StarOffice catches the boat that FM missed [was 'FW: FrameMaker on Linux']

["Hedley Finger (EPA)" <Hedley.Finger@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Framooses:

It will be a long while before we see FM on Linux.  In fact, Adobe may have
made a serious error of tactics by not porting FM to Linux before any demand
was evident.  Adobe has well and truly missed the chance to launch FM into a
Linux vacuum for word processing and desktop publishing apps.  Why?

Scott McNeally has just bought Star Division which makes StarOffice, an
office productivity suite that runs on various UNIX platforms, including
Linux, and on Windows 95/98/NT (but not Macintosh -- yet).  But -- get this
-- the file formats are the same as Word, Excel, and PowerPoint (but not
Outlook, etc. and the other MS Office apps).  Did I mention that it is FREE
but corporates need to pay a very cheap licence for support, documentation,
etc.?   It also includes a raft of email, workgroup calendering, publishing,
and graphics apps not compatible with their Office equivalents.  Hey, who
cares?  Email has to be Internet compliant -- even Outlook does it
grudgingly, so you won't miss much.

Suddenly the Office/Windows hegemony is looking very shaky indeed.  What can
Bill do?  Well, he is going to offer Microsoft Office 2000 Lite for FREE.
But does MO2L run on multiple flavours of UNIX and Linux?  Nup.  Can Bill
change the MO2 file formats to stymie StarOffice -- for a couple of weeks?
Yes, but only by pissing off current MS Office 98 owners.  Remember when you
had MS Office 95 and found that Word 6 couldn't open Word 97/98 files,
forcing MS to release a filter for Word 6 owners.  Fact:  I have a database
of 140 personnel agencies in Melbourne, Australia, and they ALL want you to
submit resumes in Word 6 format.  I bet that goes for a lot of corporates,
too.

Have a look at <http://www.sun.com/staroffice/> but be warned -- it's 65 Mb.
(Modular release coming in the future.)  Too bad Adobe, for a while there
you could have led the pack.  Is it true that Scott McNeally crashes into
other cars and electric light poles all the time now?  Really, he shouldn't
burst into uncontrollable laughter while driving on freeways.

--
Regards,
Hedley Finger   Technical Writer

Ericsson Australia Pty Ltd
StarHUB NMOSS Project
Level 34.66   Melbourne Central Tower
360 Elizabeth Street   Melbourne VIC 3000   Australia
Tel. +61 3 9301 6214   Cell. +61 412 461 558   Fax. +61 3 9301 6199
Email. hedley.finger@ericsson.com.au

Hand Holding Projects Pty Ltd
28 Regent Street   Burwood VIC 3125   Australia
Tel. +61 3 9809 1229   Cell. +61 412 461 558   Fax. +61 3 9809 1326
Email. hfinger@handholding.com.au

> -----Original Message-----
> From:	Hedley Finger (EPA) 
> Sent:	Friday, September 10, 1999 9:16 AM
> To:	'FrameUsers Self-Help'; 'Free-Framers Self-Help'
> Cc:	'B. Mark Hilton'
> Subject:	FrameMaker on Linux
> Importance:	High
> 
> 
> Folks:
> 
> When is Adobe going to release FrameMaker on Linux?  It shouldn't be too
> hard as they already know how to do it on HP-UX, Solaris, OpenWindows
> (SunOS), Irix, Ultrix, and AIX.  The Linux market for office applications
> is a yawning chasm waiting to be satisfied -- what a perfect chance to
> raise the profile of FrameMaker with millions of users and make some
> headway against Word.
> 
> Here's a chance to launch FrameMaker into almost virgin territory  --
> 'almost virgin' because it is already occupied by the laughable Island
> Graphics Office bugware and the competent if technogritty Applixware.
> 
> [FrameMaker 5.5.3, Windows 98, HP OmniBook 2100]
> 
> Regards,
> Hedley Finger
> Technical Writer
> 
> Ericsson Australia Pty Ltd
> StarHUB NMOSS Project
> Level 34.66, Melbourne Central Tower
> Elizabeth Street
> Melbourne VIC 3000
> Tel. +61 3 9301 6214
> Cell. +61 412 461 558
> Fax. +61 3 9301 6199
> Email. hedley.finger@ericsson.com.au
> 
> Hand Holding Projects Pty Ltd
> Tel. +61 3 9809 1229
> Cell. +61 412 461 558
> Fax. +61 3 9809 1326
> Email. hfinger@handholding.com.au
> 
> 

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