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    StarOffice vs OpenOffice

    Discussion in 'Windows OS and Software' started by Lakjin, Aug 9, 2008.

  1. Lakjin

    Lakjin Notebook Deity

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    Okay so, not all of us have Microsoft Office right now.

    What do you guys think is the best alternative?

    OpenOffice, which is officially open source.
    or
    StarOffice, which you can buy off sun.com, but is offered for free in googlepack.

    If i am correct, I believe the source code for these two are the same? So whats the essential difference. From having GO-OO installed and StarOffice, to me so far it seems StarOffice looks a lot more like Microsoft Office then GO-OO(a fork of OpenOffice). Other then looks, is there any difference between the two?
     
    Lakjin, Aug 9, 2008
    #1
  2. aan310

    aan310 Notebook Virtuoso

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    i say star. I like it better, and OO and SO are made by the same people, so they are generally the same, but i like star better
     
    aan310, Aug 9, 2008
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  3. benx009

    benx009 Notebook Evangelist

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    Openoffice, just b/c I've been using it for years, and it has never let me down.

    I think Openoffice 3 is coming out later this year, and it's bound to be much better than the current release out now.
     
    benx009, Aug 9, 2008
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  4. Gintoki

    Gintoki Notebook Prophet

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    I prefer OpenOffice even though I've never used StarOffice. I've used it since I was using Windows and I still use it in Linux now. When 3.0 comes out later this year I'm gonna update quickly because it comes with pdf editing support.
     
    Gintoki, Aug 9, 2008
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  5. PocketAces21

    PocketAces21 Notebook Evangelist

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    They're the exact same thing, but StarOffice isn't free, I don't think. There's a 3 month trial, though. StarOffice is basically OpenOffice but with support tools for system administrators.
     
    PocketAces21, Aug 9, 2008
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  6. benx009

    benx009 Notebook Evangelist

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    Technically, you can get Staroffice for free in Solaris, though Solaris honestly isn't all that great of an OS, so you probably wouldn't enjoy using it.
     
    benx009, Aug 9, 2008
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  7. dna2008

    dna2008 Notebook Consultant

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    I voted Open Office because it's free.
     
    dna2008, Aug 10, 2008
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  8. Lakjin

    Lakjin Notebook Deity

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    The StarOffice in googlepack is a trial?

    I didnt see it mention trial anywhere when I installed it; and when I google it, no where does it mention SO from googlepack is trial.

    EDIT: http://pack.google.com

    Always free - no trial versions or spyware
     
    Lakjin, Aug 10, 2008
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  9. Lakjin

    Lakjin Notebook Deity

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    Okay so new question:
    GO-OpenOffice(a fork that supposedly makes OO faster) or just the normal OpenOffice? I have only tried GO-OO so I really dont know how much faster it is.

    Another question: When opening up Word documents, is there someway to keep the original formatting? It seems that many formatted word documents that have tables, columns and such, there formatting gets messed up when opened in OO
     
    Lakjin, Aug 10, 2008
    #9
  10. ZaZ

    ZaZ Super Model Super Moderator

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    Version three of OpenOffice is due in September I believe. The beta versions of OpenOffice three can play with .docx files, the newest Office file formats so you don't have to download the reader from M$.
     
    ZaZ, Aug 10, 2008
    #10