Sun introduces new version of StarOffice software

Sun will be promoting the enhanced product in a series of customer engagement events across the region in November, aiming to capitalize on strong demand for enhanced office software.

In additions to powerful word processing, spreadsheet, presentation, drawing and database capabilities, StarOffice 8 software is the first commercial office suite using the Open Document Format for Office Applications, the OASIS open standard that makes sharing files easier. Based on open source technology, OpenOffice.org, StarOffice 8 runs on Windows, Linux and Solaris operating systems. The suite is comprised of five key components: StarOffice Writer, Impress, Calc, Base and Draw.

"The StarOffice 8 software not only allows users to transparently read and write files in Microsoft Office formats, its new default OpenDocument file format ensures their data won't be bound to a single product, now or in the future," said John Loiacono, Executive Vice President, Software Group, Sun Microsystems. "With our expanding base of software publishers, StarOffice 8 software is easily accessible to cost-conscious customers at retail locations around the world and on the Web. This is part of our overall effort to ensure all customers -- from students to governments to enterprises -- have access to information in an open, secure and freely available fashion independent of any vendor or product."

StarOffice software provides excellent compatibility with Microsoft Office. StarOffice 8 software further improves import and export of Word, Excel and PowerPoint documents, even password-protected MS Word and MS Excel files and presentations with complex animations, autoshapes and slide transitions. StarOffice 8 software also provides features that look more familiar to Microsoft Office users. The Format Paintbrush allows simple transfer of styles from one section of a document to another, and the Impress multi-pane user interface simplifies creation of high-impact presentations.

"The Middle East has been working hard to reduce software piracy and one of the main hindrances to this has been the complaint that software is too expensive. Star Office is a real alternative, being 50 percent cheaper than other software packages. It is also Arabic-enabled and neatly fits the local requirements," said Graham Porter, marketing manager, Sun Microsystems MENA.

"As the number of operating systems available in the regional market grows, the attractiveness of Star Office as compared to competitors has increased because of the compatibility and flexibility of the package. Star Office 8 works on Windows, Linux and Sun's recently Open Sourced Solaris OS, on either Sun's SPARC processors or x86/x64 based systems," he added.

StarOffice 8 Enterprise Edition software builds on the OpenOffice.org code base by simplifying configuration across desktops enterprise-wide with its bundled management tools. Using built-in MS Office file analyzer, users are better able to manage migration from Microsoft Office. StarOffice 8 software includes a Macro Migration Wizard to convert VBA macros, a commercial spellchecker, the Adabas D database engine and additional clip art, fonts and templates on top of OpenOffice.org.