Nearly half a year after the end of the StarOffice 8 Beta Program on April 7th, 2005, StarOffice 8 will finally be available this week.

To make up for the delay, Sun is offering a 90-day evaluation version at no-charge. The evaluation version has all the features of the standard version, says Sun, so users will be able to work with StarOffice for a period of time before having to buy it.

As The New York Times reminds the uninitiated this morning,  StarOffice 8 allows users to import and export Microsoft Office files and to use Office macros. The Times adds:

"Improving StarOffice's ability to work with Microsoft software is considered critical to expanding Sun's reach within companies that already use Microsoft products."

The retail price of StarOffice 8 as a boxed product is $99.95 ($69.95 as a download).