. It is very practical to use services for documentation, sharing or version control, such as GitHub, during development. However, even here, we generally cannot make much progress without the support of AI tools. If you’re a fan of vibe coding, you can try AI Code Generator, Google AI Studio, Base44, Corsor or Lovable.
