Taiwan schools to enjoy free StarOffice 6.0
Published: 31 May 2002 10:00 BST
In a symbolic move to capture the Taiwanese education market from Microsoft, Sun Microsystems donated StarOffice 6.0 to a local university on Wednesday.
National Cheng Kung University is the first of the 230 local universities to receive the free office productivity software, dubbed StarSuite 6.0 in Taiwan, from Sun. The donation is valued at more than $56m Taiwan dollars (£1.1m).
In addition to universities, more than 4000 middle and primary schools throughout Taiwan will enjoy the same privilege, according to a joint agreement announced last March by Kim Jones, Sun's vice president for global education and research, and Taiwan's Education Ministry.
Sun's gesture couldn't have come at a better time -- the local market has been bitter about Microsoft's pricing tactics, which are said to be among the highest around the world, according to a survey by lawmaker Chou Hsi-wei. Taiwan's Fair Trade Commission formed a taskforce to investigate the case earlier this month, and promised to announce the results within six months. In addition, Taiwan's National Teachers' Association had reportedly called on Microsoft not to bill educational institutions.
Microsoft has been quick to mend the public grievances. Eunice Chiu, the company's general manager said that the company is considering a variety of options to further lowering the price, including selling separate applications of the Office product or giving special discount to its products, according to China Times.
Although the current sentiment could give StarOffice 6.0 a boost in Taiwan, the launch of the Chinese version has been delayed to June, and Sun has yet to announce the local retail price as well.
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