Sun Microsystems has updated its Star Office free office productivity software suite Q&A page to read:

"StarOffice 5.2 software is not available on the MAC OS. We are targeting availability by summer 2001."

This undescores what was affirmed in an interview with StarOffice spokespersons published in November on the Spanish Mac Website, Macuarium, entitled "An inside look at StarOffice for Mac."

Macuarium also noted that the Mac version is not being developed through the Open Source part of the StarOffice initiative but as a regular StarOffice product.

Highlights of the Macuarium interview:

• The current target shipping date for StarOffice Mac is June, 2001. It is based on the next version of StarOffice and is being created for OS X using Cocoa.

• Sun is working with Apple in several areas to ensure that StarOffice best meets the needs of Apple customers.

• Info on the Mac porting project can be found at: http://porting.openoffice.org/

StarOffice, recently released in version 5.2, is a full-featured, cross-platform, interoperable, and cost-effective office productivity suite. Sun is making StarOffice 5.2 software available for free as an optimum solution for enterprises, small businesses, and home users who need access to a full-featured office

StarOffice 5.2 is currently available in versions supporting Windows, OS/2, Linux, Solaris, Java, and soon the Mac OS (there was StarOffice 4, which was developed before Sun purchased the software suite from its former developers), the StarOffice suite is a one-stop answer to MS Office.

Like MS Office, Star Office comes with a word processor, a spreadsheet program, a presentation program, a draw module, a data base program, a calendar, an e-mail program, and a Web browser. It is arguable that none of these applications are as good as the corresponding ones in MS Office, but they are more than functional enough for the typical Office user, and cost nothing.

The StarOffice suite consists of:
• ; StarOffice Writer - word processing
• ; StarOffice Calc - spreadsheet
• ; StarOffice Impress - presentation software
• ; StarOffice Draw and StarOffice Image - graphics software
• ; StarOffice Schedule - calendaring
• ; StarOffice Mail - e-mail
• ; StarOffice Base - database interface
• ; StarOffice Discussion - newsreader
• ; StarOffice Math - formula software
• ; StarOffice Workplace - desktop environment

The word processor module, Star Writer, can open, edit and save Microsoft Word files, handle Word's paragraph styles, numbered paragraphs, bulleted lists, and many other formats. You can also create tables, set bookmarks, and create footnotes. with, as Sun puts it, "Microsoft office Interoperability -- seamless and transparent migration and exchange of word processing, spreadsheet, and presentation files."

New in StarOffice 5.2:
• Improved Microsoft Office file import and export, including support for Microsoft Office 2000 features
• More industry standards, such as ODBC3, Active Data Objects (ADO), HTML, and RTF import/export support, IMAP4, XML ICAL, and CDE import/export support
• Improved performance and reliability, especially on the Solaris platform
• Significantly reduced presentation file size
• New compress feature allows presentations to be compressed and saved across multiple disks
• New StarOffice Player gives you on-the-go presentations without having to install the entire StarOffice suite
• New graphics features enable you to create and edit sophisticated vector graphics, including 3-D
• New distribution options enable you to distribute your graphics evenly across defined areas or relative to the slide margins
• New merge, subtract, and intersect functions let you create complex shapes by combining, subtracting, or intersecting two or more shapes
• Direct manipulation of gradients and transparency gives you precise, easy-to-use control for beautiful end results
• Create compelling 3D text and shapes with just a mouse click
• New database engine available on Microsoft Windows, Solaris SPARC[tm], and Linux platforms
• Increased localization now includes Danish, Polish, and Russian
• Webcast support with AutoPilot ease for Web-based conferencing with your presentation
• Enhanced layout options in StarOffice Writer
• Revamped and extended indexing for long, complex documents
• WYSIWYG font selection
• New and expanded hyperlink options
• Complete translation of all end-user documentation and product help into English

Why should users consider Star Office as an alternative to Microsoft's hegemonistic MS Office suite when the cyber-world is littered with failed attempts from contenders like Lotus and WordPerfect to slay the Microsoft Office software suite dragon? Sun addresses that query thus:

"This isn't about Sun offering the market yet another productivity suite. Sun has a solid track record of understanding and capitalizing on the Internet community as a new way of building and deploying software and changing the business model for how software is used. With StarOffice 5.2 software, Sun is changing the way people will buy, use, deploy, and develop personal productivity applications. By providing robust Microsoft filters, we give users the choice of staying with Microsoft Office, if they prefer. StarOffice will ensure their files are accessible and editable from anywhere, at anytime using StarOffice or StarPortal services. StarOffice embraces and extends the functionality our customers currently have with Microsoft Office."

Sun is also taking Star Office open source with three initiatives:
• Sun will offer the StarOffice 5.2 binary code for free download to anyone
• Sun will publish the StarOffice 5.2 specifications
• Sun will offer the StarOffice source code

Not being a Microsoft Office fan, I am personally looking forward to the release of Star Office for the Mac.

For more information, visit:
http://www.sun.com/staroffice/

Charles W. Moore

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