Growing, Award-Winning Suite is Now Interoperable With More Standards and Operating Systems Than Ever Before; Updates Also Included in Asian-Language Counterpart StarSuite(TM) 9 Software

SANTA CLARA, Calif. (Business Wire EON/PRWEB ) November 17, 2008 -- Sun Microsystems, Inc. (Nasdaq:JAVA) today announced the availability of StarOffice 9 and its Asian language counterpart StarSuite 9 with new versions of word processor, presentation, spreadsheet, database and drawing software. This major update to Sun's productivity suite comes with native support for Mac OS X, delivers significant enhancements and provides advanced, extensible productivity tools for all users.

With every release, StarOffice becomes a more powerful, effective productivity tool. The latest, StarOffice 9, is especially notable for how well it deals with various file formats

In addition to its native ISO-standard Open Document Format, it has strong support for Microsoft Office -- both legacy and new OOXML files -- and for PDF, which can now be imported and edited.

In the more than 25 years that I've worked in the computer industry, I don't know when I've been as proud as I am today -- with the release of StarOffice 9.0

The Network is the Computer

With Mozilla's Thunderbird email client and Lightning extension for calendaring as part of its distribution, StarOffice 9 software provides a simple, comprehensive solution for businesses of all sizes, from small- and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) to large enterprise customers. The suite includes many extensions that make it easier to perform common tasks such as editing PDF files, creating reports, blogging, and publishing wikis. Additionally, Sun Services can provide enterprise tools to assist customers who are migrating from Microsoft Office to StarOffice 9.

"With every release, StarOffice becomes a more powerful, effective productivity tool. The latest, StarOffice 9, is especially notable for how well it deals with various file formats," said Jonathan Eunice, Founder and Principal IT Adviser at Illuminata. "In addition to its native ISO-standard Open Document Format, it has strong support for Microsoft Office -- both legacy and new OOXML files -- and for PDF, which can now be imported and edited."

"In the more than 25 years that I've worked in the computer industry, I don't know when I've been as proud as I am today -- with the release of StarOffice 9.0," said Jim Parkinson, Vice President, Developer, Tools and Services at Sun Microsystems, Inc. "The StarOffice engineering teams and OpenOffice.org community have come together to produce a first-class product. With the new features in 9.0, businesses get an open standards-based, enterprise-class office productivity suite that is compatible with Microsoft Office but costs significantly less. With its ability to read MS Office Open XML files, support for MS Access 2007 .accdb files and improved VBA macro support, StarOffice 9 is a great option for companies looking to reduce their IT costs in these tough economic times."

StarOffice 9 is completely open sourced, with the same binaries as OpenOffice.org(TM) 3.0. In this release, StarOffice has a fresh new look, with a new start center, new icons and a host of usability improvements. Many new features – multiple page editing in Writer, an optimization Solver tool and 1024 columns in Calc, native table support in Impress, and effective handling of poster-size graphics in Draw -- increase productivity and make StarOffice 9 very easy to use.

Pricing and Availability

StarOffice 9 and StarSuite 9 are available for download from http://globalspecials.sun.com for $34.95. Volume pricing for the enterprise starts at $25 per user and is immediately available from Sun and its authorized resellers. The new subscription model includes license and support, comes in one- and three-year terms, and the customers can choose between standard or premium support. More information about services is available at http://sun.com/software/staroffice/support.jsp.

Information about features, extensions and languages can be found at http://sun.com/staroffice.

About Sun Microsystems, Inc.

Sun Microsystems develops the technologies that power the global marketplace. Guided by a singular vision -- "The Network is the Computer" -- Sun drives network participation through shared innovation, community development and open source leadership. Sun can be found in more than 100 countries and on the Web at http://sun.com.

Sun, Sun Microsystems, the Sun logo, Java, StarOffice, StarSuite, OpenOffice.org and The Network Is The Computer are trademarks or registered trademarks of Sun Microsystems, Inc. in the United States and other countries.

All prices noted are U.S. list price. All prices quoted are in U.S. Dollars.

MULTIMEDIA GALLERY

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