Product Previews

StarOffice 8 plays nice Sun Microsystems next week will update its StarOffice productivity suite, featuring improved compatibility with Microsoft apps, support for Solaris 10, and enhanced export capabilities for Adobe PDF. Other interoperability improvements include new Xforms support, OpenDocument as the default file format, and migration tools for converting Microsoft Office Visual Basic macros into StarOffice macros. StarOffice 8 also introduces a new Format Paintbrush feature for document reformatting, enhanced data analysis in spreadsheets, a database wizard for creating and managing databases, and support for digital signatures for authentication. StarOffice 8 Sun Microsystems

Sendmail Sentrion guards e-mail perimeter Sendmail has packaged its e-mail security software into an appliance that defends an e-mail network at the perimeter. Sentrion uses network-level connection controls on both inbound and outbound traffic — combined with directory checks and authentication protocols — to reject invalid mail before it hits corporate networks. The appliance includes a policy management system that allows for implementation of IT connection controls in order to protect against directory-harvesting and denial-of-service attacks. Designed for high message volume environments, Sentrion can process more than 1.5 million messages per hour, according to Sendmail officials. Sentrion Sendmail

App dev for Linux gets real Real Software is shipping RealBasic 2005 for Linux, a rapid application development environment for building Linux software. The product is similar to Microsoft Visual Basic and leverages the skills of Visual Basic programmers. A Visual Basic Project Converter included in the package helps developers migrate Visual Basic applications to Linux. The RealBasic 2005 for Linux Professional Edition, which includes six months of updates, starts at $399.95. RealBasic 2005 for Linux Real Software

Solidcore documents compliance Solidcore Systems this week will unveil S3 Change Control software designed to track and document system changes to help companies meet internal and regulatory compliance requirements. S3 Change Control features continuous change monitoring capabilities for verification of internal IT controls. The software also includes a reporting engine capable of extracting real-time change information from deployments. The reporting engine also offers customizable reports and integration with Crystal Reports. S3 Change Control Solidcore Systems