Sun have announced the release of Star Office #8.

ALthough not freeware, it is a damn sight cheaper ($60 -$100 AUS) than Microsft, and a bit better than it's freeware competitor Open Office I have to admit.

Well, #7 was, I haven't actually managed to check out #8 yet, but when I do so I will give you a report if you like.

Well, unless alternative office and word processing software can give me a really compelling reason(s) to try them out, there is not really any real incentive for me to switch over from Microsoft's products. Almost everybody else used Microsoft Office when i was using OpenOffice, and I switched back to MS products quite soon after.

Yes, I know what you mean, I have trouble sometimes because at home I use Open Office, but at work I have to use M/S, and occasionally they don't gell too well.

However, for small business and home use, I think paying a small fortune for M/S Office is silly when you can get either Star for a small amount or Open for free.

Isn't StarOffice and OpenOffice from the same company? They both support each other's file formats and both use Java.

StarOffice is also featured on the OpenOffice.org website.

Hmm...I believe StarOffice uses OpenOffice's code but then they improved on it with their own additions. I also believe that StarOffice is Sun's proprietary service, unlike OpenOffice, which is free. I think Sun originally bought the StarOffice license because they were looking for a way to compete with Microsoft. At some point, they offered StarOffice as a free download, but of course that's all gone now.

That being said, I don't think I'd want to switch out of Microsoft's Office Suite now. Sure, I may not like Microsoft's business habits, but I have to admit that it's Office Suite is great, and I couldn't live very long without it. Also, I wish OpenOffice.org could offer their downloads separately so that I can download one thing (say Calc) without getting the rest (the package is HUGE!)

Didn't you read the FAQ?
Yes, if I could, I would only download OpenOffice.org Writer. I don't need the other programs, maybe Calc, but that's about it.

Downloading only 1 program costs about 60-70MB, why not download the whole thing? That is what was said in the FAQ.

Anyways, StarOffice is commercial while OpenOffice.org is free and open-source.

for home computing
Star Office 8

Yup. I totally agree with pomjim. Had bought a new desktop computer with windows vista home basic installed. 60 days later, microsoft office suite had expired. Had no idea it was just on a 'trial' basis. And to continue using the office suite, I had to register online and purchase the suite. Had no time to take the trip to the local computer shop and at that time, was strapped for cash. But in immediate need to do some home computing jobs (mostly typing and simple spreadsheet work) I tried surfing the internet for freeware software that at least might help me get through that day. Wasn't expecting much out of the search but then thank God for people who thought of and worked on OpenOffice. Bless their hearts for making the software free! people like them are a God-sent. Although they say nowadays, things aren't all for free, I'm glad some things--important things--still are ;-) since downloading OpenOffice about 6 months ago, there'd be no need for me to spend on MS Office because OpenOffice suits my personal home computing needs. It's all a matter of personal choice. And what suits you. For now, it's openoffice suite for me :-D



-reply by tamper