I don't think McNeally will go down with the chip. I think that SUN will become among the first to announce x86-64 based products.
So then they'd still be the one against the multitudes. I think this HP guy sums it up perfectly. Just substitute in X86-64 for Sun's proprietary architecture today. When you see (already are) HP, IBM, Dell, Compaq, NEC, Fujitsu, Hitachi, Bull, SGI, etc. all rolling out the same kind of products on Windows XP (64), Unix flavors and Linux, what chance is Sun going to have on any platform?
"As Sun continues with its current stance, the business model doesn't add up," said Mark Hudson, worldwide marketing manager for H-P's business systems and technology group. "They'll be a sole force out there with a proprietary architecture, trying to compete against companies that have moved to a standard base architecture. For vendors it will help improve cost and supply-chain efficiencies. For customers, it gives greater flexibility, more applications choices, and reduces their cost of ownership. It's really the long-term implications of this that matter."
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