“Sun Microsystems will open the source code of its Star Office
software Wednesday under a generally accepted licensing method, but
a major new version of the product has been delayed. The office
application suite–which includes a word processor, spreadsheet and
other programs–competes with Microsoft Office. But Sun has more of
its attention focused on a future version that will run on central
servers, with users tapping in over the Internet using PCs,
handheld gadgets or other types of clients.”
“This Web-enabled version, called Star Portal, was expected this
spring but now won’t arrive until fall, spokesman Russ Castronovo
said. The new version currently is in beta testing, he said.”
“Sun will release the desktop version under the Gnu General
Public License and its relative, the Library General Public
License, a source familiar with the plan said. The two
licenses, created by Richard Stallman and the Free Software
Foundation, are the bedrock of many open-source projects, including
Linux. The release is timed to occur at the same time as the
O’Reilly Open Source Convention in Monterey, Calif.”