One of the biggest challenges facing Sun is supporting Mac OS X's Aqua interface and Quartz 2D rendering engine. The first issue is logistical. StarOffice uses a consistent interface across all operating systems, something Sun would have to consider changing for Mac OS X. But completing the task would be daunting, and is not something the company may complete before a first release, Siress said. Supporting Quartz is a separate problem. OpenOffice uses different graphics, called x11, which isn't supported on OS X without special software. "The current release of OpenOffice for Mac OS X requires x11," Siress said. "I've got my Hamburg (Germany) team working on eliminating that requirement right now and using Java." As development teams from the two companies work more closely together, they've learned the task ahead may mean compromises if there is to be a Java-version of OpenOffice by the end of the year. "We're about 30 days from having a plan," Siress said. "We didn't understand all of Quartz, and the people at Apple didn't understand the infrastructure of StarOffice." To facilitate the process, Apple developers "have been working in the StarOffice source code," he added. Shooting or falling StarOffice?
Analysts agree that StarOffice would likely crank up the pressure on Microsoft Office, but they're not convinced the product is mature enough to win a showdown. "My experience is that StarOffice is just not a widely popular productivity suite," said Technology Business Research analyst Tim Deal. "Most people looking for a productivity package are interested in Office." Silver says that the compromises Sun might have to make, particularly with the Mac OS X interface, could work to ThinkFree's or Office's advantage. "If you have two products, one that takes advantage of Aqua and Quartz and one that doesn't, the one that does could be more compelling," he said. "But then again, in the Mac market, where there are lots of consumers, free is probably good enough." Then again, OpenOffice would be free, too. But Siress pointed out the commercial product would come with fonts and other extras that must be licensed and would not be available in an open-source product. "The fonts and added tools are certainly going to make it more compelling for users looking for Office compatibility," Silver said. Both Deal and Silver concluded if nothing else, an OS X version of StarOffice would appeal to the large number of anti-Microsoft users on the Mac. "For some die-hard Mac users, who certainly have a bone to pick with Microsoft, a Sun-Apple combination would seem like the perfect symbiotic relationship," Deal said. Ultimately, the success of StarOffice on OS X might come down to Apple, and not Sun. "I don't want to sell StarOffice for OS X," Siress said. "I want Apple to bundle it. I'll give them the code. I'd love it if I could get the team at Apple to do joint development and they distribute it at no cost -- that it's their product. Nobody makes a product more beautiful on Apple than Apple."
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