Google Begins Distributing Sun's Office Suite

Why bother with anything but Office? I have Office 2007 and l o v e it. It's a wonderful office suite. Outlook does a good job on junk email. The ribbon sh*t works really well. It was time for a change and Microsoft delivered. StarOffice, on a sad other hand, reminds me of Lotus 123 Suite '97.

"New macs come with trial versions of Office."

but there's no pricing option that's even close to that which is offered with Office Ready PC's (ie. OEM versions which can be purchased up to 90 days after point of sale)

suggestion to Apple to make more money, and probably many more system sales: don't include Boot Camp for free in the OS.

"OH NOES!" - hold on a sec before you get your panties in a bunch.

sell it for a minimal fee ($20 sounds about right) as an option with a new Mac, but combine it with an OEM version of Windows - PREINSTALLED. then, offer OEM versions of other software for less money than retail, just like the way they do it on PC's. when you can offer value-added software for less than retail, you end up getting more sales on hardware.

"As much as I like the new ribbon interface in Office 2007, I much prefer Office on the Mac"

i like the fact that the Ribbon includes the Smart Preview option, and that there's huge amounts of more information that it provides that just isn't possible with dialog boxes. also, what they say in their marketing i find to be 100% true: it takes waaay less clicks to get the same job done with the Ribbon, and it allows you to get at the advanced functionality that the menu-based UI just made nearly impossible to find.

XP

"too bad Apple didn't have a similar program for Microsoft Office for Mac"

New macs come with trial versions of Office. If people want it they have the option to purchase. I know I did simply because there is nothing out there, NOTHING, that compares to Office.

As much as I like the new ribbon interface in Office 2007, I much prefer Office on the Mac. Personal preference I guess. Can't wait until they get the new version out there.

"Star Office is awesome.....if you like Office 97!!!"

it's a negligible upgrade for Microsoft Works (not Works Suite, which ships with Works, Word, Streets & Trips, and others).

many OEM's are already bundling Works with systems because of the attach rate to Microsoft's name. with the hugely successful conversion rate of Office Ready PC's now though, i can see why Microsoft wants to offer Works for the few remaining customers not wanting to pay for Office. i've said it before and i'll say it again: the Office Ready PC program (wherein the 60-day bundled trial of Office 2007 can be unlocked with a purchased OEM product key) has been an overwhelming success for me. every new system i sell includes the trial, and my conversion rate is over 85% of the customers not already purchasing Office at point-of-sale.

too bad Apple didn't have a similar program for Microsoft Office for Mac - they'd probably get more Mac system sales that way. a long time ago, they had decided that they didn't want to get into the whole "OEM" software market though, and hence, they don't allow any of their partners to either. shame on them! that's probably why people buy more PC's - for business users, you can get the Professional edition bundled with a system for less than the Mac Standard edition, and Pro comes with Access and Publisher! the closest version to Office for Mac 2004 Standard in the PC 2007 OEM editions is Small Business 2007, and it includes Publisher when the Mac version doesn't, yet it's $300 cheaper when purchased with a new system.

here's a list that explains things better:

Office:mac 2004 Standard Edition - $599
Office:mac 2004 Student & Teacher Edition - $199

Office Professional 2007 RETAIL - $699
Office Small Business 2007 RETAIL - $599
Office Standard 2007 RETAIL - $499
Office Home & Student 2007 RETAIL - $179

Office Professional 2007 OEM - $399
Office Small Business 2007 OEM - $299
Office Home & Student 2007 OEM - $149

XP

Star Office is awesome.....if you like Office 97!!!

jersey is right...until they come up with a mature collaboration platform like Exchange, their offerings are not worth anything...even then, I still don't foresee any major corporations/organizations letting Google manage their data.

See http://tinyurl.com/2ssb6b

--tayme