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Technology Stocks : All About Sun Microsystems -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: cfimx who wrote (7277)	1/26/1998 6:16:00 PM
From: Ken Sullivan	Respond to of 64865

All, As an ex-Sun I have been wildly optimistic on Sun and had 35% of my portfolio in SUNW with shares accumulated overt the past 3 years between $15 and $43-- probably average $25. I just felt the CPG/DEC merger would raise enough questions over Sun's ability to grow it's enterprise business in the short term that the price would go down to low 30s again -- especially if anything upsets the market this week. There are sure a few threads that may: Iraq, Asia, Clinton.... then I will buy SUNW again. On the other hand, this allows Sun's strategists to focus more on big computer companies. IBM, CPQ/DEC, HP.... McNealy's goal is still achieveable: among top 3 by 2000.

To: cfimx who wrote (7277)	1/26/1998 6:31:00 PM
From: Babu Arunachalam	Respond to of 64865

I agree that DEC's customers would definitely be excited because of this merger but your comments on Netscape is not necessarily true. Netscape is not going to devote time to develop it's own virtual machine but just provide APIs to interface with any virtual machine. Maybe, their contributions to the JDK would be less than the previous years. However, the JDK is maturing and Netscape is only one of the several contributors - IBM is still big on Java, so is Taligent (one of the main contributors to JDK). As long as SUN is behind Java, you can be sure that it will be ubiquitous. Motorola has joined camp. Lucent did a while back and soon rest of the other telecom industry will follow. Retailers are behind Java, Bankers are in the camp, Smart card industry, Cable industry,....am I just listing every other industry which uses technology?? eSuite from IBM is not an answer to MS Office. It is meant for the new generation of thin client devices. You can tailor the applets to your application needs. Netscape giving away their browser code is a real threat to Microsoft's ways of capturing the browser market. Navigator is sure to get more developer following this way. In my mind, everything bodes well for the network computing model. It's a matter of time before the applications are PRODUCT READY (stable enough). Cheers, Babu >>>>>>>>>>>>> I HAVE To hand it to you for your UNCANNY ability to SPIN everything that is happening in computing as POSITIVE for your baby, sunw. The facts are that DEC is not going away so you don't have to "hate to see DEC go." Also, DEC customers have just had a large cloud lifted. Put yourself in their shoes. Would you feel better, or worse if your computer vendor was just acquired by the fastest growing LARGE computer company in the world, now second in size to IBM? You'd feel RELIEVED and excited. Charles, you are one of the biggest cheerleaders here, and I am sure you are appreciated for that. But ignoring the changing dynamics will not make the strengthening competitve challenges go away. This is bullish for DEC's customers, ALPHA, and DEC's effort to spread their UNIX. Also, see what happens to Alta Vista now. And new customers will give DEC a second look now that Compaq will be running things. Oh, and this is nothing but BEARISH for Sunw, just as the "glossed over" announcement that Netscape will no longer invest in Java is. In fact, Netscape's troubles can't bode well for Sunw. Need I remind you that Corel is now trading under $2 because of their misguided java effort. And where are the NCs, and Lotus's java based answer to MS office? You can't simply point to the stock price as an answer to these questions Charles. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>

To: cfimx who wrote (7277)	1/26/1998 6:43:00 PM
From: LKO	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 64865

Just my $0.02 worth... And new customers will give DEC a second look now that Compaq will be running things. Oh, and this is nothing but BEARISH for Sunw, Yes, this introduces credible competetion to Sun. But competetion does not mean BEARISH. It is a long forgone conclusion that NT vendors will go after the higher end Unix market someday. No surprise here. One can also interpret the spin the way Charles may see it that "new customers" may give Sun another look now that they know for sure the future of Digital's Unix :-) In the NT space, there are other choices such as HP, IBM if they want to buy from large vendors. Owning Alta Vista software which seems to show promise should be an asset for Compaq. just as the "glossed over" announcement that Netscape will no longer invest in Java is. I think (hope ?) that there is not much "Java inflation" in the stock price since Java is a cost not a revenue source for Sun with potential of becoming a revenue source. As I read it, it means Netscape will concentrate less on platform specific ports of JavaVM and rely on vendors/Sun to do that. It does mean that they do not see it as a key differentiator worth their resources. Might be a good decision for them atleast in the short run. When Java starts delivering, they can always go back to put resources on it. On Sun's part, it is a failure of the Java (potential) that it has lost a channel for delivering JavaVM and needs to either persuade vendors or do it.

To: cfimx who wrote (7277)	1/26/1998 8:41:00 PM
From: Brian Malloy	Respond to of 64865

The post below talks a little to some of CPQ future plans. It seems to indicate that CPQ will be targeting the higher end server\enterprise market. SUN better stay awake and keep the pace up. Message 3265303

To: cfimx who wrote (7277)	1/26/1998 9:24:00 PM
From: Beachbumm	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 64865

<<DEC customers have just had a large cloud lifted.>> So have DEC shareholders! <<new customers will give DEC a second look now that Compaq will be running things>> Yeah, well, we know f'sure that they didn't give DEC a second look when DEC was running things. It is possible that CPQ will be able to turn the world's largest money market fund masquerading like a computer company into a real computer company. However, I suspect that this merger will create enough distraction at CPQ/DEC for its competitors to do quite nicely. We are not trembling yet. Beachbumm

To: cfimx who wrote (7277)	1/26/1998 10:24:00 PM
From: Charles Tutt	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 64865

Well, if DEC doesn't "go" then it will at least change, and in ways we don't yet know. As for their customers, if I were one I don't think I would be feeling relieved and excited right now -- I think I'd be apprehensive due to the uncertainty regarding how this will all shake out. We can only wait and see whether it's ultimately good for DEC's customers, the Alpha, and DEC Unix. I watched Compaq's chairman Pfeiffer being interviewed on the Nightly Business Report tonight, and his focus seemed to be on the customer list and the service organization, just as I predicted a few posts ago. If he said the word "Alpha," or "Unix," or even "technology," I missed it. Palmer said product life cycles being short, you could expect the product line to be turned over (I paraphrase). Sorry to disappoint you, but I'm not concerned. "Compaq will be running things." Exactly. Corel's problems are its own, IMHO. Netscape is trying to focus where it can add the most value -- others (including Sun) can readily provide Java capabilities as an adjunct to Netscape's software. NC's and Java are being deployed. My recollection is that Windows took a while to become pervasive, too. Hope I haven't missed any of your points ... JMHO, as always.