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List:       koffice
Subject:    Re: KOffice and StarOffice
From:       "Jacques Chester" <jacques.chester () student ! usyd ! edu ! au>
Date:       2000-07-22 4:45:12
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> Hi there.
> >
> I write a column for ZDNet on Linux issues, and this week I'm
> writing about the GPLing of StarOffice.

An interesting move on Sun's part. While
a lot of people will jump up and down
screaming "Sun's finally Got It!", I think
this is really a strategic toe-dipping
exercise. Note that the Sun crown jewels -
Solaris, Java and their hardware - are
still being kept on a short leash.

Let us examine the Sun strategy as it
appears to be and try to understand StarOffice
in those terms.

Point one: Sun is a server company. The
hardware they sell is expensive and very
profitable. Sun's primary source of
revenue is pumping out mid to high-range
enterprise muscle. Everything else is
secondary. Therefore Solaris, SPARC and
a handful of other Sun technologies *are*
there most important assets.

Point two: Java is a Sun technology. It
does two things: it blunts the advance of
Windows upon Solaris territory by
providing an "alternative" to C++/COM.
Solaris (like all Unices) felt the
threat from NT. Java provides a diversionary
front on which to engage MS. That and
it raises Sun's own profile.

Point three: Anything that raises Sun's
profile, or maintains Solaris/UNIX
dominance in the higher end systems is
a Good Thing from Sun's perspective.

Point four: Anything that sells Sun
servers is another good thing.

So now we turn our attention to StarOffice.
Note that Sun's longer term plans with
this suite is to turn it into a network
application. You can bet your bottom
dollar said application will work just
fine and dandy running from a big ol'
(you guessed it) Sun server in the
backroom. Possibly with Sun Rays on
corporate desktops.

StarOffice is merely a tool to Sun's
larger strategy. Sun have purchased it
with an eye to selling more servers in
future.

GPLing the code is an easy choice for
Sun. They don't need to keep tight
reign over it like Solaris or Java.
Microsoft is not going to try and
"embrace and extend" this code. And,
under the terms of the GPL, Sun can
pretty much expect to get back any
improvements that development.

Of course they also score some good
freewill from the hacker community,
something they've lacked on a fairly
continuous basis.

Finally, Sun can assess how effective
a GPL'd codebase is for their own
corporate interests. If it all goes
"right", you may see strategic GPLing
of other Sun properties as well - more
likely piecemeal LPGLings of particular
kernel technologies to pre-empt the
emergence of the same from within the
hacker sphere.

> I would like to find out, from any of the KOffice team, what effect
> this announcement (if any) has on KOffice. Are there any components
> of
> StarOffice that you would like to intergate into KOffice in the
> short term?

As others have said, the filters are the
most useful thing to look at.

> Furthermore, does Sun's intention to build StarOffice components
> using Bonobo rather than KParts affect its usability within
> KOffice? Does it at all effect the balance between KDE and GNOME?

As others have said, it will affect GNOME Office
more than KOffice. I suspect that Sun's influence
on GNOME may be disruptive. One cannot drop
this large a codebase into a project without
inducing operational issues of some kind. Most
of this will be about competition for eyeballs
in the early, pre-bonobo-StarOffice days.

Sun may like bonobo because they have corporate
familiarity with its predecessor - CORBA.
Remember that CORBA grew from Sun's attempt
to create an "object oriented" SunOS.

I think that in time, the bonobo-isation of
StarOffice will give GNOME Office a useful
boost in some respects. But one will surely
absorb the other. Sun's got an interest in
absorbing GNOME Office. Again, this means
trouble.

Probably lucky for KDE that Sun's not that
interested. Possibly because they wish to
sell servers, where DCOP is single-machine
oriented.

Enough blatant speculations from me.

> Thanks!
> Evan Leibovitch

be well;

JC.

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