[ Thanks to Tom
Tiller for this link. ]
“StarOffice is an unremarkable suite of applications that
closely mimics but isn’t quite as good as Microsoft Office. Yet if
Marco Boerries of Sun Microsystems has his way, it could play a key
role in changing the way we use software.”
“Boerries, a 31-year-old German expatriate, sees the day fast
approaching when people no longer will need software installed on
their personal computers. Instead, they’ll simply go online–with a
PC, Internet appliance or handheld device–and use the word
processor, spreadsheet or presentation software that’s sitting on
the server waiting for them. Documents, calendars, to-do lists and
bookmarks all will be instantly available anywhere they go.”
“Nothing special about that. In fact, it’s the basis for the
concept of application service providers, which is catching on fast
throughout the industry. But Boerries has a clear advantage
over other software makers because he’s been developing an ASP
model for productivity applications for three years–longer than
the term ASP has been around–and he’s almost ready to make it a
reality with StarPortal, the online version of
StarOffice.”