Compatible with Windows, Linux and Solaris operating systems, the updated suite is based on open source technology and uses the OASIS OpenDocument file format, providing improved interoperability, according to Edward Moffat, head of desktop simplification team at Sun Microsystems Inc.“When Sun released StarOffice 7, there were a lot of changes made to address better compatibility with Microsoft Office and I think StarOffice 8 has continued with that,” Moffat said. One of the biggest areas of development has been the ability to import most Microsoft macros seamlessly, Moffat added. And although macros in the Microsoft environment are created using Visual Basic, StarOffice users are not limited to one programming language.
“You can use Javascript as well to write complex macro constructs,” he said. Other core enhancements include the ability to import password-protected MS Office 2003 documents and a database wizard making it easier to import databases like MySQL or Oracle.
Management tools
For enterprise, StarOffice 8 includes bundled management tools to simplify installation and configuration. Moffat noted that besides the low cost of this commercial office suite, an additional benefit for large companies is leveraging the legacy data created with MS Office documents when migrating to StarOffice.
Last month marked the end of a long partner program era between Sun Microsystems and its partners.
The existing iForce program was replaced with the Sun Partner Advantage Program. “It (iForce) has been in place for roughly 20 years so we wanted to revisit it and some things don’t belong in there anymore based on the new reality of our business,” said Chris Primeau, vice-president of alliances, channels and partner sales at Sun Microsystems of Canada.