Installed StarOffice using Google Updater

I installed StarOffice using Google updater and I would say it is very good. If you are looking for a serious alternative to MS Office, StarOffice is for you.

StarOffice is not free [unlike OpenOffice, on which it is based]. It costs about $70, way much less than MS Office. However, it combines many proprietary features like a better spell checker and so is better than OpenOffice. I read somewhere that Sun takes a snapshot of OpenOffice source code once in a while and then adds some features to it to make StarOffice.

Google and Sun have a “joint venture”, that is why Google is able to offer StarOffice for free with its updater. In exchange, you will find a “powered by Google” tab in StarOffice and you can search the Internet right from the application.

This seems like a serious move from Google’s side to crush Microsoft’s dominance in the desktop market. Why would someone invest hundreds of dollars when a product almost similar can be obtained for free ? People are addicted to MS products, but how long will they addicted ?

StarOffice is about 140 MB to download. Additional language packs will add up about 100 MB more. I have installed it on my computer and it is very fast. It has “modest” system requirements. They claim that it will run pretty fast on 128 MB of RAM. Try running MS Office 2007 on 128 MB RAM and you will know! So, if you have low system resources and are looking for a cool office suite, your first choice would be StarOffice.

:: I am considering writing my Bachelor’s dissertation using StarOffice. It is in initial stages though, but it has something to do with using open source software in hospitals ::

Related Reading:

Cracking the AP Environmental Science Exam, 2010 Edition (College Test Preparation)