
Now that
StarOffice 8 has been released,
the reviews are starting to come out, and eWeek has given the program —
which is essentially a commercial version of OpenOffice.org (or is
OpenOffice.org a free version of StarOffice?) — the thumbs-up.
According to the review,
"this StarOffice release stands as the best Office alternative we've
tested as of yet, minor format inconsistencies can complicate
migrations" from Microsoft Office. Which means that, if you've
standardized on MSO, you're probably better off staying with it, unless
you're prepared for a few glitches along the way. If, on the other
hand, you're setting up a business and want something that will give
you most of what MSO offers (other than, Outlook, of course) at a much
lower price, SO is definitely worth considering. And, of course, if
you're in a mixed-platform office, there's no better option, given that
SO runs on Windows, Linux and Solaris (forget about the Mac; you'll
have to settle for
NeoOffice, a semi-native version of OpenOffice.org).
Tags: commercial