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Yeah cause SWT is part of the java standard library. Perhaps you were thinking of AWT or Swing?

tm

By type system I mean: the set of formal rules that define the type of an expression (e.g. in a sequent calculus, for a fonctionnal language).

Your definition is mistaken. CAML and SML have a static (what you call a type system) and dynamic type system. Java similarly has a dynamic type system (for downcasts, arrays, etc.). A dynamic type system ensures that the program is type-safe, because the static type system is not sufficient.

Your remark, "So this error in zlib would not be caught if zlib was programmed in Java because of Java type system, but because of runtime checks that are independent from its type system." again displays your faulty understanding of the dynamic type system of Java.

You claim that Java's dynamic type system is separate from the type system. That is consistent with your faulty definition of "type system", but is nevertheless incorrect. Here's something from the language spec (page 313):

"A basic principle of the design of the Java programming language is that the runtime type system cannot be subverted by code written in the language...

So what you call "runtime checks that are independent from its type system." is what the Java spec (and I) call a "dynamic type system". I would assume the same is true of CAML/SML, but those specs are not available online (and I don't have them handy).

Here's more, from Computer Science professor. Please look here -- this Professor is suitably precise to mention:

There is some dynamic typechecking that occurs in statically typed languages too. For instance, in Java, downcasts are verified at run-time and can raise exceptions. Out-of-bounds array accesses are also checked at run-time in Java and Caml, and are thus dynamically typed. Array accesses are not typed in C or C++, since no check is performed at all. Note that the type of an array (i.e. int, float) is statically checked, but the size is dynamically checked.

Well, I mean, it's not like there's an easy to use instantly cross-platform language with a large developer base out there or anything.

lights out management (you can discover problems in the hardware even after it has crashed, because it contains a little computer on a chip designed just to report the statte of the hardware, power cycle it, etc....)

Your average 8 proc US-IV system (16 cores) from Sun costs about the same as an 8 proc (8 cores) Opteron system from HP, for similar configurations.

This is just total crap. To get a 8-way US-IV, you need at least a V890. Which comes in at $155k!

Sun's pricing

Now, you say 8-way Opteron. No tier 1 makes them, but I presume you mean 4 seeing as you can get dual core Opterons only. Do they cost $155k? Ummm, no. They cost $39k from Sun and half configured (2 processor box) from HP cost $17k. Somehow, I can't see HP being that much different than Sun.

v40z pricing

HP DL585 pricing

And when it comes down it, an Opteron is way faster than a USIV anyway so you don't even need that many processors. And yes, I do use these processors everyday so I do know what I'm talking about. Which apparently you don't.

If you really don't want to run Linux, you can of course run Solaris 10 on the v40z.

lights out management (you can discover problems in the hardware even after it has crashed, because it contains a little computer on a chip designed just to report the statte of the hardware, power cycle it, etc....)

Your average 8 proc US-IV system (16 cores) from Sun costs about the same as an 8 proc (8 cores) Opteron system from HP, for similar configurations.

This is just total crap. To get a 8-way US-IV, you need at least a V890. Which comes in at $155k!

Sun's pricing

Now, you say 8-way Opteron. No tier 1 makes them, but I presume you mean 4 seeing as you can get dual core Opterons only. Do they cost $155k? Ummm, no. They cost $39k from Sun and half configured (2 processor box) from HP cost $17k. Somehow, I can't see HP being that much different than Sun.

v40z pricing

HP DL585 pricing

And when it comes down it, an Opteron is way faster than a USIV anyway so you don't even need that many processors. And yes, I do use these processors everyday so I do know what I'm talking about. Which apparently you don't.

If you really don't want to run Linux, you can of course run Solaris 10 on the v40z.

sun has had low-priced solutions for quite some time. check out: http://www.sun.com/desktop/workstation/ultra20/ind ex.jsp

$895 gets you an AMD x64; certified on suse, red hat, solaris 10, windows xp (x84).

Sounds like you want either Java Web Start or wxWidgets.

As for your statement: "GTK could easily be replaced by Cocoa or Win32 here". It makes me think you have never used more than one GUI framework, or tried a Java, Qt, Python (using e.g. wxWidgets) application etc. on OS X.

Native look'n'feel is only achieved by writing the application for the actual platform (often using platform frameworks, or replicating 99% of their functionality), since there are so many differences, and you can't address it by designing a cross-platform framework, it has been tried again and again.

The browser (HTML/DOM/CSS) actually is the best cross-platform framework.

There is plenty of Java/Swing "done right" out there. For example: http://www.jgoodies.com/freeware/jdiskreport/ is small and sweet. And then there is this sightings list: http://java.sun.com/products/jfc/tsc/sightings/S21 .html

No matter how many times the evidence gets posted, there are still people who seem ignorant of Microsoft's criminal behaviour. Of course, we also know that Microsoft has been caught paying people to write articles and post in forums, so we never know what a given poster's motivation is.

Cases like Go's lawsuit are _NOT_ frivilous attempts to get money out of Microsoft. On the contrary, Microsoft has had a series of losses in court BECAUSE MICROSOFT WAS GUILTY.

In just the last few years, Microsoft was found guilty of criminal behaviour by the DOJ, and has had to make massive payouts to Sun, Novell, IBM, Apple, and others. Those are not companies that got rich through frivilous lawsuits.

Microsoft's standard method of operation has been well documented over the years. As happened with DR-DOS, Java, and Netscape, among other examples, Microsoft:

1. Allows their own product to stagnate for years.

2. Finally notices when another company starts to succeed with a new or improved technology.

3. Copies the new or improved technology (sometimes buys it, but often steals it, hence the lawsuits).

4. Fails to succeed with their often-second-rate copy.

5. Finally resorts to sabotaging the other company, through FUD, payoffs, polluting standards, and so on.

6. Gets a slap on the wrist from the courts. Pays a fine. Profit!

Microsoft's greatest innovation is their strategy for stealing technology. Microsoft always starts out by forming a partnership, or at least entering into negotiations with the other company, before stealing that company's technology. That way, the criminal courts never get involved, and no one at Microsoft ends up going to jail. Instead, the case always goes to civil court, where the worst Microsoft is likely to face is a fine. Microsoft is a master at manipulating the law.

I said that the evidence is frequently posted. Here is where you can read some of it:

The DOJ case against Microsoft - Findings of Fact:

For example, this quote showing how Microsoft blackmailed Apple:

> Gates informed those Microsoft executives most closely involved in the negotiations with Apple that the discussions "have not been going well at all." One of the several reasons for this, Gates wrote, was that "Apple let us down on the browser by making Netscape the standard install." Gates then reported that he had already called Apple's CEO (who at the time was Gil Amelio) to ask "how we should announce the cancellation of Mac Office...."

Or these quotes from Microsoft's James Allchin:

> I don't understand how IE is going to win. The current path is simply to copy everything that Netscape does packaging and product wise. Let's [suppose] IE is as good as Navigator/Communicator. Who wins? The one with 80% market share.

> Pitting browser against browser is hard since Netscape has 80% marketshare and we have 20%.... I am convinced we have to use Windows -- this is the one thing they don't have.... We have to be competitive with features, but we need something more -- Windows integration. If you agree that Windows is a huge asset, then it follows quickly that we are not investing sufficiently in finding ways to tie IE and Windows together.

Also, read the parts about the ways Microsoft "encouraged" companies to break their contracts with Netscape, about how Microsoft threatened Intel to get them to stop working on Java, and so on.

Sun's lawsuit against Microsoft over Java:

This is a classic case of Microsoft attempting to copy/steal another company's product, then sabotaging that company's version of it.

For example, there is this memo about a meeting with Bill Gates:

> When I met with you last, you had a lot of pretty pointed questions about Java, so I want to make sure I understand your issues/concerns...

There is no double standard.

The standard is honesty -- Debian has it, and Microsoft doesn't.

Debian is just a bunch of guys, mostly volunteers, trying to make the best Linux distribution they can.

Microsoft, on the other hand, is the company that:

1. Sabotaged Java:

> Strategic Objective [is to] kill cross-platform Java by grow[ing] the polluted Java market.

2. Defrauded Their Own Customers:

> At this point its [sic] not good to create MORE noise around our win32 java classes. Instead we should just quietly grow j++ share and assume that people will take advantage of our classes without ever realizing they are building win32-only java apps."

3. Blackmailed Apple:

> Gates informed those Microsoft executives most closely involved in the negotiations with Apple that the discussions "have not been going well at all." One of the several reasons for this, Gates wrote, was that "Apple let us down on the browser by making Netscape the standard install." Gates then reported that he had already called Apple's CEO (who at the time was Gil Amelio) to ask "how we should announce the cancellation of Mac Office...."

4. Is Trying To Sabotage Linux:

> OSS projects have been able to gain a foothold in many server applications because of the wide utility of highly commoditized, simple protocols. By extending these protocols and developing new protocols, we can deny OSS projects entry into the market.

5. Stole from Stacker. Stole from Go. Sabotaged WordPerfect. Sabotaged DR-DOS. Commited perjury in a federal court. Sabotaged GeoWorks. Sabotaged AmiPro. Paid companies to break their contracts with Netscape. Fudded DR-DOS. Fudded OS/2. Is currently fudding Linux. And so on.

In short: Microsoft is a criminal organization. If we treated Microsoft the same as Debian, then _that_ would be a double standard.

There is no double standard.

The standard is honesty -- Debian has it, and Microsoft doesn't.

Debian is just a bunch of guys, mostly volunteers, trying to make the best Linux distribution they can.

Microsoft, on the other hand, is the company that:

1. Sabotaged Java:

> Strategic Objective [is to] kill cross-platform Java by grow[ing] the polluted Java market.

2. Defrauded Their Own Customers:

> At this point its [sic] not good to create MORE noise around our win32 java classes. Instead we should just quietly grow j++ share and assume that people will take advantage of our classes without ever realizing they are building win32-only java apps."

3. Blackmailed Apple:

> Gates informed those Microsoft executives most closely involved in the negotiations with Apple that the discussions "have not been going well at all." One of the several reasons for this, Gates wrote, was that "Apple let us down on the browser by making Netscape the standard install." Gates then reported that he had already called Apple's CEO (who at the time was Gil Amelio) to ask "how we should announce the cancellation of Mac Office...."

4. Is Trying To Sabotage Linux:

> OSS projects have been able to gain a foothold in many server applications because of the wide utility of highly commoditized, simple protocols. By extending these protocols and developing new protocols, we can deny OSS projects entry into the market.

5. Stole from Stacker. Stole from Go. Sabotaged WordPerfect. Sabotaged DR-DOS. Commited perjury in a federal court. Sabotaged GeoWorks. Sabotaged AmiPro. Paid companies to break their contracts with Netscape. Fudded DR-DOS. Fudded OS/2. Is currently fudding Linux. And so on.

In short: Microsoft is a criminal organization. If we treated Microsoft the same as Debian, then _that_ would be a double standard.

Floating-Point Computing: A Comedy of Errors?

The Java letters include uppercase and lowercase ASCII Latin letters A-Z (\u0041-\u005a), and a-z (\u0061-\u007a), and, for historical reasons, the ASCII underscore (_, or \u005f) and dollar sign ($, or \u0024). The $ character should be used only in mechanically generated source code or, rarely, to access preexisting names on legacy systems.

Sun, if they want to dabble with licence definitions, should create the SOL licence. "Sun Open Licence" perhaps, or something to distinguish source code readability from an unlimited right to reproduce. At least we all know the score then. Btw that little marketing tip is for 'Free' (as in beer) Sun peeps. Always been very fond of Sun, I had a 3180, then a Sparc, always very solid stuff, but Solaris was a horrible Unix imho.

So far I have always seen Sun as a progressive company, have a look through their about page and tell me you disagree.
It annoys me when corps change their face under new management or takeover though, a brand entrenched in your mind as 'the good guys' suddenly decide to start taking the piss they can run a long way with the trust they have built up.
However, I don't think it will happen,I have faith in Sun Microsystems to give back far more then they take from the community and wish them well.
Given time I reckon we see Java become fully Open and Free (as in freedom).

Sun is very much through the Looking Glass, these days

Nice..."

1. Runtime.getRuntime().exec("/usr/bin/tput clear");

2. http://bugs.sun.com/bugdatabase/view_bug.do?bug_id =4050435

Stop the presses! Java has three GUI toolkits and poor console support? Gosh, do you think they want you to use a GUI instead of the CLI? When will the madness end?

That question is non-sense. You confuse programming languages with compiler implementation techniques.

A language is a syntax (how do I write it?) and a semantic (what does it do when I run it?). Languages never say anything about you are supposed to implement it, and so asking if a language is interpreted or compiled is just non-sense.

There are many implementations of the Java language, with many different execution strategies.

• Sun's implementation of Java is a Just-In-Time compiler (JIT).
  
• 
  SableVM is also an implementation of the Java language. It's execution strategy is to interpret the bytecode.
  
• 
  GCJ is another implementation of the Java language. It's execution strategy is to compile ahead of time.
  
• 
  DrJava is yet another implementation of the Java language. It's execution strategy is to compile the Java source code to Scheme code, then macro-expand the Scheme code to primitive Scheme, then compile that to bytecode, then interpret the bytecode.
  

• 
  The Ocaml language comes standard with three implementation: an interpreter, a bytecode compiler/bytecode interpreter pair, and an aggresively optimizing native code compiler. Somebody else also implemented a JIT.
  
• 
  The standard Python implementation is an interpreter. Starkiller is a Python compiler, and Psyco is a Python JIT.
  
• Last but not least, GCC is a C compiler (of course), and Cint is a C interpreter.
  

Now go in peace, and never say "compiled language" again.

That question is non-sense. You confuse programming languages with compiler implementation techniques.

A language is a syntax (how do I write it?) and a semantic (what does it do when I run it?). Languages never say anything about you are supposed to implement it, and so asking if a language is interpreted or compiled is just non-sense.

There are many implementations of the Java language, with many different execution strategies.

• Sun's implementation of Java is a Just-In-Time compiler (JIT).
• SableVM is also an implementation of the Java language. It's execution strategy is to interpret the bytecode.
• GCJ is another implementation of the Java language. It's execution strategy is to compile ahead of time.
• DrJava is yet another implementation of the Java language. It's execution strategy is to compile the Java source code to Scheme code, then macro-expand the Scheme code to primitive Scheme, then compile that to bytecode, then interpret the bytecode.

• The Ocaml language comes standard with three implementation: an interpreter, a bytecode compiler/bytecode interpreter pair, and an aggresively optimizing native code compiler. Somebody else also implemented a JIT.
• The standard Python implementation is an interpreter. Starkiller is a Python compiler, and Psyco is a Python JIT.
• Last but not least, GCC is a C compiler (of course), and Cint is a C interpreter.

Now go in peace, and never say "compiled language" again.

2. Out of the box EJB support that is good.

3. Out of the box webservices support.

4. A much better, more mature GUI Editor that's going to get even better in 4.2. (Not sure if VE is in eclipse 3.1)

5. Cool auto comment tool

6. Bundled Tomcat and Full J2EE compliant app server.

7. This guy's blog to read :)

8. This one is subjective but to me... i don't find the interface as cluttered or ugly as Eclipse. Obviously other's disagree. Also even the the windows are not native, the layout is much closer to what native dialogs look like on windows. With Eclipse, the dialog boxes just seem weird. Error messages look and feel like they don't belong, etc.

1. Kudos to the Groovy authors. They've even garnered James Gosling's attention. If you write Java code and consider yourself even a little bit of a forward thinker, look up Groovy. It's a very important JSR (JSR-241 specifically).

2. He talks about Javascript solely from the point of view of the browser. Yes, I agree that Javascript is predominently implemented in a browser, but it's reach can be felt everywhere. Javascript == ActionScript (Flash scripting language). Javascript == CFScript (ColdFusion scripting language). Javascript object notation == Python object notation.

But what about Javascript and Rhino's inclusion in Java 6? I've been using Rhino as a server side language for a while now because Struts is way too verbose for my taste. I just want a thin glue layer between the web interface and my java components. I'm sick and tired of endless xml configuration (that means you, too, EJB!). A Rhino script on the server (with embedded Request, Response, Application, and Session objects) is the perfect glue that does not need xml configuration. (See also Groovy's Groovlets for a thin glue layer).

3. Javascript has been called Lisp in C's clothing. Javascript (via Rhino) will be included in Java 6. I also read that Java 6 will allow access to the parse trees created by the javac compiler (same link as Java 6 above).

Java is now Lisp? Paul Graham writes about 9 features that made Lisp unique when it debuted in the 50s. Access to the parse trees is one of the most advanced features of Lisp. He argues that when a language has all 9 features (and Java today is at about #5), you've not created a new language but a dialect of Lisp.

I am a Very Big Fan of dynamic languages that can flex like a pretzel to fit my problem domain. Is Java evolving to be that pretzel?

"Hello! We're Sun Microsystems! You see that logo? It instills awe in you, doesn't it? You are getting sleepy! Keep staring at the Sun logo. You are getting sleepy. Focus on the logo. Now repeat after me - 'I will pay far more than someone with common sense would pay because of the Sun logo.' Say it. Good. Now, keep repeating it. That's right. Just keep repeating it. Excellent!"

STARTING at $3,400 for a Sun-branded laptop running at 1.28 GHz.

Compare that to less than $2,000 for a brand name laptop (pick one) w/ Pentium M 1.8-2.0 GHz, DVD writer, 1 GB RAM, and so forth - and it's very likely that Linux will run just fine on it, perhaps with some drivers.

Oh, look! I can get a screaming fast 3 GHz Pentium IV system w/ 1 GB RAM, 500 GB drive space, 19" LCD panel, dual-layer DVD writer, Gb Ethernet, etc. starting at ~$1,900 from brand name A. Again, it's very likely that Linux + some drivers will work with this system.

Compare that to a Sun Blade 150 at 650 MHz, 512 MB of RAM, 80 GB drive, 100 Mb Ethernet, etc that STARTS at a measly $3,400!

I really wish that Sun would realize that the Sun brand name is no longer sufficient to jack up the prices on their hardware. I honestly don't see this laptop selling any more than it normally would if Sun didn't bring it to the forefront, since us Sun geeks knew about Tadpole for years now.

Before you think I'm trolling, I'm actually a Sun bigot. I have three Sun workstations at home (yes, home) and I've already contacted my Sun sales rep regarding purchasing the new Ultra 20, (which is actually VERY reasonably priced, particularly for Sun) as a personal workstation for me at home (yes, home). But the simple fact of the matter is that for years I have watched major, international, engineering corporations trade in their Sun workstations for Dell workstations simply because of the price per performance. Sun's continually high prices due to the Sun name has been a pet peeve of mine for over six years.

When a Sun workstation offers 1/2 to 2/3 the speed at twice the price, the purchasing decision is a no-brainer. This laptop sadly continues that trend. The dot-com bubble is dead. Most companies take a much harder look at the bottom line than before. I don't see how this laptop will sell any more than before, particularly since us Sun geeks have known about Tadpole laptops for many years.

you were running SPARCstation Voyager, a discontinued product line, with very limited sales, here's the handbook

Yeah? That must be why SPARCs gets pummeled so completely in the STREAM benchmark which measures memory bandwidth. For example, their current highend system (F25K) in a 24 cpu configuration is beaten by a 4 cpu Opteron. Or the IBM p5-595 at 64 cpu:s has more than twice the memory bw than a 144 cpu F25K. Go figure...

Show me proof. I haven't seen any of these memory bandwidth benchmarks, but I'm pretty sure you're talking out your ass because the MINIMUM configuration for an F25K is 36 CPUs. Also, show me the benchmark of an Opteron server that puts out up to 25.2 GB/sec sustained I/O bandwidth. Such a beast does not even exist right now.

Oh, right, you were just trolling and spouting the typical anti-Sun pro-IBM Slashbot FUD.

There was a company called Tadpole that made SPARC laptops before. Dunno if they're still around.

Well, if you go to Sun's site and look at the picture they have of the Sun SPARC laptop, it has Tadpole's logo above it. So I'm guessing they might be around. :)

Just, for reference, here's a link to Sun's product page on this.

here. Edited highlights:

Power supplies: Built-in li-ion battery pack with approximately 2-3 hours of battery life (depending on model).

Width: Approximately 128-inch [sic] (exact width depends on model)

Weight: Approximately 7 lbs. with battery (exact weight depends on model).

Not exactly a lightweight G4/Pentium M, is it?

... they're just reselling the Sparc laptops that Tadpole and Naturetech have already been making for ages. As you can see by the image in the top left of this page.

Aha... well then the stuff Sun is selling is nothing new, as this is the same system displayed on their website.

http://www.sun.com/desktop/workstation/ultra3/inde x.xml

Tons of laptops might work with Solaris (though, I'll admit, Solaris is quite limited)... but no one will ever know...

I guess you need to look more carefully, and they have a link named specifications on the right side of the webpage, where everything you asked about is, except resolution, which is a misstake I guess, but maybe they expect people to call them to get more information, especially for a $3,4k invest.

But how about a Sun opeteron box?
Sun v20z: 2x Opteron 248, 2GB Ram, 1x73GB disk, $3000: http://store.sun.com/CMTemplate/CEServlet?process= SunStore&cmdViewProduct_CP&catid=111394
G5 Xserve: 2x G5 2.3Ghz, 1GB Ram, 1x 80GB disk, $4000: http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPLE/WebObjects/A ppleStore.woa/70902/wo/Oo1dIs4kylfo25YF33W1KKyrgua /0.0.11.1.0.6.15.0.3.1.3.0.3.1.6.1.1.0

I call shenanigans AGAIN! There is no Sun press release to corroborate this story. There are also no quotes from any Sun employee in this story. It's BS, not true, or a leak of trade secrets.

Someone ought to mention to Sun that monitors is spelled with only one 't'.

Apparenlty you haven't seen their Ultra 20 Workstation!

It starts under $900, free for 90-day trial, or own if free with Sun Services subscription.

http://www.sun.com/desktop/workstation/ultra20/ind ex.jsp

If you do not wish to keep the system, you must notify Sun in writing (by email to ultra20_try_buy@sun.com) with your order confirmation number within 90 days of the product shipment date. If Sun does not receive your email cancellation within such 90-day period, you will be charged the price listed for the product at the time of your order. In the event of cancellation, Sun will be responsible for picking up the equipment from you.

and Naturetechs... Sun is just reselling the two laptops. Not even a rebadging --weak.

• case: 150
• ps: 70
• mobo/cpu: 300
• HD: 80
• Mem: 80
• DVD: 60
• Vid: 60
• Total:$800

Check out the photo on Sun's product page for the "Ultra 3 Mobile Workstation."

http://www.sun.com/desktop/workstation/ultra3/inde x.xml

No, I think the real news is Sun announcing their new AMD Opteron workstation for under $900, the Ultra 20.

http://www.sun.com/ultra20

In fact, the Sun laptop looks like its just a Tadpole according to this page.

i don't know where this article is coming from at all.

It's coming from Sun announcing the Sun Ultra 3 Mobile Workstation, although the picture on that page suggests that perhaps Sun are just re-branding Tadpole and Naturetech SPARC laptops. (The announcement mainly talks about a new x86 workstation, but it also mentions the SPARC laptops.)

The article didn't say "first SPARC laptop", it said "Sun announces its first laptop", i.e. the first one that Sun is selling as a Sun, rather than somebody else selling it as a SPARC-compatible.

The Sun announcement clearly says "Entry-level pricing for the Sun Ultra 3 Mobile Workstation begins at $3,400 (USD)." Perhaps, as they've "been out for a long time", your workplace bought SPARC workstations when they were a lot more expensive.

i don't know where this article is coming from at all.

It's coming from Sun announcing the Sun Ultra 3 Mobile Workstation, although the picture on that page suggests that perhaps Sun are just re-branding Tadpole and Naturetech SPARC laptops. (The announcement mainly talks about a new x86 workstation, but it also mentions the SPARC laptops.)

The article didn't say "first SPARC laptop", it said "Sun announces its first laptop", i.e. the first one that Sun is selling as a Sun, rather than somebody else selling it as a SPARC-compatible.

The Sun announcement clearly says "Entry-level pricing for the Sun Ultra 3 Mobile Workstation begins at $3,400 (USD)." Perhaps, as they've "been out for a long time", your workplace bought SPARC workstations when they were a lot more expensive.

They're just reselling the Sparc laptops that have been around for *ages*:

http://www.sun.com/desktop/workstation/ultra3/

Pictures and specs...

http://www.sun.com/desktop/workstation/ultra3/inde x.xml

The first Sun laptop that I know of was the Voyager. It was a sun4m-class machine.

I believe the laptops mentioned in the summary are made by Tadpole and one other company, but will probably be branded as Sun laptops.

Looks that way. The picture on Sun's webpage has 2 laptops, one with a Tadpole logo, and another with a Naturetech logo on the displays.

here's a link to the actual product page http://www.sun.com/desktop/workstation/ultra3/inde x.xml

By Ashlee Vance in Chicago
Published Monday 27th June 2005 14:42 GMT

Sun Microsystems has polished off its cheapest and likely most attractive Opteron-based workstation to date.

The hardware maker today introduced the world to the Ultra 20 a one-way (one socket) box that starts at $895. That price has to please a lot of Sun customers who complained when the much higher-end W2100z amd W1100z workstations arrived, costing thousands of dollars. With the Ultra 20, Sun is really delivering some of the price/performance benefits associated with x86 chips to the developer crowd.

Sun has long been a major player in the workstation market, pumping out Solaris on SPARC boxes for engineers, developers and designers. The rise, however, of Intel Xeon's processor ate into a huge chunk of Sun's workstation share. Sun's line of Opteron-based systems is its response to this loss, and the Ultra 20 is the first box in this line aimed square at developers.

Sun unveiled the system at its Java One conference which starts today in San Francisco.

"This system is meant to reach a much broader audience," said John Fowler, Sun's vice president in charge of the x86 systems. "Java One is the world's biggest developer conference, so it made sense to show it off there."

While you can buy the Ultra 20 flat out just like any another bit of hardware, Sun also has a much weirder pricing option. Customers can pay $30 per month over three years ($1,080) and get the system, Solaris 10, Java Studio Enterprise 7, Java Studio Creator and support. This package full of Java tools is meant for the developer crowd.

Initially, the Ultra 20 will ship with a single-core version - 1.8GHz to 2.6GHz - of AMD's Opteron. As El Reg reported last week, AMD will make a dual-core version of this 100 Series chip available in the third quarter. (AMD confirmed the move to customers in a note issued Friday.)

The Ultra 20 also ships with up to 4GB of memory, up to 2 SATA drives (80GB or 250GB), six USB 2.0 ports and two IEEE 1394a ports. The box will run Solaris x86, Red Hat and SuSE Linux 32-bit and 64-bit and Windows XP Pro 32-bit and 64-bit.

Sun continues to see a sharp rise in it Opteron system sales. The company is currently battling with HP for the top spot among all Opteron server sellers.

Sun has enjoyed particular success in Germany where it holds 41 per cent of the Opteron server market versus 23 per cent for HP, according to the first quarter figures from Gartner.

You can see the Ultra 20 in all its glory available here.

Along with the Ultra 20, Sun also pointed to the new Ultra 3 Mobile Workstation, which runs on its UltraSPARC chip and starts at $3,400. This system looks like a rebranded version of a Tadpole laptop. ®

http://www.sun.com/desktop/workstation/ultra20/rev iews.jsp
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/06/27/sun_ultra2 0_opteron/

By Ashlee Vance in Chicago
Published Monday 27th June 2005 14:42 GMT

Sun Microsystems has polished off its cheapest and likely most attractive Opteron-based workstation to date.

The hardware maker today introduced the world to the Ultra 20 a one-way (one socket) box that starts at $895. That price has to please a lot of Sun customers who complained when the much higher-end W2100z amd W1100z workstations arrived, costing thousands of dollars. With the Ultra 20, Sun is really delivering some of the price/performance benefits associated with x86 chips to the developer crowd.

Sun has long been a major player in the workstation market, pumping out Solaris on SPARC boxes for engineers, developers and designers. The rise, however, of Intel Xeon's processor ate into a huge chunk of Sun's workstation share. Sun's line of Opteron-based systems is its response to this loss, and the Ultra 20 is the first box in this line aimed square at developers.

Sun unveiled the system at its Java One conference which starts today in San Francisco.

"This system is meant to reach a much broader audience," said John Fowler, Sun's vice president in charge of the x86 systems. "Java One is the world's biggest developer conference, so it made sense to show it off there."

While you can buy the Ultra 20 flat out just like any another bit of hardware, Sun also has a much weirder pricing option. Customers can pay $30 per month over three years ($1,080) and get the system, Solaris 10, Java Studio Enterprise 7, Java Studio Creator and support. This package full of Java tools is meant for the developer crowd.

Initially, the Ultra 20 will ship with a single-core version - 1.8GHz to 2.6GHz - of AMD's Opteron. As El Reg reported last week, AMD will make a dual-core version of this 100 Series chip available in the third quarter. (AMD confirmed the move to customers in a note issued Friday.)

The Ultra 20 also ships with up to 4GB of memory, up to 2 SATA drives (80GB or 250GB), six USB 2.0 ports and two IEEE 1394a ports. The box will run Solaris x86, Red Hat and SuSE Linux 32-bit and 64-bit and Windows XP Pro 32-bit and 64-bit.

Sun continues to see a sharp rise in it Opteron system sales. The company is currently battling with HP for the top spot among all Opteron server sellers.

Sun has enjoyed particular success in Germany where it holds 41 per cent of the Opteron server market versus 23 per cent for HP, according to the first quarter figures from Gartner.

You can see the Ultra 20 in all its glory available here.

Along with the Ultra 20, Sun also pointed to the new Ultra 3 Mobile Workstation, which runs on its UltraSPARC chip and starts at $3,400. This system looks like a rebranded version of a Tadpole laptop. ®

http://www.sun.com/desktop/workstation/ultra20/rev iews.jsp
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/06/27/sun_ultra2 0_opteron/