Google Pack Adds StarOffice (+ Edit)
From the Unofficial Google Operating System blog:
Google Pack, the collection of applications recommended by Google, includes a new software: StarOffice, an office suite developed by Sun. In 2000 Sun released StarOffice’s source code, which became the foundation of OpenOffice.org, an open source project sponsored by Sun.
The posting has full details. StarOffice normally sells for about $70, but Google is making it available for free.
StarOffice is very similar to OpenOffice.org. For a list of differences, see the OpenOffice.org FAQ along with the StarOffice FAQ.
As we’ve stated here before, either would be a good choice for 90% of the office suite users out there.
Edit 08/14/2007:
Ryan over at CyberNet News has a good article on this as well.
Why can’t I see all the available programs on the Google Pack homepage? If you cannot see StarOffice as one of the choices at http://pack.google.com, go to Add/Remove Programs, uninstall the Google Updater and then visit http://pack.google.com again and follow the directions there to download.
Also, Google has verified that the Google Updater and all of the available Google Pack software may be legitimately used in a business environment. See the response by the Google Pack Guide in this discussion. We make this important distinction because many freeware licenses stipulate home or non-commercial use only.
In order to install the Google Updater and the programs offered through Google Pack (including StarOffice), please use Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0 or above or Mozilla Firefox 1.0 or above. You must also have Microsoft Windows XP or Windows Vista with administrator privileges on your computer.
Edit 11/22/2008:
Google has dropped StarOffice from the Google Pack, with no explanation as to why.