a bunch of words sorted into posts.

[Master of Reality]

are you talking about me again....
Staroffice has a few proprietary extras that open office doesnt have. Thats why it would be good to get it before it isnt free anymore....
But I use VI for all my writing/editing and might use the spreadsheet thing in it (or i could use Kspread), so I dont really need star (or Open) office at all.

[Calum]

i never realised, voidmain, i thought that the code had been released and was no longer being released for newer versions of staroffice, thus meaning that openoffice would be based on staroffice 5.2 (or whatever version was the last to be open source) and would improve from there, while staroffice would also improve, albeit in a fork, from the same point. Of course staroffice would get to see the openoffice code, but they wouldn't be able to use it unless they also gpld their product.

Anyway, that's all hogwash is it not? since you put me right earlier on.

[voidmain]

Well, here are the first three questions in the FAQ along with the answers:

1) Are OpenOffice.org binaries legal for commercial/business use?

Yes, you may use OpenOffice.org binaries for commercial use. Please refer to our latest build page here:http://www.openoffice.org/dev_docs/source/latest_build/latest_build.html

Alternatively, if you are interested in StarOffice for commercial use please, see this URL: http://www.sun.com/staroffice/

2) Does the OpenOffice.org open source license give me the right to modify and distribute any version of StarOffice, for example, the currently shipping StarOffice 5.2? For example, can I undertake and ship a StarOffice 5.2 for Catalan?

No. The OpenOffice.org source license does not allow anyone to modify, repackage, or redistribute any version of StarOffice, or any other commercial version of the OpenOffice.org source code without an agreement from the vendor. For StarOffice the vendor is Sun Microsystems. Additionally, the source code in the OpenOffice.org project is the development project for future releases, starting with StarOffice 6.0. StarOffice 5.2 code is not part of the OpenOffice.org project.

3) Can Sun ever take away the code?

The simple answer to this is NO. Once code is released under the LGPL, it can never be taken away. Once LGPL, always LGPL. Sun has no plans to return to a closed-development model. Sun is subject to the same rules as the rest of the community, including giving back modifications under the LGPL (or a specification and reference implementation under the terms of the SISSL). Thus, Sun can never take away the code and the community's contributions to it. This code belongs to the community as guaranteed by the LGPL and the SISSL.

I believe since Sun is the copyright holder they can do pretty much what they want with the code. But at least you can get your hands on it and tune it to your liking if necessary.

[ May 30, 2002: Message edited by: VoidMain ]