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Mac StarOffice in development
ChrisRijk writes "According to this MacWeek article Sun has started work on a port, though time-frame
is currently unknown. After Sun made StarOffice freely downloadable
for anyone (1.2M downloads so far) they got 6000 calls asking for a Mac
port. They also mention that Sun has doubled the number of engineers working
on StarOffice. Current StarOffice ports are Solaris (x86 and SPARC), Linux (x86 only), Windows and OS/2 in several languages.
"
Different languages? Does this mean they have several versions for different langauges? Why not just support internationalization through gettext?
Hopefully, if they're porting to MacOS, that means there will soon be a port to GNU/Linux on the PowerPC. I hate it when companies decide to port to only one Linux architecture(i386) and not to the other popular hardware architectures (like mine). Oh well.
is for the Sun engineers to show us what they are made of. now if they were worth their wieght in code they would un-bloat Star-Office a tad. There is no way that Star Office cant be optimized or reworked so that it can run faster, with a smaller resident memory size. You would think with 1.2 Million downloads in 3 months that Sun would do a little alchemy and turn their iron into gold.
"The importance of using technology in the right way has never been more clear."
"1.2M downloads so far...."
And Quake3DemoTest had over a million downloads within 3 days of release? Something's wrong here....
Pablo Nevares, "the freshmaker".
Pablo Nevares, "the freshmaker".
Rip out their "desktop" - I have a desktop. I just want to start a plain word processor/spreadsheet/presentation program - not a new desktop
Reduce the memory usage. How comes that just starting the StarOffice "desktop" takes 64MB? Even EMACS takes less memory with the usual modes loaded (GNUS, AUC-tex,....)
Make their postscript-engine work with color on Unix. Yes, I had to make slides regularly this spring for teaching. On occation, StarOffice would drop colors on parts of my slides (no, it's not a memory problem in the printer). The routine of making slides in Linux, walking to a co-workers Windows-box and use the Windows version to generate valid postscript then walk back to Linux to print quickly got tireing. Ohh, and when it's working in Linux they may be able to patch the Solaris version too...I had the same problems with Sparc/Solaris
Otherwise, I like StarOffice (well...I've mainly used their presentation-graphics proggie). It is a pretty decent program, doesn't crash and has a nice set of features. Fix the above and it's worth every $$.
-- "Life is a bitch - and she hates me..."
Star Office is released under a license Sun claims is Open Source, correct? I am well aware that it does not really meet the standards of Open Source software, but in theory Sun is supposed to make the source code available under their own license, correct?
So where is the source code? I use Linux on an Alpha platform and would like to run Star Office, if only to read the Word documents that people
tend to like mailing out these days. If the source was out there, I think compiling it would be trivial. However, a scan of Sun's site does not show it up anywhere obvious.
Anyone have an explanation?
Just my thoughts.
1. Release Star Office in a gpl like license. (It will never be true GPL, to much politics) The license should allow it to be ported freely to any platform, and allow code be used for other projects, but at the same time, allowing SUN to have control of there "offical" source, to make releases and to provide "supported versions". It's already free for anybody to use, so code sharing and code ports aren't that bad, just not supported by SUN. (Big woop).
2. Staroffice (as posted by another person) should have the fat trimmed. Makeing several indepent apps vs one whole big thing. Make it more like MS office, which allows you to run winword, or excel vs Office, in general. (But you could if you wanted to, run the Staroffice Shell, which I have fount great for X Workstations connected to the main server.)
4. If StarOffice was more free to do things with the source (less restrictive) then some good hacks would work on it, port it, tweak it, make it faster, and possibly make it a very good product. (Ties in with 1)
E. Port it to Qt/KDE libs? Or am I dreaming?
http://www.freebsd.org
Anyone have any technical info on StarOffice, like what language it is written in, and more importantly, does it use some sort of porting kit to make it cross platform (this might explain its bloat)?
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In a real emergency, we would have all fled in terror, and you would not have been notified.
No I want more features instead, why would I want a small, compact usfull program, when I can have a wordprocessor with built in file system. How about "Now with embeded Linux kernel!" You could use your star office desktop as a virtual machine upon which to launch many other copies of other operating systems
</SARCASM>
I've got a feeling that the developers will want to add more features to compete with MS office, rather than reduce the code size.
People need to change their focus from features to solid code. Thats what Linux has got a good balance of. Maybe open source (proper open source, not the SCSL) would help, maybe it wouldn't. I'm sure that star office is more complicated than Mozila.
I think that open source would help, evenutally, maybe they could just release the source code now, and then carry on developing their version. Why not? I bet they want to concentrate on the star portloo anyway, so why not do that.
-- Hulver's site
...that one day, soon, I will be able to work in an environment free from Microsoft products.
When I chose my OS, I looked at Windows, Mac and Linux. Windows was flawed in so many ways, and "Linux is only free if your time is worth nothing", so naturally I chose the Mac. When it came to choosing applications, Wordperfect seemed reasonable, but now they haven't updated Wordperfect for Mac in almost 2 years, and to maintain compatibility with others, I was forced to use MS Word. When it comes to spreadsheets, I never even had a choice. Excel has 95% marketshare on the Mac, and nobody wants to challenge that.
When Sun's new Office suite comes out, I will be the first on my block to install and use it. If it holds up after a month or so, I will comfortably remove the last remaining traces of MS from my hard drive, and what a glorious day that will be.
Reality has a liberal bias
I don't care, I'll take it. I'll pay money for it. I'll let them screw me with the license. I'll tolerate the bloat. I'll let them fill up my RAM until it chokes. I don't care. I run MacOS and LinuxPPC, and I am desperate. I have to have a program, any program, that will satisfy the endless, arrogant and incessant demands for Word-compatible documents to which I am constantly subjected.
.docs they send me, but the results look like sheep dip.
I got an old version of ClarisWorks pre-installed on the MacOS side, and it's perfectly fine with me, because I Just Don't Care (TM) about all the feature bloat that most Office suites supply. Once in a while, I need to cut a letter to the utility company or some damn thing. I want to type it up, print it, and stuff it an envelope. Cheap, ratty software is all I need for that.
But when I want to send someone a document electronically, or they want to send one to me, almost everyone expects MICROSOFT WORD !!! People treat me like a circus freak when I tell them I don't have it (and don't want it). I've met people who literally cannot conceive of a computer that doesn't have MS Office anywhere on it. I try to use RTF translators, or use the built-in filters in ClarisWorks to read the
Of course, the ideal solution to this nonsense would be to end these proprietary formats and establish industry norms for document exchange. You know, like they've had in normal industries for decades. But then, that would mean that the software industry would have to become normal. Oh well.
So beat me, whip me, feature-bloat me, take my money, exhaust my RAM, and license me into slavery, but just gimme StarOffice for the Mac and make the pain go away.
Always keep a sapphire in your mind
There actually was a StarOffice port for MacOS, but that was a long time ago.
If you got one of the very first Power Macs, actually, the System Software CD came with a bunch of software demos. One of these was for StarOffice, which (incidentally) was the first PowerPC-native word processor (you only got StarWriter; I don't know what happened to the rest of it).
It was fully payware on the Mac side, unfortunately; no "free for non-commercial use." And the word processor alone was $200. And I suppose I should point out that it was never all that stable, and the interface wasn't that great. That's probably why it never caught on with Macs. In the end, StarDivision stopped developing their MacOS port (after version 3.0 if I'm not mistaken). It's good to see them coming back to the Mac again. Though I'd be happier if there were a LinuxPPC port too.
You may be interested to know that they (Sun) are working to make StarOffice's file format use XML. It doesn't have 100% "Word" file support (because Microsoft doesn't give out enough info - hint hint to DoJ) but they're working on it...
There should be a choice for the desktop office software on the Mac. Without office software, Apple loses another niche market (corporate marketroids). Even if there is choice, there won't be any *competition*. It's a money sinkhole for Sun, and Microsoft would rather write for its own OS. They will quickly try to find ways of getting their respective users onto different platforms they have already ported to. Don't expect either company to bend over backwards making the Mac version much better.
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I'm surprised Sun didn't do this before -- they always like to try stepping on Microsoft toes (then whine when they get beaten up).
--
E2 IN2 IE?
There are a lot of very stupid dependencies on undocumented "features" in Star Office. If they worked on getting rid of those they would do wonders to improve their stability and portability...
Regards,
Ben
My usual seat in the cluetrain is at A HREF="http://pub4.ezboard.com/biwethey.ht
StarPortal will have a Java client, but that software's not even in beta yet...
I've been a staroffice user since the 4.X versions. I still have the ability to boot windows NT in vmware and run MSOffice, but staroffice and xlHtml and wvHtml pretty much take care of my basic needs to decrypt email attachments.
.staroffice dir under ~ if it doesn't exist. There shouldn't be a need for running "setup /net" for multiuser install. Make staroffice understand symlinks.
Sun needs to fix the following issues with staroffice IMHO:
1) release the stardivision windows -> unix/win/os2 porting kit under GPL. It could have been used by so many projects already to bring more windows software to unix. I believe it's only used for StarOffice currently, and Sun wants to re-do staroffice as a portal... Sun PLEASE GIVE THIS BACK TO THE COMMUNITY AS GPL. Give it to WINE!
2) make staroffice a true multiuser app. Ever try to install SO on an nfs server and have a few dozen people access it? Too hard. SO should *automatically* create a
3) make staroffice able to import powerpoint 95 and excel spreadsheets generated from excel 95 with Excel 97 compat patch installed.
4) release frequently. Re-build binaries when necessary to support newer kernels. Build for lots of different platforms.
5) make the "staroffice takes over your unix desktop and makes it look like win95" an option that is not enabled by default
6) make it possible to do a non-graphical install.
7) prove your committment to the unix community by making staroffice a true competitor to MSOffice, not just "the only game in town"
Don't forget there's a quick way to read those dirty MS word documents instantly from the command line:
strings documentname.doc | less
or direct it into a file into your favorite editor or word processor:
strings documentname.doc > newdocumentname.txt
Its great for reading resumes and cover letters too, since word documents often include previous junk from a memory scratch buffer during quicksaves. What this means is that previous revisions that the author had not intended might unintentionaly show up for your viewing in the final.
I wonder how StarOffice will compete with AppleWorks 6, which is already in development and has a large feature set. In fact, looks like the thing is fully Carbon-compliant and is portable between 9.x and X. Check out the new features (although I dislike some of the MS Office-like "enhancements"):
AppleInsider article on upcoming AppleWorks 6.0 suite
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Linux user: if (nt == unstable) { switchTo.linux() }
Those who laugh at you for you having a Mac.. are the people who constantly call you to fix their PC.
i>Rip out their "desktop" - I have a desktop. I just want to start a plain word processor/spreadsheet/presentation program - not a new desktop
Exactly. My one and only complaint about StarOffice.
Well, actually, I hate the "Windowsizing" it does inside of there as well. I have my "close window" button on the left in KDE. It makes much more sense to me, even though I have never used a Mac in my life.
I can live with it though. StarOffice is an extremely well-polished office package.
Just let the WM do the WM work, and I'll be very happy.
This has been my experience as well. My girlfriend was (at first) happy to have a non-MS office suite; she even preferred StarOffice's word processor to Word. Unfortunately, it would crash regularly, and she lost work on more than one occasion. Until Sun increases the stability of StarOffice, she will be forced to use Word instead.
Although I have the Linux version on my own machine, I haven't used it enough to comment on how often it crashes. (Who needs a word processor when you have LaTex?)