Entered CNET Catalog: 10/17/2003
SKU: 1-892488-43-4
Manufacturer: Sun Microsystems Inc.
Manufacturer description
StarOffice 7 Office Suite is the world's leading office productivity suite on Linux and the Solaris OS, and the leading alternative office suite on Windows. StarOffice software is affordable, easy to use, and based on open standards. It offers word processing, spreadsheet, presentation, drawing, and database capabilities. Its familiar interface enables quick productivity and results for the business user, and elegant output for the consumer. StarOffice 7 software adds functionality to enable export to PDF, and to the Macromedia Flash format. It also introduces the new StarOffice Configuration Manager, the StarOffice Software Development Kit, a macro recorder, and support for assistive technologies, as well as for complex text layouts.CNET editors' review
- Editors' Choice: No
- Reviewed on: 06/22/2004
After installation, StarOffice places its Quickstarter icon in the Taskbar tray, making it easy to launch a job, such as writing a document, by right-clicking the icon and selecting one of several choices from a pop-up menu: Text Document, Spreadsheet, Presentation, and so on.
Microsoft Office has its wizards, but StarOffice 7.0 has AutoPilots to step you through common tasks, such as creating a presentation.
Microsoft and WordPerfect Office users won't have much trouble mastering StarOffice's interface, which provides the usual assortment of menus and toolbars. Wizards (or as StarOffice calls them, AutoPilots) step you through common chores, such as building a Web page, a presentation, or a report. StarOffice 7.0 lacks the slickness of WordPerfect Office 12.0, however, which eases the transition for Microsoft Office users by providing optional interfaces that mimic Microsoft's icons and keystroke commands.
We like the tight integration of StarOffice's program modules. For instance, if you're working on a spreadsheet in Calc and want to write an accompanying text document, you simply select File, New-Text, and Document from the program menu; the Writer word processor then launches it in a separate window. Version 7.0's interface also allows you to publish PDF files from within any StarOffice program--a great tool for educators who frequently distribute Adobe Acrobat documents. Sun Microsystems StarOffice 7.0's core applications--Writer (word processor), Calc (spreadsheet), Impress (presentation maker), Draw (drawing), and Adabas D (database)--are great for most home, student, or small-office tasks. Don't let the price fool you; this is a full-fledged office suite. You can easily create 3D charts for spreadsheet data, spruce up presentations with video and audio, and create Web pages with the AutoPilot tool. Another plus: StarOffice uses XML file formats (also supported by Microsoft and Corel) that keep file sizes small and allow easy portability across multiple operating systems, including Linux, Solaris, and Windows.
StarOffice 7.0 makes it easy to convert files to the ubiquitous Acrobat format. Simply click the PDF icon on the Function toolbar.
Dig deeper, though, and StarOffice 7.0's limitations become apparent. For instance, it comes with a scaled-down version of Adabas D that restricts each database's file size to 100MB and caps the number of networked users at three. Also, the pathname can't exceed 40 characters, and the name of an Adabas file can't exceed 8--a throwback to the DOS era of indecipherable filenames and a true limitation in an office environment. Version 7.0 also lacks e-mail and PIM software, whereas Microsoft Office includes Outlook.
Another caveat: If you frequently exchange PowerPoint and Excel documents with Microsoft Office users, StarOffice probably isn't for you. Like WordPerfect Office 12.0, StarOffice is weak at importing these file formats. For instance, Excel macros won't work in the Calc spreadsheet, but we had better success converting Word files. In our tests, Word documents for the most part retained their original appearance, with only an occasional lost font or formatting change.
StarOffice 7.0 is still a good buy, however, because it costs so little and provides the core functionality that most users need. A home or small-office user can download the program for only $79.95 and run it on up to five PCs that belong to the same user. Students and educators get it for free, although they'll have to pay for tech support (see the Service and support section). By contrast, the academic version of Microsoft Office costs about $150, and a similar version of WordPerfect Office runs about $100. Trade-offs? Sure. But at this price, we're not complaining. Technical support is where StarOffice shines. Sun Microsystems provides 60 days of free phone (via a toll-free number) and e-mail support, which is quite generous for a bargain program. Corel, by contrast, doesn't offer any free phone support for WordPerfect Office 12.0 customers. Microsoft Office users get just two complimentary e-mail or phone questions. After Sun's grace period, however, e-mail and phone support options aren't cheap: $20 per e-mail query and $25 per phone session (via toll-free number). The good news is that the hours for phone and e-mail support are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. in all time zones, so you don't have to wake up early or stay up late waiting for support hours.
Sun Microsystems' support site provides plenty of tips and troubleshooting advice for StarOffice 7.0 users.
We were impressed with Sun's technical support. In our tests, wait times for phone support were less than a minute, and the technicians were polite and knowledgeable. In two instances, our e-mail queries were answered in less than an hour--an astoundingly short response time in an industry where a 24-hour turnaround is standard. Typically, Sun promises a 24-to-48-hour turnaround on e-mail queries, with a guarantee that it will not exceed 56 hours.
Don't want to pay for support? Sun's Web site offers a number of free and helpful resources, such as an online knowledge base and community forums.
User opinions
Select a User Opinion to view: 1 2 3 4
User Rating: 
8/10
SO is a commercial-grade office suite
Pros: Open XML format (it's a .zip file) & PDF export; Excel & Word compatibility; UI is more configurable than MS Office; Nice ODBC data browser and form-builder interface; good performance after initial load
Cons: Some complex MS Word docs (with lots of form elements) won't import well; ODBC (database) form builder needs some work - a bit buggy - lookups don't insert a seperate value & crashes here and there; considerably slower to load program initially than M
Review:
User Rating: 8/10
OpenOffice.org is the same thing and is FREE
Pros: MS Office compatible, low price, multiple OS Support, Huge feature list
Cons: None
Review:
User Rating: 8/10
StarOffice is better than Microsoft Office
Pros: StarOffice 7 has definitely stepped up to the plate in greatness compared to its predecessors. Much improved compatibility with .doc, .xls, and .ppt files. It's UI performance has improved as well. Being an owner of MS Office, I can say that SO 7 is de
Cons: It's good to see it on Windows, Linux, and Solaris, but I think the addition of a Mac version would make this office suite an even more complete solution for a diverse computing world.
Review:
User Rating: 
10/10
Schools will be gladd in using this applications package.
Pros: XML file formating, and compressed, so small file size. Price is really down to earth. Poor countries will enjoy this.
Cons: Nothing found so far.
Review:
