# OpenOffice and StarOffice

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/openoffice-and-staroffice/144530>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [December 23, 2002, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/openoffice-and-staroffice/144530 "2002-12-23T13:07:38Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 6\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\
**Post date:** [December 23, 2002, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/openoffice-and-staroffice/144530/1 "2002-12-23T13:07:38Z")

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I bought Sun StarOffice a while ago, but recently found out that OpenOffice is free and virtually identical. The OpenOffice homepage lists the differences in features but doesn’t address the important questions: Who first developed the software? Is development going to continue on both and if so, will they converge or diverge? Is there a strong reason to choose one over the other besides the minor differences in feature?

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**Author:** ![Ximenean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/aca169/32.png) [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)\
**Post date:** [December 23, 2002, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/openoffice-and-staroffice/144530/2 "2002-12-23T13:39:55Z")

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The OpenOffice [FAQs](http://www.openoffice.org/FAQs/faq-questions.html) do in fact address your questions. Sun are still heavily involved in OpenOffice - they appear to think that if it becomes more popular, it will help rather than hurt sales of StarOffice, because many businesses would prefer to pay for a product with a full support contract. If you are happy to do without Sun’s tech support, there is little reason to buy StarOffice - ISTR it comes with a few minor extras such as a better spellchecker and an Adabas interface of some sort. It’s basicvally the same code though.

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**Author:** ![Dreaming\_of\_Maria\_Callas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f14d63/32.png) [@Dreaming\_of\_Maria\_Callas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dreaming_of_Maria_Callas)\
**Post date:** [December 23, 2002, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/openoffice-and-staroffice/144530/3 "2002-12-23T15:30:48Z")

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Basically, if you know how to use a word processor (and [OO.org](http://OO.org) is by no means hard to use), you should get [OO.org](http://OO.org). StarOffice is worth getting if for some reason you need support.

Please note that the free suite is **not** called “OpenOffice”. [Here](http://www.openoffice.org/FAQs/faq-other.html#6) you can read from the [OO.org](http://OO.org) team itself while it is wrong to refer to it as “OpenOffice”.

UnuMondo

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**Author:** ![Urban\_Ranger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/e9c0ed/32.png) [@Urban\_Ranger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urban_Ranger)\
**Post date:** [December 23, 2002, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/openoffice-and-staroffice/144530/4 "2002-12-23T15:50:26Z")

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OO has always been “object-oriented” to me and to most computer techies. What the heck is wrong with OpenOffice?

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**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\
**Post date:** [December 23, 2002, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/openoffice-and-staroffice/144530/5 "2002-12-23T15:59:20Z")

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Thanks for the answers. I guess I should have looked through their web site more carefully… It also looks like I wasted my money buying StarOffice. :smack: Oh well, it wasn’t that expensive.

**UrbanRanger** , I think **UnuMond** meant that the correct name is “[OpenOffice.org](http://OpenOffice.org)” with the “.org” being an essential part of the name.

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**Author:** ![DougC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7feea3/32.png) [@DougC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DougC)\
**Post date:** [December 23, 2002, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/openoffice-and-staroffice/144530/6 "2002-12-23T16:27:45Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> What the heck is wrong with OpenOffice?

- 
  - 
    - OpenOffice does not come with any database. StarOffice comes with a crippled (though user-friendly) proprietary database utility included.  
~