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

To: Stormweaver who wrote (15623)	4/22/1999 5:04:00 PM
From: Frank Wechsler	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 64865

James - This thread needs people who will play devil's advocate to all the gung ho Sun people around (including me - I've been long for 5 years) However, it might be nice if you backed up some of your speculations with figures (<Unix workstation market is all but dried up...Unix Server market will be under serious attack>) Most people that I've read don't seem to think that NT is nearly as good as Solaris, at least on the high end. Also, may I respectfully ask if you are long or short? - Frank

To: Stormweaver who wrote (15623)	4/22/1999 5:17:00 PM
From: JavaGuy	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 64865

That's a very concise, simplistic, and old argument. Maybe Sun should start entering the PC world, it did CPQ/DEC and HP a whole hell of a lot of good. Sun's historic valuation was low because of this age-old argument. People are starting to realize that UNIX is not going away, esp since 75% of the internet runs on Sun equipment. To me, that makes it better than an "internet company". A key internet supplier will be able to maintain margins, have barriers to entry, and ensure future growth correlated with the growth of the internet. I appreciate dissenting opinions on the board, it makes you think from several angles. However, I've held this stock for years, and I've seen a parade of nay-sayers, all spouting the same argument that never seems to pan out. I need to see some new ones before I tremble in fear. For at least the foreseeable future, Sun will supply some of the most reliable, fast and scaleable equipment in the industry. All backed by a world-class support organization. It's new ventures into software look very promising, however uncertain at this point. Revenue this quarter grew faster than that of IBM, or MSFT, will they be cut in half as well? Fortunately, the market values stock on future potential, not hindsight. Happy Investing JavaGuy

To: Stormweaver who wrote (15623)	4/23/1999 7:47:00 AM
From: Mike Milde	Respond to of 64865

<< The extra valuation in this stock is directly related to a myth that Sun is an internet stock. >> If Sun isn't an Internet stock, then what is?? You need someone to remind you that the Internet runs on hardware from Sun Microsystems. NT machines are mainly used as office equipment, not complex e-commerce sites (there's plenty of documentation to support this. Let me know if you'd like references). Mike

To: Stormweaver who wrote (15623)	4/23/1999 1:52:00 PM
From: Jim Koch	Respond to of 64865

James, you certainly started something with your response to my post! I won't even begin to address the technical aspects of this debate, you "techies" have done a good job on that. However, let me make a few observations. I deal with some of the largest corporations in the country, and sorry James, they ain't buying your line. Most of the CIOs that I work with are not considering putting mission critical applications on NT based platforms. The reasons they give are many but include...Not scalable, not robust enough, not stable enough, not enough Systems Management capabilities, etc. These are not my opinions, I am just passing on what I hear from these decision makers. You talk about price/performance. Implementation of a large SAP system can cost in excess of $100 Million. The cost of the hardware is a small part of that cost. The difference in price/performance from one platform to the next..Sun, IBM, HP, UNIX, NT or whatever, is a rounding error. Decisions are not being made on that basis, they are made on business related issues, including those I have mentioned. You mention Sun's high PE of 42. It is high, but not out of line for a company that has been growing like they have. Compared to Dell 79, MSFT 67, Cisco 99, or AOL 99, however, they look downright cheap! It is very possible that many of the things you say may come to pass in the future, but for now, Sun's position in this marketplace is solid. They are winning market share and selling systems. I don't see that changing any time soon. That's why I bought the stock. If you really believe what you say, short SUNW. Just make sure you can cover!