From:	 Gael Duval <gduval@mandrakesoft.com>
To:	 lwn@lwn.net
Subject: StarOffice 6.0 Final for Linux is immediately available to MandrakeClub Members.
Date:	 Mon, 25 Mar 2002 19:07:25 +0100

StarOffice 6.0 Final for Linux is immediately available to MandrakeClub Members.

The much anticipated StarOffice 6.0 for Linux is now available for download to 
Mandrake Linux Club Members. We are proud to announce that Club members will 
be among the first Linux users to have the privilege of using the newest 
version of this premiere Linux Office Suite. Since StarOffice 6.0 has a new 
licensing model (it is no longer free as were previous versions), MandrakeSoft 
is currently offering the download service to MandrakeClub "Silver" members 
(and above). To provide Mandrake Club members the opportunity to reach Silver 
status, MandrakeSoft has set up a simple upgrade procedure.

StarOffice 6.0 is comprised of five distinct components:
StarOffice Writer is a professional wordprocessor; StarOffice Calc is a 
spreadsheet application; StarOffice Impress is a multimedia presentation tool; 
StarOffice Draw is a 3D graphics and special effects designer; StarOffice 
Adabas is a user-friendly database.

The new features include a new XML-based document format that results in 
dramatically reduced filesizes (compared to StarOffice 5.2), improved file 
filters and support for OLE objects that provides excellent compatibility with 
Microsoft Office documents, new font rendering, an improved user interface 
that makes StarOffice 6.0 more intuitive and friendly than ever, better system 
integration with other applications that allows, for instance, the ability to 
send office documents with an email client directly from StarOffice, and more!

StarOffice 6.0 is supported under the following Mandrake Linux versions (x86 
only): Mandrake Linux 8.0, Mandrake Linux 8.1 and Mandrake Linux 8.2.

About the ZDNet controversy

A recent story at ZDNet (also picked up by Slashdot, LinuxToday, LWN and 
others) contained the title: "Mandrake Linux policy angers members". We'd like 
to briefly comment on this story.

* http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1104-866870.html
* http://slashdot.org/articles/02/03/23/0454208.shtml
* http://linuxtoday.com/news_story.php3?ltsn=2002-03-22-014-26-NW-DT-MD

 From reading the headline, someone might think that MandrakeSoft has indeed 
angered many members of the community due to a change of company policy. 
Unfortunately, the author wasn't able to contact anyone at MandrakeSoft for 
additional information (which we would have been happy to provide), so the 
story is based on a few select comments from the Mandrake Forum website. 
http://www.mandrakeforum.com/article.php?lang=en&sid=2004

First of all, we would like to thank all of the Mandrake users and supporters 
who questioned the basis of the story. By reading the many comments and 
talkbacks at the above links, it is clear that a large part of the community 
is not upset. It makes all of us here at MandrakeSoft extremely proud that our 
efforts throughout the years of maintaining close ties to the community and 
our long-standing commitment to Free Software has not gone unnoticed.

Secondly, the original thread at MandrakeForum was prompted by a press release 
that was released prematurely which mentioned StarOffice 6.0 and the Mandrake 
Users Club. As soon as the comments appeared at MandrakeForum, we promised 
that complete details would soon be forthcoming; but we couldn't comment -- 
until now.

Why is StarOffice 6.0 only for Silver members?

With StarOffice 6.0, Sun has enacted a new licensing policy that charges money 
for the office suite. MandrakeSoft has signed an OEM agreement with Sun to 
become a licensee which enables us to bundle StarOffice 6.0 with our retail 
packages (PowerPack, Prosuite). Sun was kind enough to also offer StarOffice 
to MandrakeClub members within that same OEM agreement. The agreement requires 
us to record each StarOffice download so that each download will count in the 
OEM agreement that we signed.

Obviously, this represents a substantial cost for MandrakeSoft. We would be 
more than happy to allow "Standard" members the ability to download StarOffice 
for an extra fee, but the OEM contract doesn't allow for this type of 
arrangement. This is the reason we decided to allow Silver-level members (and 
above) the opportunity to download this unique application.

For any Club members who are interested in downloading StarOffice 6.0, we have 
enacted an easy way to upgrade "Standard" memberships. Any members who upgrade 
now will receive more time on their membership -- upgrading now guarantees 
that your Silver membership is good until March 2003.

About Silver Membership

 From the beginning of the Mandrake Club, we made a point never to promise 
that the various membership levels would always provide the same level of 
benefits. Each time someone asked us this question, we responded that there 
will be higher-level features in the future. The membership page said "Note: 
All membership levels enjoy the same benefits" because it was true, and so 
that it would answer the most frequent question "What is the difference 
between levels?". For clarity's sake, it seems we should have added the words 
"for the moment" to that sentence to avoid the current confusion.

The MandrakeClub is not a donation or charity system. The Club provides a 
valuable way for Mandrake users to fund the Open Source development projects 
that MandrakeSoft performs, while also receiving tangible benefits. Benefits 
have not been firmly established because the Club is still very young and 
constantly being developed. Having several levels was done with the clear 
intention of offering various levels of benefits. If this were not the case, 
we would have had a single level with "Generous contributors" addons. If 
someone pays $120/year, is it not reasonable that they would expect to receive 
more than if paying $60/year?

We look forward to adding even more "Club-only" offers in the upcoming months. 
Each time we will offer the benefit to all members if that is the best 
solution. If it is not possible, we would prefer to offer a benefit to higher 
membership levels instead of not offering it at all.

We greatly value each and every member of the MandrakeClub. Your support 
allows us to continue focusing on what's most important for all of us -- 
developing the Mandrake Linux distribution and continuing our community-based 
projects and commitments. We sincerely regret if anyone was upset by the 
recent change. We respect the community too much to do anything that could 
even be slightly considered inappropriate. We always try to be open and 
available to everyone, and would be happy to answer any questions on the topic.

For more information about the MandrakeClub, please read the FAQ and Club 
announcement:

http://www.mandrakelinux.com/en/club/club-qa.php3
http://www.mandrakeforum.com/print.php?sid=1431

Final words

We would like to thank Sun for allowing MandrakeClub members the opportunity 
to take advantage of this special OEM deal. Sun also receives our thanks for 
providing an Open Source version of StarOffice, Open Office, which is included 
in the standard Mandrake Linux 8.2 release.

Mandrake Linux Club Users ("Silver" members and above) can download StarOffice 
6.0 for Linux at:
http://www.mandrakeclub.com

To upgrade a Standard Club membership to Silver level (and above):
http://www.mandrakeclub.com/user.php?op=chg_membership

More information about the Mandrake Linux Users Club and how to join is 
available at:
http://www.mandrakelinux.com/en/club/