“At first glance, StarOffice looks like a case of Sun
Microsystems trying to beat Microsoft at its own game.”
“Dig a little deeper, though, and you’ll find that Sun
believes its free, downloadable office software, and an upcoming
portal that lets workers tap into their company network from any
Internet-connected computer, will do no less than revolutionize the
way the world computes….“
“Unlike conventional software contained on a CD, StarOffice
“lives” on large servers. At the Sun site, www.sun.com, consumers
and businesses can download the 65 megabyte file using a standard
Internet browser. The StarPortal, due late this summer, will take
the concept one step farther. Like Internet-based e-mail, users
will go to the site, type in a user name and password, and
manipulate corporate files all on the server. For instance, a
traveling salesperson could log onto the company network via a PC
sitting in a client’s conference room and pull up a presentation.
No more software to install or even download.”