It's Office....and then some!
It's Office....and then some!
Sun demonstrated in emphatic fashion that a viable alternative to Microsoft's Office software does exist during the opening morning of its SunNetwork conference, taking place in Shanghai.
President and COO, Jonathan Schwartz left delegates impressed following a demonstration of some of the functionality contained within the latest version of Sun's StarOffice Enterprise Edition Office Suite.
While the software suite has borrowed quite heavily from the layout of Microsoft's in the basic templates for word processing and spreadsheets, etc, in order to appear familiar to Windows users, it has also added new dimensions with the introduction of features such as 3D images, which can be used for a number of applications, such as virtual 360 degree views of cityscapes, as demonstrated by Schwartz with a panoramic view of host city Shanghai. Another impressive feature is the transformation of inactive windows into a translucent form, so that the user can still see what other windows they have open whilst working within a new window.
The product is also compatible with the various versions of Windows, easing interoperability issues in areas such as file sharing that has hindered StarOffice's adoption in the past.
"If you limit yourself to the innovation provided by one company, then that is not true innovation," said Schwartz of the enhancements.
Still on the subject of Microsoft, Schwartz made reference to the recent development agreement between Sun and Microsoft, which took many industry observers by surprised, such is the rancour that has existed between the two companies down the years.
"Microsoft is still very much a competitor of ours. We believe the latest version of StarOffice offers better functionality and a much more secure environment than Microsoft's offering."
Commenting on the thawing of relations between the two companies, Schwartz remarked on the now well known image of long-time Microsoft critic - and Sun CEO - Scott McNealy, apparantly sharing a joke with Microsoft chief Steve Ballmer at the announcement of the pair's new alliance.
"Scott's laughing because Steve's just told him Microsoft's going to give us $2 billion. I don't know what Steve's laughing at though," joked Schwartz.
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