14 DAY TRIAL // Sun Microsystems unveiled end of last week the beta version of the StarOffice 8 productivity suite. This new version features a new database engine known as HSQLDB, support for the OpenDocument format of the Organization for the Advancement of Structured Information Standards (OASIS).
The database front-end tool in StarOffice, StarOffice Base, has been "totally re-designed" to make it easier for users to create forms, queries and reports, according to Sun.
It also comes with better support for documents created with the Microsoft Office suite, including support for passwords on Word and Excel files and better importing of Microsoft Office data. StarOffice already allowed users to open and save Microsoft Office files, but a lack of full interoperability had caused problems for users migrating from MS Office.
The most interesting new element is the database - currently Microsoft Access has little or no competition in the office productivity space. With StarOffice Base [in version 8] Sun is addressing that market. As Microsoft builds out Office as a development platform local client databases become even more important.
Improved interoperability with MS Office is also one of the main features of OpenOffice.org (OOo) 2.0, the upcoming release of the open source application on which StarOffice is based. The beta of OOo 2.0 was released in December 2004.
That version also includes many of the same improvements seen in StarOffice 8, but its development lead, Michael Meeks, says that more work would be done on OpenOffice.org if the company would allow the software more space to develop.
The final versions of StarOffice 8 and OOo 2.0 are expected in mid-2005.