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Sun Microsystems Powers the First Productivity Suite in the Sky

Posted by Scott_Ruecker on · 6 comments
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Singapore Airlines, the First Airline to Offer a Productivity Suite, Has Chosen Sun Microsystems' StarOffice as its Software of Choice

[Not directly Open Source related but still of interest. - Scott]

SANTA CLARA, Calif., May 29 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Sun Microsystems, Inc. (Nasdaq: SUNW) today announced that Singapore Airlines has rolled out StarOffice(TM) software in its new Boeing 777-300ER aircraft. Singapore Airlines is the first and only airline to install a productivity suite for the benefit of its passengers who can now continue to work after boarding the plane without having to power up their laptops. In addition to providing the world's widest First and Business Class seats and a technologically advanced seat in Economy Class, Singapore Airlines has also introduced StarOffice software as part of its next generation KrisWorld inflight entertainment system to meet the increasingly dynamic needs of travelers today. Passengers from Singapore Airlines will be able to use StarOffice's word processing, spreadsheets and presentation tools.

With the ever-discerning premium traveler, it is imperative that airlines find ways to differentiate themselves from the competition. Yet no other airline has come close to the technological offerings that Singapore Airlines offers its customers in the form of the KrisWorld entertainment system. The first of the new Boeing 777-300ER aircraft was delivered progressively from November, and entered commercial services on Singapore-Paris route in early December 2006. Singapore Airlines currently deploys the 777-300ER aircraft to destinations such as Paris, Zurich, Seoul, San Francisco, Milan, Barcelona and Hong Kong.

"With heightened security, access to laptops during flights can sometimes be restricted. The availability of StarOffice software as part of KrisWorld, offers Singapore Airlines' customers the opportunity to work on and access their information in an open, secure and freely available fashion independent of any vendor or file formats during their flights," said Wong Heng Chew, Managing Director, Singapore, Sun Microsystems. "Sun Microsystems is proud to be the Airline's solution provider of choice. With StarOffice software supporting an increasing number of productivity file formats like Open Document Format and Microsoft Office, travellers can access such files through a single application with a USB storage device and even export documents in PDF format."

StarOffice software is a complete, feature-rich office productivity product that includes powerful word processing, spreadsheets, presentations, database, graphics, drawing, photo editing and web publishing applications. It is user-friendly and is compatible with Microsoft Office.

About StarOffice

StarOffice software is a powerful, affordable, and comprehensive office productivity suite (word processor, spreadsheet, presentation tool, database, drawing program) that runs on Solaris(TM), Windows and Linux. Fully compatible with MS Office, it includes a built-in PDF export and supports XML, Flash and HTML. For more information, please visit http://sun.com/staroffice.

About Sun Microsystems, Inc.

A singular vision -- "The Network Is The Computer"(TM) -- guides Sun in the development of technologies that power the world's most important markets. Sun's philosophy of sharing innovation and building communities is at the forefront of the next wave of computing: the Participation Age. Sun can be found in more than 100 countries and on the Web at http://sun.com.

About Singapore Airlines

Singapore Airlines is internationally recognized as the world's leading airline and operates a modern passenger fleet of 92 aircraft. Its network, including Singapore Airlines Cargo and SilkAir destinations, covers 99 destinations in 41 countries.

KrisWorld is Singapore Airlines' award winning inflight entertainment system. The latest KrisWorld, powered by eX2(TM) inflight entertainment (IFE) system by Panasonic Avionics Corporation, is the world's most advanced system. It offers over 1000 entertainment options including 100 movies, 150 TV programmes, 650 audio CDs, as well as 90 of the latest and most popular video games. The new KrisWorld is also the first in the world to provide a comprehensive suite of onboard office software, which offers customers the value-added option of working inflight even without their laptops.

For more information, please visit http://singaporeair.com. FOR MORE INFORMATION:

Chhandomay Mandal

Sun Microsystems

(603) 589-0576

chhandomay.mandal@sun.com

Sun, Sun Microsystems, Solaris, StarOffice and The Network Is The Computer are trademarks or registered trademarks of Sun Microsystems, Inc. in the United States and other countries.

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Comments (6)

It's apparently Linux in this case. See:

StarOffice, Linux fly high on Singapore Airlines

,----[ Quote ] | Singapore Airlines is offering access to Sun's StarOffice 8 office | productivity suite free of charge to passengers on its new Boeing | 777-300ER aircraft. StarOffice, Sun's proprietary version of | OpenOffice.org, runs on the aircraft's Linux server and is accessed | via a seat-back terminal at each passenger's seat, according to Sun. `----

http://www.desktoplinux.com/news/NS2964256534.html

I guess your right, it is directly related...

:-)
Soooo...where is the source code? Not one mention of it on their site. I am buried under deadlines- would some nice but stern LXer person contact them and ask them where is the source code?

If they try to weasel with "it's in a sekkrit place for customers" that is a violation of the GPL. It must be available to anyone.
Carla, it looks to me like the Linux server hosts the StarOffice app. Users simply use a terminal to connect to the on-board server. The airline has all the source code they need. Users probably won't be allowed access to the server beyond using the apps. Aside from the fact that it might be cool to modify some code during your flight, I really can't imagine what users will gain from having access to the source - especially for a service.
There is something weird going on here. I was posting my comment to the Yoggie story, which I can't even find now.
@tuxchick: It happens more other. There's a weird bug somewhere in the LXer codebase.

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