Sun Misses Release Target for StarOffice 8
Update of Microsoft Office alternative now expected in September.Elizabeth Montalbano, IDG News Service
Sun Microsystems has missed its July target date for the release of its StarOffice 8 office suite, according to its Web site.
The next version of StarOffice, Sun's productivity software suite that competes with Microsoft's Office System, is not yet available, and a U.S.-based Sun spokesman Tuesday declined to reveal when it will be released.
However, an article published last week in the United Kingdom claimed that Sun plans to make StarOffice 8 available on September 12 at one of its quarterly launches. The report was based on comments made by Simon Schouten, the U.K. desktop sales manager for Sun.
According to Sun's spokesman, Schouten's remarks were inappropriate because he is not in a position to comment or have information about the release of StarOffice 8. However, the spokesman would not go so far as to say that Schouten's remarks were inaccurate.
Beta Available
In February, Sun previewed a beta release of StarOffice 8 at the Linuxworld Conference & Expo in Boston. StarOffice is based on the open-source productivity suite OpenOffice, the most stable version of which, OpenOffice 1.1.4, is currently available on the group's Web site. A beta version of the next full version of the suite, 2.0, also is available on the site (read PC World's review of the OpenOffice beta here).
Sun has made a big deal out of its customers switching from Microsoft Office to StarOffice, particularly outside of the United States. But those tables were turned recently when the Central Scotland Police decided to remove StarOffice from about 400 PCs and install Office instead, citing lower maintenance costs and the need to interoperate more smoothly with other departments running Windows.
According to Sun's Web site, the vendor will address cross-platform compatibility issues with Microsoft applications in StarOffice 8. The next version of the suite will feature better usability, enhanced manageability and more compatibility with Microsoft Office, according to Sun.