What does everyone think of these two stories? Perhaps we get a bit of momentum going? The sun story seems particularly good news.
Friday August 20 09:50 PM EDT
IBM, Sun Kill JavaOS for Business
Deborah Gage, ZDNet
IBM Corp. and Sun Microsystems Inc. have ceased development of the JavaOS for Business, the operating system that was supposed to ship on both companies' next-generation thin clients, Sm@rt Reseller has learned.
The move comes as many hardware vendors--including Compaq Computer and Wyse Technologies--and thin-client resellers begin to target the emerging Windows-based terminal market.
Both IBM and Sun acknowledge they are planning separate Java computing launches next month and continue to compete fiercely on hardware. But now they will compete on software too.
Joint Plans Scuttled
While IBM and Sun continue to cooperate on Java development, they have scuttled plans for joint marketing of the JavaOS, joint software channel programs, and joint developer programs. Furthermore, Sun is in talks to acquire StarDivision, a German software company that fields a popular Microsoft Office competitor called StarOffice, and may make an announcement this month. Sun would not comment, and StarDivision did not return calls seeking comment.
Analysts say that Sun's interest in StarOffice makes sense. Sun has standardized on StarOffice internally and offers it free with Solaris 7 for non-commercial use. The suite has a Java front-end suitable for thin clients, and would give Sun an opportunity to co-opt Linux should it choose to do so. In addition, Sun could go head to head with Microsoft Office on Solaris on Intel, which Intel is pushing through its new Internet Service Provider channel and will likely use in its data hosting centers.
"An acquisition raises a lot of questions," says Amy Wohl, president of Wohl Associates. "Sun could be buying StarDivision with hopes of killing off the Linux suite, or going into the Linux business through the back door. They also would get an NT suite."
Sun's relationship with StarDivision goes back several years. Andreas Bechtolsheim, a Sun cofounder, invested in StarDivision, and Sun considered buying the company in the mid-1990s before deciding it had no expertise in selling office suites, according to one former SunSoft executive.
Ironically, around the same time IBM considered buying StarDivision and replacing Lotus SmartSuite with StarOffice. IBM liked StarOffice because it was cross-platform and object-oriented, but outcries from Lotus users and channel executives forced IBM to cancel its plans.
Analysts Stunned
Meanwhile, analysts are stunned at the demise of the JavaOS for Business, which they say is a viable platform that has customers. "IBM has a lot of customers that have bought into it as a replacement for 3270 and 5250 terminals," says Anne Thomas, an analyst with The Patricia Seybold Group. "IBM really pushed the manageability. It was a really nice solution."
IBM would not comment on the status of Lotus eSuite, whose tools along with Sun's HotJava browser formed the desktop for JavaOS. Thomas said the entire package replaced Windows with a more interactive, Web-based environment that was as easy to manage as the old 3270 terminals.
IBM last spring repositioned eSuite as a set of browser-based components with a Lotus Domino backend. IBM partner SevenMountains Software Inc., whose TaskForce software integrates with eSuite, made eSuite an option rather than a requirement due to lack of demand, says SevenMountains VP Arne Wilhelmsen.
IBM issued a statement on the JavaOS for Business saying it will support customers and OEMs during the transition to "industry supported platforms." A spokesman says improved performance of Java Virtual Machines, widespread adoption of Java, and the lack of an industry-standard Java browser make "other general purpose operating systems" viable for thin clients.
IBM did not address its relationship with Intel, which had agreed to optimize the JavaOS for Intel processors in return for IBM's support of Intel's Lean Client reference specification. An Intel spokesman says Intel continues to optimize Java for Intel architecture and work with customers on Lean Clients, although Intel's Lean Client business is declining as PC prices fall.
Sun, meanwhile, claims that the widespread adoption of "Internet standards" have made both the JavaOS for Business and the Lean Client/Network Computer spec unnecessary. "All of these relationships have served their purpose," says product line manager Lisa Carnochan. "We're making a lot of investments in the hardware and software required to bring the thin client to the marketplace, but software developers don't have to anything special anymore. Internet applications will run on thin clients."
Sun will transition customers away from the JavaOS for Business on a case-by-case basis, Carnochan says.
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Friday August 20 09:50 PM EDT
Intel slashing chip prices Monday
John G. Spooner, ZDNet
Intel Corp. will cut prices on its desktop Pentium II and Pentium III processors by as much as 41 percent on Monday, ZDNN has learned.
Intel will lower its 550MHz Pentium III from $658 to $487, a price cut of about 26 percent, sources said.
The 500MHz Pentium III will receive the largest price cut, a whopping 41 percent from $423 to $251, sources said.
The 450MHz Pentium III will be reduced by about 21 percent from $230 to $183, sources said.
The recently introduced 600MHz Pentium III will stay the same at $669, sources said.
Pentium II price cuts
Intel will also lower prices on Pentium II chips.
The Pentium II 450MHz will be reduced from $230 to about $183, while the 400MHz will fall from $173 to about $163, sources said. All of the listed prices are in 1,000 unit quantities.
Intel officials would not comment on it processor pricing.
Intel, however, discloses these price cuts to PC makers well in advance. The PC makers use the information to plan their own price reductions and to plan new models based on the new, lower chip pricing.
Cheaper PCs for holiday season
The reductions from Intel mean, for example, that a number of low-cost 500MHz Pentium III desktop models will be available for the upcoming holiday buying season, sources said.
Hewlett-Packard Co. (NYSE:HWP) and IBM (NYSE:IBM) will utilize the price cuts Monday by announcing price reductions on their desktop models, sources said.
Gateway Inc. (NYSE:GTW) Friday cut prices across the board on its consumer PCs. The company's largest price cut came on the Essential 450. The desktop PC -- configured with a 450MHz Pentium III, 64MB of RAM, 6.8GB hard drive and a 17-inch monitor -- was reduced from $1,499 to $1,299, company officials said.
HP will reduce prices by up to 17 percent across its Vectra and Brio desktop PCs and Kayak PC Workstations, sources said.
A Vectra VL model with a 500MHz Pentium III, 64MB of RAM and a 6.4GB hard drive will be priced at $1,205, a 17 percent reduction. Brio models will receive a similar discount. A Brio BAx model, for example, with a 450MHz Pentium III, 64MB of RAM and a 13GB hard drive, will be reduced by about 10 percent to $1,198, sources said.
IBM is expected to follow with price cuts on its PC 300 desktops and Intellistation Workstations, sources said.
Intel rival Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (NYSE:AMD) may follow Intel on Monday with processor price cuts of its own.
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