Open Office is the open source version of Star Office 6.0, which is a
product of Sun Microsystems. It is available without cost from http://www.openoffice.org/ - the latest version is 1.1, which is almost totally compatible with Microsoft
Office 2000 file formats. (Version 1.0 had a few page layout issues)
- Both Open Office and Star Office are XML compatible office
productivity suites, as are Microsoft Office 2000 and Office XP
(to a more or less limited extent - Microsoft's Office 11, currently in development,
will be fully XML compatible)
- Because Open Office is licensed under the provisions if the LGPL/SISSL agreements,
everyone is able to use it free of charge. By contrast, every copy of Microsoft
Office that is installed in a business requires a separate EULA/COA license
and is subject to audit verification with potentially heavy financial penalties
for installation of unlicensed products.