“The StarPortal initiative, based on Sun’s StarOffice suite of
productivity applications, is still on track despite a confusing
company report issued Tuesday… The report stated that early
access, or beta, versions of StarPortal would not be available
until an unspecified time next year. But the spokeswoman
confirmed that the suite would indeed be available in beta this
fall, as originally promised, with a final version due next
spring.
Several ASP and ISP heavyweights have joined the StarPortal
initiative, including AT&T Internet Services, Earthlink/Sprint,
US West and Corio Inc. However, to date, Sun has not officially
signed any hosting agreements. Meanwhile, Microsoft and Corel this
week concluded agreements with hosting companies to get their
productivity suites online in pilot phases now.”
“On Tuesday, Sun said that more than 1 million copies of the
StarOffice 5.1 suite had been downloaded since August and more than
500,000 had been bundled with a variety of PC and Linux
manufacturers and distributors.”