Google and Sun: press conference at six

Google and Sun are holding a joint press conference this evening to head off an orgy of speculation not seen since Ginger/Segway threatened to overload speculation networks earlier this century.

Top of the charts this lunchtime are suggestions that the two could be collaborating to distribute Sun's Star Office - the company's version of OpenOffice. Or Google could be launching its own version of StarOffice - an actual Google office suite.

Google's move into providing applications like Gmail and Google Earth has prompted talk that it could take the final step and offer an Office suite. Microsoft-haters have long predicted, or hoped, that Google would go after Microsoft's core business - desktop applications. Sun could help by providing StarOffice and by helping with corporate sales.

But that's not all the speculation available. Google could be launching its own operating system based on Sun's Solaris or Java. More on this theory at eWeek here.

Or Google could be buying some Sun servers.

Or, pay attention at the back, Google could be buying Sun servers to run its proposed Wi-Fi network in San Francisco. Google is bidding to provide Wi-Fi access across San Francisco - it is one of ten bidders but the only one offering the service for free.

What else could the two be planning? Please get your speculation in, to the usual address, before 6.30pm UK time.

Notice of the press conference, and a link to the webcast at 6.30, is here. It will be attended by Scott McNealy, CEO of Sun, and Eric Schmidt, president and CEO of Google, and former CTO of Sun. ®