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SmartSuite vs. StarOffice - Introduction
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While both Lotus SmartSuite for Warp 4 and StarDivision's StarOffice 4.0 are still in beta, we thought we should take the opportunity to compare the two of them together, component by component, and see which suite offers the best tools for today's offices. The reviews are divided up to cover the suites by each major component at a time; word processors (Word Pro vs. StarWriter), presentation graphics (Freelance Graphics vs. StarImpress), spreadsheets (1-2-3 vs. StarCalc), and databases (Approach vs. StarBase)

We did not compare the Personal Information Managers in this article, however. Lotus Organizer was reviewed in last December's issue of OS/2 e-Zine!, and StarOffice doesn't really have a serious offering in this department to compare to (StarOffice's address book is merely an example of its database and the calendar is display-only; you can't record events in it).

We must stress of course the fact that both suites are currently in Beta and may undergo significant changes before they're actually released. We have no firm dates yet from either company on when they plan to make general availability for their respective suites. Most notorious in this department is StarDivision, who have been selling the German version of StarOffice for some time now, but whose English versions have been in a state of "perpetual beta" for years. It wasn't that long ago that StarOffice 3.0 was in beta, yet failed to materialize as a product that you could actually purchase. This was part of the incentive to do a comparison now before their respective cycles got too far out of synch to make the review fair.

Reviewing beta software is a difficult task because you're not reviewing the same code that will eventually find its way out the door and to the market. Beta code is software that is being tested and debugged; often, the bugs you find in that code disappear by the time the code is finally released. Beta software is an "approximation" of the final version -- you can get a pretty good idea of how the developers envision the final product, but you can't always get a good idea of how reliable and stable that product will be.

Covering the battling suites for us this month are:

Word Processors: Word Pro vs. StarWriter - Jon Cochran

Presentation Graphics: Freelance Graphics vs. StarImpress - Ryan Dill

Databases: Approach vs. StarBase - Christopher B. Wright

Overview: A summary look at the two Suites - Chris Wenham


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