“Sun Microsystems Inc.’s move to offer free Internet versions of
office programs, such as word processing and spreadsheets, could
chip away at Microsoft Corp.’s dominance of the desktop software
market, analysts said on Tuesday.”
“Sun’s move could trigger a sea change in the software industry,
with more applications and data being based on the Internet, and
managed by Internet service providers, or ISPs…”
“Still, company executives pointed to the competitive
advantages of the free StarOffice software, which has a look and
feel that is similar to Microsoft’s Office suite. Microsoft Office
currently costs from $400 to $700.
“Do I think a lot of Microsoft Office users will switch? I think
so,” said Marco Boerries, Star Division’s chief executive…”