DesktopLinux
Home  |  News  |  Articles  |  Forum  |  Polls  |  Blogs  |  Videos  |  Resource Library

Keywords: Match:
Testing StarOffice 6.0: Great features, less buggy.
by Lawrence F. Povirk   (June 14, 2002)

There's clearly a lot riding on StarOffice 6.0. Despite several entries in the field, lack of professional-quality productivity software is still cited as a prime barrier to adoption of the Linux desktop.

Having struggled with the StarOffice beta for several months, it was with as much trepidation as excitement that I ordered the 6.0 multiplatform retail box, on sale at Linux Central for $69.99.

Installation

A glance at the manuals sounded some ominous notes. The User's Guide "describes primarily the functions of the Windows version", while the Setup Guide cites a need for a "window manager (e.g. GNOME)" under Linux. Windows and Gnome!? Surely the typical user, if there is one, is a Windows refugee running Linux with KDE (like me).

In any case, however, installation, even on my slightly outdated Red Hat 7.0 system, was a snap. If you wanted, you could do it without typing a single character. There's supposedly an upgrade mode that keeps your old settings, but it doesn't seem to work going from 6.0 beta to 6.0, so best to check "delete all files" when removing the beta. At first I did not, and it asked me whether I wanted to replace each of ~3000 files. This at least gave an opportunity to see how many of the program files had been changed, based on size -- maybe 20-30%, implying that someone's done a lot of coding since the beta.

Launch

The glacial loading of both 5.2 and 6.0 beta (a full minute on my machine) had been a real drawback. With 6.0, it's down to 36 seconds, which feels like a huge difference. Launching the Help screen, opening documents, and saving them in the new .xml-based format, is likewise faster than in the beta, though still a bit sluggish.

Otherwise, the programs are quite responsive. Editing complex graphics, for example, actually seems a little faster in StarDraw under Linux than in CorelDraw under Windows.

Cut-and-Paste

A major irritation of the beta was that cut/copy-and-paste worked only within the StarOffice suite, at least under KDE. Happily, this seems to have been fixed. Ctrl-X/Ctrl-V or menu-based text pasting works between Star and other X apps that support it. You can also select text in Star and middle-click into consoles or apps which support that convention. The only thing you can't do is middle-click into Star.

Star's integrated architecture has its downside (slow loading) but it's great being able to compose a graphic in Draw, then copy-and-paste it (or any part of it) directly into a document in Writer. If pasted as a Drawing, it can be reopened instantly for further editing in Draw, with just a double-click.

Bugs Begone

To me, the real test of StarOffice 6.0, however extensive its features, was how well they'd managed to track down and squash the many bugs in the beta. Most were gone :o).

A 60-page downloadable .rtf application form that always made the beta crash, was opened successfully, with just a few missing special characters (probably need those MS TrueType fonts). A particular graphic in a Word document from a colleague, that was scrambled when imported in the beta, was now reproduced faithfully. Nonbreaking hyphens now work as advertised. The beta also tended to crash when saving very complex documents to the native .sxd format, but I've yet to induce a crash, by any means, in 6.0. The "Open" function now remembers the last directory you opened a file from and takes you there, and it hides the system folders by default, removing another major annoyance.

Just two glitches:
  • Star supposedly supports SANE, but it still can't see my scanner, maybe some sort of glibc problem associated with my outdated system software;

  • The "Resolution" setting for bitmap exporting in Draw doesn't actually change the resolution of the export; instead, the drawing is always exported at 75 dpi, then the size is reduced to match the requested resolution. As far as I can tell, there's no easy way to produce higher-resolution bitmaps. With publishers often demanding graphics at 600 or even 1200 dpi, this is a serious deficiency, at least for professional users.
One final disappointment: the promised third-party WordPerfect filter is apparently available only in the Windows version.

PDF

Two days after installation, someone asked me for a letter of recommendation in .pdf format. Should I slink back to a Windows machine, or try it in Star? With high hopes but little confidence, I composed the letter with StarWriter, imported and resized a scanned color .bmp letterhead and a .jpg signature, did a PostScript print-to-file, ran ps2pdf under Ghostscript, and finally tried to open it in xpdf. To my surprise, it all came through perfectly.

A Credible Threat?

So is StarOffice now a threat to the desktop monopoly? Industry experts are already confidently dismissing it, but it certainly is several steps above anything any of the previous Linux challengers. Moreover, its sophisticated drawing tools make it more than just a cheaper substitute for that other office suite.

StarOffice isn't perfect, but it is serious software, suitable for hard work in the real world. You can't credibly claim it's not worth $76.



About the author:   Lawrence F. Povirk, originally from Pittsburgh, does research on DNA repair and teaches pharmacology and toxicology at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, VA.



Related stories:

(Click here for further information)


Approaching the Linux Desktop
The purpose of this paper is to help organizations evaluate the Linux desktop against their own enterprise needs and discover what benefits the Linux desktop might bring to their organizations.

Migrating To Linux: Application Challenges and Solutions
Several solutions exist to help organizations migrate in an orderly fashion from Windows to Linux desktops. This paper establishes the characteristics of an ideal cross-platform solution and reviews these alternatives in light of this ideal standard. The paper takes a closer look at the pros and cons of various solutions and outlines the business benefits that can be achieved.

Linux Advantages: Publicly Available Information on Linux Software
This paper offers a brief summary of readily-available Linux information to help businesses sort out this widely misunderstood operating system.

Top 5 Strategies for Managing Linux
Despite continuous evolution in the manageability of Linux, a 2006 survey cited manageability concerns as a top reason why organizations are hesitating to adopt Linux. Levanta believes Linux can be as manageable, if not more so, than other operating systems by following key strategies. These strategic recommendations were developed from experiences in numerous customer environments, both large and small.

Why Choose Novell for Linux?
This paper outlines the benefits of switching to the Linux platform and choosing Novell as a high-performance, enterprise solution.

Enterprise Linux Selection Guide
Considering moving your enterprise to the Linux operating system? Since there are so many similar versions, choosing the right one can be tough. This paper offers a clear process to help you make an informed decision and get the features, support, and cost that are right for your business and technical needs.

Overcoming Challenges in Managing Linux
Levanta has created a new administration model with innovative technology that breaks down the barriers to making the most of Linux systems. This paper will provide an in-depth look at the workings of Levanta’s product, the first Linux appliance of its kind.

SUSE Linux Enterprise 10 for Retail Businesses
Discover why major retailers have switched to SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop in the back office. SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 10 is a low-cost desktop that offers a complete set of productivity applications and interoperates seamlessly with the other Windows, Macintosh and UNIX desktops in your store.

Moving to a Linux Desktop
Migrating from Windows to Linux on the desktop can be a substantial undertaking because it has the potential for touching -- and perhaps disrupting -- every user in your organization. Unlike a data center (server and infrastructure) migration that is largely transparent to users, the cultural and administrative transitions and environment readiness required to support a Linux desktop migration are extensive.

Seven Good Reasons to Exchange Exchange
This paper describes seven compelling reasons why you should switch from Exchange to Scalix.

 



Got a HOT tip?   please tell us!

ADVERTISEMENT
(Advertise here)

Resource Library


Popular recent stories:
• Linux an equal Flash player
• Linux, netbooks threaten Microsoft's fat profits
• gOS 3.0 goes gold
• Browser swallows OS
• Lenovo denies ditching Linux
• Lightweight, Linux-compatible browser evolves
• GNOME 2.24 gains "Empathy" IM
• Review: Pardus Linux
• Ubuntu to fund Linux development
• Ubuntu "Intrepid Ibex" available

All-time Classics:
• Choosing a desktop Linux distro
• Banshee -- the next best thing to Linux iTunes
• Running World of Warcraft on Ubuntu
• A simple Linux backup method
• The Best Free Desktop Linux . . . and how to make it better
• Linux-powered Asus Eee PC mini-laptop arrives
• The well-tempered Debian desktop
• Lenovo launches a netbook
• What's the best Linux for beginners?
• Getting to know Puppy Linux
• Xandros 4: The best desktop Linux for Windows users
• VirtualBox: The best virtualization program you've never heard of

Linux-Watch headlines:
• Amid controversy, Microsoft launches open source foundation
• As open source surges, Microsoft admits Linux threat
• Open source lobbying group emerges
• Open source Linux device drivers submitted by -- Microsoft?
• Google names Chrome OS partners
• Google's new OS marries Linux and Chrome
• Debian plans draw sharp warning from GNU guru
• OpenSource World announces keynote speakers
• Linux 2.6.30 gets new filesystems
• Intel to buy Wind River for $884 million


Join our Desktop Linux discussion forums:
•  Moving to Linux
•  Linux/Windows debate!
•  Linux Q&A
. . . and more
Visit the...


BREAKING NEWS

• ABI's Jeffrey Orr on rising Linux netbook sales
• Moblin v2.1 goes beta, adds 3G support
• Linux owns 32 percent of netbook market, says study
• Skype working on open source VoIP UI
• Ubuntu 9.10 final ships as IBM spins Ubuntu-based cloud distro
• CentOS rev's to version 5.4, tries on KVM
• Fedora 12 optimized for Atom-powered netbooks
• Puppy Linux 4.3 gains bugfix, rave reviews
• Hulu comes to Linux
• Reviews praise Ubuntu 9.10, knock Ubuntu Moblin Remix
• Mandriva 2010 goes for the full Moblin
• Gentoo-based distro rev'd to version 5.0
• Karmic Koala beta ships, praised for fast boots
• OpenSUSE 11.2 poised for release
• Moblin v2.0 ships, appears on Dell netbook



Linux Netbooks


Linux smartphones!


news feed

Or, follow us on Twitter...


Home  |  News  |  Articles  |  Forum  |  Polls  |  About  |  Contact
 

Ziff Davis Enterprise Home | Contact Us | Advertise | Link to Us | Reprints | Magazine Subscriptions | Newsletters
Tech RSS Feeds | White Papers | ROI Calculators | Tech Podcasts | Tech Video | VARs | Channel News

Baseline | Careers | Channel Insider | CIO Insight | DesktopLinux | DeviceForge | DevSource | eSeminars |
eWEEK | Enterprise Network Security | LinuxDevices | Linux Watch | Microsoft Watch | Mid-market | Networking | PDF Zone |
Publish | Security IT Hub | Strategic Partner | Web Buyer's Guide | Windows for Devices

Developer Shed | Dev Shed | ASP Free | Dev Articles | Dev Hardware | SEO Chat | Tutorialized | Scripts |
Code Walkers | Web Hosters | Dev Mechanic | Dev Archives | igrep

Use of this site is governed by our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. Except where otherwise specified, the contents of this site are copyright © 1999-2008 Ziff Davis Enterprise Holdings Inc. All Rights Reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission of Ziff Davis Enterprise is prohibited. Linux is a registered trademark of Linus Torvalds. All other marks are the property of their respective owners.