Oracle and SUN Archive

InfoWorld features three articles on Sun: "Sun Network: Welcome to the post-boom Sun": Company hopes to bolster its enterprise worth at next week's user conference. "Sun steals page from Microsoft's playbook": Grid, p-to-p software missing from Project Orion's official launch. "Sun inches toward low-cost computing": Company demos Oracle 10g database running on a cluster of its Intel-based servers. Also, McNealy, 48, who co-founded Sun Microsystems in 1982, sat down last week with a group of Chronicle reporters and editors to discuss the challenges facing his company.

Every tier-one computer company has a core of individuals who act as the company's Big Brains. At IBM and Novell, they are known as "fellows." Same for Microsoft. More often than not, company Big Brains hole up in labs and rarely make public appearances. Not Jonathan Schwartz, one of the Big Brains at Sun Microsystems. Recently, VARBusiness senior executive editor T.C. Doyle caught up with Schwartz to learn more about his dual mission. Also, Sun Microsystems may add a provision to some of its Java licenses to protect consumers from Linux-related lawsuits filed by the SCO Group. "You license Java--we will indemnify you on Linux," says Sun's Jonathan Schwartz.

In an about-face that could have a dramatic impact in the Java tools space, Sun Microsystems Inc. has indicated it might be willing to join the IBM-sponsored Eclipse open-source development platform effort—but only if momentum to spin off the effort into an independent organization continues.

Linux on Desktop is what Xandros trying to push when they took over the Corel Linux. Their effort in attracting Windows refugee with their version 1.0 was quite a success. Now Xandros released their updated version of Xandros OS Deluxe version 1.1. OSForge is reviewing this release.

Xandros, Inc., today announced the opening of the beta program for the 2.0 release of its award-winning Xandros Desktop. Users interested in testing Xandros Desktop 2.0 are invited to apply at the Xandros web site. Xandros is also looking for IT administrators considering mass deployment of the Xandros Desktop to test the forthcoming release of Xandros Networks Enterprise. For more info check here.

On a major visit to the UK this week, taking in customers, media briefings and other events, even including a dawn-'til-dusk day of golf with Gary Player, Sun Microsystems CEO Scott McNealy has been doing his witty best to talk up his company's long-term prospects. But, Tony Hallett asks, does his vision of vertically-integrated technology and simplified computing stack up?

Although Sun Microsystems Inc. discontinued sales several months ago of its customized Linux distribution, the company hasn't entirely abandoned its do-it-yourself Linux strategy: In its forthcoming bundle of desktop software, code-named Mad Hatter, the included Linux OS will be Sun's own.

Xandros, Inc. has released a 1.1 edition of Xandros Desktop Deluxe. Version 1.1 enhancements include: Support for Microsoft Office XP and Adobe Photoshop 7.0, Mozilla 1.3.1 with spell checking and spam filtering, OpenOffice.org office suite 1.0.3, Evolution groupware client 1.2.4, enhanced hardware detection, Intel i830/845/855 graphics drivers. Xandros Desktop Deluxe 1.1 includes a printed user guide, a Technology Preview CD, and 30 days of e-mail installation support.

Sun Microsystems Inc. is hoping to lure users of Hewlett-Packard Co.'s Alpha server technology with an incentive program that includes no-risk assessments of migrating to the SPARC/Solaris platform.

A previously secret licensee of SCO Group's Unix intellectual property has revealed its identity: UNIX leader Sun Microsystems. Sun, the No. 1 seller of UNIX servers, licenses broader rights to Unix and gets the option to buy a stake in the company that owns those rights.

... strategy, saying, "IBM has been using Linus like a tool and exploiting the open-source community." Those fightin' words come from Jonathan Schwartz, executive vice president for Sun's software group. Read it at ComputerWorld.

Sun's Jonathan Schwartz is not so sure about the idea of an open-source Java. Elsewhere, Sun seeks boost from stronger Java while in the meantime Sun slips and its CEO slams takeover talk: Sun's shares dipped into negative territory Thursday after CEO Scott McNealy tried to shoot down rumors that the network-computer maker was a takeover target. Additionally, Web services must start delivering, says Sun, while they will also sell and support all x86 versions of Red Hat Enterprise Linux.

"Technical muscle and a history of innovation made Sun a Silicon Valley standard-bearer. It also blinded famously combative Scott McNealy to the coming Linux wars. Now he's fighting to survive." Read the article at Wired.

Sun's new products apparently are paying off. Thanks to the V120, V1280, and V880, Sun is selling more UNIX servers than its competitors. Sun's UNIX servers account for 52% of the shipments for the first quarter of 2003 in the worldwide market place. Press release.