“Sun Microsystems Inc. today unveiled a suite of personal
productivity applications for thin-client devices that it will give
away for free. Called StarPortal, the suite will be available
through Web browsers and run on appliances like cell phones and
set-top boxes. The suite, to be made available in October, is based
on StarOffice software that Sun recently acquired with the purchase
of software maker Star Divison. Sun says it will make the source
code available to any vendor who follows some simple rules about
compatibility.
“If Sun has its way, StarPortal will become the dominant
network-based source for office applications such as word
processing, graphic presentations, and spreadsheets. All
intelligence will reside on servers, which can eventually be
systems beyond Sun Solaris, as vendors create their own solutions
based on the source code. StarOffice already runs on Linux,
Windows, Solaris, and OS/2 platforms, and Sun will add Java support
to make the software even more portable. It also currently shares
file formats with Microsoft applications like Exchange and
PowerPoint.
“Microsoft Office, which is currently the dominant corporate
office suite, is not in Sun’s cross hairs–yet…”