Sun StarOffice 5.2 Deluxe

Other products by Sun Microsystems

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 3 x 8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3 pounds
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B00004U9LR
• Item model number: 189248806X
• Date first available at Amazon.com: June 19, 2000
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (79 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #9,332 in Software (See Bestsellers in Software)

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  Software > Linux > Business & Office

• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes

Product Description

Amazon.com Review
Let's see--a full-featured, interoperable, multiplatform office suite that's light on your hard drive and drastically cheaper than the competition. Could it be true? Check out Sun StarOffice 5.2 Deluxe and find a sleek alternative to Microsoft Office that's compatible with that suite's files, incorporates nearly all of the same tools and features, and runs on a breathtaking range of operating systems.

It might take a little noodling for Windows users to get the hang of the interface, as it essentially takes over the desktop and changes a few things around; after the learning period, though, you won't want to go back. Instead of opening a new program for each type of file (text document, spreadsheet, database, image, appointment, Web page, etc.), simply tell StarOffice what you want and each file opens in its own window, speeding up access considerably. OLE-style embedding is easy, and most of the look and feel will be comfortable for Office users. Currently there's not much third-party support, and help functions are ever present but inconsistent, so it's important to consider the costs carefully before installing.

StarOffice is perfect for those switching to Linux or multiple operating systems, or any new user who needs an inexpensive office suite with plenty of options. Current users of Microsoft Office might be better off sticking with Uncle Bill--between learning new commands and the marginal differences between the two, you might think inertia's not so bad after all. The programs included will definitely surpass your expectations if you consider price alone: the presentation and drawing programs are simple and wonderful, the basic office features of document and personal information management are intuitive, and the e-mail, news, and Web browsing are snappy. Integrated as they are with the word processor, spreadsheet, and database functions, they all come together to form a powerful and inexpensive challenge to Microsoft Office. --Rob Lightner

Pros:

• Inexpensive
• Interoperable with Microsoft Office
• Multiplatform--runs on Windows, Linux, OS/2, and more

Cons:

• Little third-party support
• Underdocumented

Amazon.com Product Description
Looking for versatility? Try this multiplatform office suite that is operable on the Solaris (8, 7, 2.6, and 2.5.1) operating environments on SPARC and Intel architecture; Linux (kernel 2.0.x or later, glibc2 2.1.1 on Intel x86-compatible hardware); and Microsoft Windows (2000, NT, 98, or 95) platforms. StarOffice 5.2 software is full-featured and interoperable with Microsoft Office. The StarOffice suite has all the functionality and power you expect in an easy-to-use, integrated desktop environment. It combines best-of-breed core components with a complete set of complementary tools, so you can take on any job and get the results you want. The package includes StarOffice Draw, StarOffice Mail and Discussion, Internet Browser, StarOffice Writer, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

78 of 81 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A reasonably priced altternate to Microsoft Office Suite, July 2, 2000

By	[e-mail] (Portland, OR USA) - See all my reviews

Suns' StarOffice 5.2 Deluxe offers an integrated Word Processor, SpreadSheet, DataBase, Presentation Program, Calculation programe, Email, WYSWYG Website Editor and Browser. The software works well together, and has a short learning curve, although some of the features are difficult to locate at first, the process becomes easier in time. StarOffice uses Suns Java inplementation for several of its features, especially it's browser, and so runs roughly on slower systems (below 200 Mhz) but this is a minor drawback when you consider the price conpared to that of other full office Suites, like MicroSoft Office 2000, a comparable package. While the software can be downloaded for free from Sun's site, purchasing is makes sense if (1) you lack the bandwidth to download the nearly 80 MB of files, (2) you want to install the software on more than one computer, or (3) you want the documentation that comes with this CD. This would be a bargain at several times the price. StarOffice 5.2 can save files in a Office 97 0r 2000 format, and can read the files generated by those programs. As an alternate Office Suite, there is little support fo templates and tutorials on the web for this package, Although Amazon does carry "Sun Star Office 5.1 for Windows," which will help with most of the features in version 5.2. I recommend this for home and office use.

84 of 88 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars MS Office finally meets its match....., July 26, 2000

By	Alain Jean Claude (Tucson, AZ USA) - See all my reviews

There are many great things about the Microsoft Office; however, the STAR OFFICE aquired by SUN is a great Office Suite for the fraction of the price of MS Office. You can download this software for free at SUN.COM... however most of us with modems have to wait eight hours or so. The price for Star Office is very reasonable (considering you save a two hundred dollars over MS Office). Furthermore Star Office works on multiple operating systems besides Windows like Solaris, Linux, OpenBSD, and I tried it on BeOS 4.5 as well (some features like the PRESENTATION and EMAIL don't work on BeOS but it's still better than MS Office which doesn't work on at all)....

For all you guys who love to have multiple operating systems running like LINUX, WINDOWS, and BSD. Star Office is great since you don't have to buy an individual application for each operating system. I have a friend using MS Office for Windows, Corel Office for Linux and a weird one for BSD.

Save time and money and use STAR OFFICE. if you are college student and worry that your files from the computer center on MS OFFICE and LOTUS won't work on STAR OFFICE on your home PC -- then hey don't worry.

I have tried all files from Calendar, Excel, Word, Powerpoint, and Access they all transfer to Star Office. The same is true when you transfer them back to MS Office.

SUN STAR OFFICE is not only a great office suite but a message to the propreitary world that open source code is the wave of the future.

94 of 100 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars StarOffice 5.2 from SUN, June 25, 2000

By	Peter Baitz (Matawan, NJ, USA) - See all my reviews

StarOffice is a full-nelson office application suite from SUNwho purchased it originally from StarDivision of Germany. The latest version 5.2 is available on CD-ROMfrom SUN... (you "heard" me right!) and alternatively you may download it from SUN's website. But don't let the low low price fool you or sway you from getting a copy now! I once looked up the price back when this product was StarDivision property, and it was in the range of 500 Deutche Marks (I'll let you do the monetary translation.)

StarOffice is available natively for the following operating system platforms: Linux, Solaris, and Windows. Version 5.1b is still available for OS/2 users. As a side note, SUN also has a "StarPortal" version initiative going on to bring Office productivity services via the internet.

StarOffice consists of the following fully integrated applications: Wordprocessor, Spreadsheet, Presentation, Scheduler, Graphics/Drawing, Email, Database, GUI FTP-client, GUI HTML-editor, and more. Users moving to StarOffice can open and edit their old MS Word, Excel and Powerpoint, Lotus Amipro/Word or 123 files, but many more file formats are supported including StarOffice native file formats. Webmasters can build HTML websites withStarOffice's HTML GUI-editor, Java support, graphics tools, and full FTP client to make editing and saving web documents up on the server or locally fully seamless. Email support includes POP3/IMAP/LDAP/SENDMAIL/NEWS, and you can setup multiple email accounts simultaneously.

StarOffice installs in about 15 minutes (with server or local options possible), looks and feels exactly the same across platforms, and you can run it as an independent application or as your replacement desktop. It has it's own "Start Menu" that presents you with all your programs, as well as all your desktop icons. You can see a great deal of thought went into the design of this product with an integrated workspace in mind.

Office managers looking to save money by avoiding more expensive products and licensing issues may find their holy grail in StarOffice from SUN, with the added benefit of support for multiple computer platforms. Home computer users will save a bundle too, and yet still be able to work with their old MS Word documents, etc.

StarOffice is a product whose time has come. You are certainly missing out if you pass it by....

by Peter Baitz, the trimatrix group, llc,