Sun StarOffice 8

List Price: $79.99 Discount Price: $87.90

Features:

• Complete, fully integrated office productivity suite
• Word processing, spreadsheets, databases, PDF export, and more
• Multiplatform; based on open standards; compatible with MS Office files
• Easily share documents with people using popular applications
• Plus, Mozilla Firefox Web browser and Mozilla Thunderbird email client

Customer Reviews:

This is great! [Posted on 2007-04-11]
This is a great program. It has saved time, money, and is so easy to use. You get an entire office suite.

GREAT program = Microsoft Office Replacement [Posted on 2007-07-10]
I have used Microsoft Office 2000 for years. Since the latest Open Office or Star Office has become completely dependable I have switched and had NO Problems that were not covered in the Forums or web site.
There are video's and everything you need to learn and use this program. It's much more simple to use than Microsoft's program.
TO THE BAD REVIEWER: If you had checked out the forums you would have known to check the fonts & border sizes to fix your problem. It's much easier to do that, than to pay Microsoft for support or look through a 500 page manual on MS Office. The learning curve is much shorter & flater for Star Office or Open Office than MS Office. All questions I've asked in the forums were answered within 24 hours.

Installation issues with Linux 64 bit [Posted on 2007-08-19]
I had purchased this product with great expectations. Like many other user's I have made attempts to remove myself from the MS$ products. Unfortunately there appears to be an issue with installing this on some Linux 64 bit systems. I am running SUSE version 10.2 and I am unable to successfully install this product. I would have thought with the latest version of SUSE and the latest version of Star Office 8 these types of issues would have been resolved in the beta process. I have found many forums out there where users have bumped into the same thing, however I have not found any solution. At this point in time it appears I have spent the money but will not have a useable product.
I will be contacting StarOffice support to see if it can be worked out, if it can be, and they produce a product that can be installed for everyone of all operating systems, I will be more than happy to update my review. For now, depending on what you are running proceed with caution.

100% [Posted on 2007-08-29]
After years of frustration and disapointment with Microsoft Office Software I've changed over to Star Office from Sun Microsystems and I'm very happy. It is easy to use, stable and safe. It works with all files and it's loaded with lots of goodies. Enjoy!

The choice isn't all that complicated [Posted on 2008-01-09]
I have been using StarOffice in a school environment for many years. I am the only island of StarOffice in a sea of Microsoft. After getting used to Star Office, I have been unbelievably pleased to have made this choice. But even with my evangelical attitude, I've had others turn their nose up at the prospect. The following paragraphs are my observations and thoughts about this issue as you consider making the switch.

First thing to ask yourself is whether or not StarOffice is right for you. StarOffice is free for schools (where I work) but as you can see here on Amazon, there is a price for others use the software. My most hearty recommendation to anyone willing to consider making this transition to an alternative productivity suite would be to opt for OpenOffice rather than StarOffice or MS Office. Why? Because OpenOffice (usually known as OO) is pretty much the equal of StarOffice and it is available at no charge. You simply visit the OO website and download the installer. Mac? Sure. Windows? Of course. Linux? What else? I am not at all clear why would anyone prefer StarOffice when they could use OpenOffice at no charge. I suppose part of the answer is that with StarOffice you can get a technical support person on the phone. For me, that isn't worth much. But maybe for others this is significant.

The second question to ask your self is how tolerant are you of inconveniences? By that I mean that StarOffice and OO, while pretty well the equal of the fine MS product, don't look and feel the quite the same as MS Office. That isn't to say they're whacky or poorly laid out... they just reflect a different (though still highly professional and logical) design layout. And let's be honest, MS Office is slick, cool, pretty, and well accepted.

The inconvenience crops up as you learn the program. You learn the menus, the helper icons, the general look and feel. But if you remember when you first started using MS Office, you had this learning curve to traverse as well. And, since there weren't any other options, that's what we all did. That (the new look) seems to be the biggest hindrance. I don't mean to sound petty or cynical, but my experience is that most users aren't willing to actually accept even the mild inconveniences of finding things in different menus. That, my friends, is a tragedy. But all too real I'm afraid. You see, they already know the MS product and anything else is treated with at least skepticism if not suspicion. After all, why is this person so adamant about this other software? It seems almost like Amway if you know what I mean. And as soon as they can't do a search and replace, they throw their hands up. Be honest, if this describes you, so be it. Stick with MS, pay the money, and get on with your life. You'll be OK (so will Bill Gates). But you'll be missing out. If you are willing to be flexible, learn that there's more than one way to skin a cat, then I can tell you that your world is going to change. Throw of the shackles that MS has put on you without you even knowing it. Honestly, OO and StarOffice are absolutely able to virtually everything you'll ever want and more. Really.

So where was I? Oh yes, probably lost most readers by now but I'll wrap up here... the third thing to consider is how much is your time worth. If you cannot afford any "down time" as you learn a new way of word processing, then really there's no alternative. MS Office changes from version to version, but it is a gradual change. And something that you have in common with the others in your work area. So you'll have company along the way - just don't lose sight of how much you are paying for that security.

Try OpenOffice for a while. Don't be afraid to use google when you're stuck. There is, now, a published book for OpenOffice and I saw a magazine at the store targetted to OpenOffice users. We'll never take over the world, but we might make a difference. That's all I really want to do. Live a little more frugally so that my time and money can go for the most important things. C'mon. Free yourself and join the club. It is worth it.

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