Sun Microsystems is bringing to campus members of its StarOffice team--managers of product development and marketing--to present the software to interested faculty, students, and staff. We hope to get input from the campus community to assess the potential of this application, particularly in instruction. Faculty are especially encouraged to attend.

To meet the need for cross-platform word processing,
spreadsheet, and presentation solutions on our Eos platforms, ITECS has taken advantage of Sun Microsystems educational discounts and licensing for the StarOffice product suite. We have installed version 6.0 in our Linux, Solaris, and Windows labs. This gives the college an inexpensive office suite that looks and behaves the same on all three of our supported lab platforms.

The 6.0 version does a much better job of opening the proprietary Microsoft formats (.doc/.xls/.ppt). Plus, the site license is free and covers all University-owned systems. Paid support is $1,000/year. Sun is also working on licensing agreements to allow us to put the full StarOffice product in student hands for free.

ITECS will be terminating its failing Metaframe terminal service, which has provided access to MS Office products from Solaris and Linux platforms for over three years. The end date for this service is December 20, 2002. The overall effort to provide MS Office in all of our labs has been very costly and labor-intensive. StarOffice may provide a more cost-effective and open solution for our inter-operating platforms.

Please come to the presentation to learn more about this product. We are hoping for a good turnout from those who can evaluate this product's application in instruction, lab and classroom use, and cross-platform communication.

StarOffice Presentation

Wednesday, September 18, 2002
10:00 -11:45am

2320 D.H. Hill Library
NCSU Staff Senate Meeting Room

For more information on StarOffice:

StarOffice on Eos

Sun's StarOffice 6.0 Office Suite

Information Technology and Engineering Computer Services (ITECS)
College of Engineering, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695
Comments to eoshelp@ncsu.edu. URL: http://www.eos.ncsu.edu/

This support page is for students, faculty, and
staff at North Carolina State University.