There has been a lot of bleak news about Sun recently. This new article is more positive, and the author thinks that Sun can definitely come out strong. They compare the current fate to what IBM had to go through when mainframe/minicomputer systems tanked in the early nineties. Maybe Sun can use "Services" like IBM did.

With its N1 initiative, Sun wants to gradually move away from being a pieces-parts supplier and become essentially a giant systems integrator--a middleman role that makes disparate hardware and software work together, regardless of brand. Sun argues that it can better manage internal systems and reduce the artificial switching costs that have dominated technologies for years, Greg Papadopoulos, Sun's chief technology officer, said.

However the article wasn't all upbeat, and warns that the company's strategy, however, is far from bulletproof. For one thing, Sun's crumbling server business could be a persistent anchor that keeps the company from moving ahead.

Read Sun's changing horizon

Other current Sun news...

Mad Hatter Preview – Sun ™ Java™ Desktop System Demo
Sun has been touting its Sun Java Desktop System. Here a user demos the system for us. He concludes with:

"This Sun™ Java™ Desktop System is a good product overall, built on the well-established SuSE system with integration from Sun. It delivers what appears to be a very useful desktop OS and it has the chance to make a dent in the Windows monopoly. The same holds true for all of the key Linux players though, so Sun will have to differentiate itself on its quality, hardware, services and reputation. That means a lot of hard work, so the key questions will be how well they execute their strategy, how much public acceptance they gain and what message they convey through public venues."

This is what i was expecting.

Sun is giving away java for free (atleast for me :0)
And the market for Solaris and other hw/sw from sun is mostly saturated.

So, Consulting Services is the way to go!!

Sun's "technology," chips, Java, SAN, etc, has always kept pace or has lead the IT industry. It's too bad the "business" is always at least 5 years behind the competition. IBM, HP and others have adjusted quickly to market demands and trends, while Sun lags behind. Take for example server "blades," how long did it take Sun to realize what was going on here?
Sun needs leadership that isn't so hellbent on locking horns with M$, but rather hellbent on providing technology and services that make a profit now and 5, 10 years from now.

It will help Sun to be an allrounder and help get balanced. Excellent Hardware/Software Solutions combined with Business Solutions combined from a single Vendor with competitive price, what else co's may be looking for?

Let's see what Sun has got in Inventory. High End Systems .... to ... Handheld/Mobile Solutions? What else one company may need? A Right Strategy and best utilization of its available resources.

Compeition is good sign of healthy economy. If Sun can create a team of Business Solution Providers or collaborate with other Bus. Sol. companies, I beleive they can do it.

Go Sun Go.

--Cheers
  Hari

The most obvious problem I see with the Sun™ Java™ Desktop System is
the use of "Java" term in a commercial product.

Wasn't it Sun Microsystems that were fiercely restricting the use of
Java name and Java Logo in the name of a proprietary commercial product
(what, I think, was making sense).

So finally we got a product that has it all: it is proprietary (Sun Java Desktop
System integrated to work with Solaris on Sun's boxes), it uses "platform and
vendor independent" Java trademark in its name, and it shamelessly uses
solid Java reputation steadily built by other vendors (BEA, IBM, Oracle, Borland, Iona, SAS, SAP, etc.) and open source community (ObjectWeb with Jonas,
Enhydra, JBoss, Apache, etc.), and its coming out from the "the only true and
official" source.

Undoubtedly, led by such a desperate example, the industry will have to follow
suit and capitalize on the Java trademark, which is fair due to extensive
investments into Java development by some vendors.

My personal feeling is bad and it looks like the end of the Java Platform.
Sun just went ahead and killed their own child before someone else does it.
Yes, probably it's time for a new language, new platform and new way of doing
business in IT.

Last I checked, Sun owned the trademark. Yes, they may be leveraging it to their benefit, and yes it may not make sense, but it is their trademark, so they can leverage it, and no one else has the same right to do such a silly thing.

Peace,

Cameron Purdy
Tangosol, Inc.
Coherence: Clustered JCache for Grid Computing!

Sun is leveraging their Java brand and taking it to the desktop (something many Java developers have been asking for for years) and we're supposed to go looking for another programming language because of it? That's got to be the most shortsighted/misguided position I've heard in a while.

I don't necesarily agree with their strategy, but I certainly wouldn't start throwing out Java as a result. That's just silly...