I e-mailed my contact at Sun at 6 yesterday telling him the StarOffice disks
didn't make it. Today he called and apologized. The shipping department
didn't get it out. I let him know how the meeting went. He will be sending
them along with two StarOffice boxes for the Demo Day.
Regarding the meeting:
I don't think the Microsoft guy adequately addressed the
questions we had ( XML,encryption of e-mail, viruses, VBscripts, etc.) He
seemed flustered when it came to the VBscript. The presentation was to sell
OfficeXP. He showed us several features which did the same thing only doing
them in different way.
I would support OpenOffice. There is more potential for it getting only
better than MS.
There were about half a dozen Eugluger's there. We were the
ones asking the questions that everyone should have been asking. He found out
that we were Linux users. He said that Microsoft has banned the use of Linux
or FreeBSD on computers at Microsoft.
He said that it came from their legal department. Wow! The GNU License has
Microsoft that afraid! He said that if one line of code was written with GNU
code, then that would effect all of their code and all of it would have to
be GNU. I think as long as they work at MS, they have to use a MS OS. I don't
think they are able to control what they use when they go home.
Question: If you write your own code using the GNU C compiler, does that make
subsequent code GNU? My understanding; it wouldn't if you wrote the code,
but I may be wrong.
He talked about GNU as if it was a bad thing. Well, let's see... Sun GNU'd
some of their stuff. IBM open sourced some of their stuff. Hmmm. It
must not be such a bad thing if all these BIG corporations are doing it.
Except one.
Mike was there handing out StarOffice CD's. GO MIKE,GO......
The EPCUG will be getting some of the Disks being sent for their members. EFN
will be getting some too. I told my contact with Sun what I was going to do
with them. I know some of you were there to get a disk. I'm sorry they didn't
make it. You will be able to get one as soon as they come in. Let's get
friends and family to use StarOffice. It's FREE......why pay $400 for
something StarOffice can do. And OpenOffice will only get better.
Tim
