StarOffice Portal?

Story: Google, Sun Take On Bill GatesTotal Replies: 3
Author Content
sbergman27

Oct 06, 2005
7:52 AM EDT
In some quarters, it is being reported that Google has confirmed that they will be making Star Office available as a network service. I do not believe that is true. However, it got me to wondering whatever happened to Sun's StarPortal project. Some years ago it was supposedly "almost ready" and then just dropped off the radar screen.

tadelste

Oct 06, 2005
8:11 AM EDT
Ah yes. Sun Microsystems "vaporware announcements".

Back when I labored in the hallowed halls of an IBM campus building in Austin, Tx, we used to discuss "vaporware announcements". IBM may have started the practice and the plebes usualy joked about it. IBM would make product announcements, gage interest and go forward or not - mostly not.

Somewhere along the line, Sun picked up the practice with a twist. They'll make a product and never deliver. Do you recall their JDS Linux 3 release was originally slated for February. One of my friends told me September F-O-R S-U-R-E.

They even negotiated with my publisher for us to do an update of "Exploring the JDS Linux Desltop" for release 3.

Where is it?

I promise you that it is built and ready to ship. Ready. Out of Beta, re-beta'ed, and re-beta'ed.

Go to http://gcclinux.org and they have a forum for it and backports for download.

Welcome to the real world, Neo.



sbergman27

Oct 06, 2005
9:07 AM EDT
Well, this certainly seems a good time for them to come forth with the product. The only major stumbling block being trying to convince the uber-smart people at Google of the critical importance of running it on Sun hardware under Solaris.
TxtEdMacs

Oct 06, 2005
10:24 AM EDT
To show how off base some the of the economic reporting types were: they expected the announcement would lead to large sales of Sun hardware with the joining of Google and Sun on this venture. Reflecting just a bit, it might be even worse, that is, this expectation might have been after the official announcement. Either way, it's quite a bad analysis. Moreover, I read this view prior to knowing what the venture entailed and I knew they were misinformed.

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