Jim DeLong has a
note about Sun perhaps getting cozier with Microsoft.
I toured the Sun facilities about 4 years ago, and saw a very compelling display of their thin client, server-driven environment, and I have to say it was very impressive.
IBM was headed in the same direction at the time--a return to the mammoth server-driven model with thin client workstations. On the Sun Ray system, the employee could stick his employee ID card into any workstation, and it would download all his customizations. It is a very secure environment, and should definitely cut down on the costs of IT support for major companies.
The wind went out of the project, I think, as storage costs plummeted and as desktop PCs continued to become inexpensive commodities. But the technology is still compelling, as is Java, and Gini.
I hope Sun survives, as they are true innovators. Ending their war with Microsoft would be a good thing.
I toured the Sun facilities about 4 years ago, and saw a very compelling display of their thin client, server-driven environment, and I have to say it was very impressive.
IBM was headed in the same direction at the time--a return to the mammoth server-driven model with thin client workstations. On the Sun Ray system, the employee could stick his employee ID card into any workstation, and it would download all his customizations. It is a very secure environment, and should definitely cut down on the costs of IT support for major companies.
The wind went out of the project, I think, as storage costs plummeted and as desktop PCs continued to become inexpensive commodities. But the technology is still compelling, as is Java, and Gini.
I hope Sun survives, as they are true innovators. Ending their war with Microsoft would be a good thing.