sun

Sun Microsystems has begun offering Solaris and higher-level server software in a virtual machine that will run on VMware's virtualization software. The Solaris Enterprise System bundle--which Sun has made little noise about since its announcement in 2005--combines the operating system with software for calendars, e-mail, Web sites, Java server software and other tasks.

VMware's Andy Tucker noted the arrival of the free download on his blog.

The download option dovetails with efforts by VMware and Microsoft to encourage easier trials of software. Virtual machines are essentially separate compartments on a computer that can run their own software; software … Read more

Graham Hamilton, a Sun Microsystems executive who's steered Java for more than 10 years, has left the company.

Sun confirmed the departure, reported Monday by InfoWorld. "While it is always sad to see an employee of his caliber depart, we wish him well in all his future endeavors," the company said.

"Mostly he was looking to go do something else after 10 years," said Jeff Jackson, senior vice president of Solaris engineering. "He was huge contributor to Java in terms of technology, both in the desktop and server editions. Server-side Java"--where the … Read more

Sun Microsystems plans to release Java Standard Edition (SE) 6 at the end of this year and its sequel, Java SE 7, in early 2008.

That's according to a road map Sun published in an interview with Jean Elliott, Sun's director of Java SE marketing.

Sun has been working to build more active outside developer involvement with Java SE 6, code-named Mustang; that participation will become much more open later this year, when Sun begins releasing Java SE 6 as open-source software.

Java SE 7, code-named Dolphin, will arrive shortly after Microsoft discontinues support for its own Java … Read more

For those of you worried about intruders and global warming, Matsushita Electric (Panasonic to us North Americans) has come up with a security camera that runs on solar power or wind power. That way it works in rain or shine. This picture was taken at the company's Eco and UD house, an ecologically friendly home that it says can be commercially viable by 2010.

(Photo: Michael Kanellos/CNET Networks)

Sun Microsystems has transferred a StorageTek manufacturing facility in Puerto Rico to electronics manufacturing specialist Solectron, the companies announced Thursday. Solectron will build the StorageTek products, the Milpitas, Calif.-based company said.

The multiyear deal, terms of which weren't disclosed, deepens an existing relationship between the companies.

Sun acquired StorageTek a year ago for a net amount of about $3.1 billion in cash.

SAN FRANCISCO--It's not yet clear whether Sun Microsystems' decision to release Java Standard Edition as open-source software will mean a unification with Harmony, a project begun at the Apache Software Foundation in 2005 to create an open-source Java SE.

"It's hard to say" whether unification is possible, said Harmony founder and contributor Geir Magnusson. "At this point, we know nothing about licensing or the community governance model, which are critical elements of Apache projects."

Sun announced Monday it would make Java SE open-source software by mid-2007, with two components, the JavaC compiler and Hotspot … Read more

Sun Microsystems released new details on Wednesday about its UltraSparc T1 "Niagara" processor. The details are in a document called the OpenSparc T1 Microarchitecture Specification, Sun's Dwayne Lee said on his blog.

According to the Sun download site, the specifications include detailed descriptions of processor components' functions, those functions' designs, and the signals the components use to communicate.

Sun released the T1 design as open source governed by the General Public License (GPL). The move is part of the company's effort to turn around its image as a proprietary technology company.

Sun has been trying to … Read more

Any Sun Microsystems legal staff who might want to raise a stink about new Chief Executive Jonathan Schwartz's unfettered blogging style now will have a harder time making their case: Sun's top attorney, Mike Dillon, launched a blog of his own on Thursday.

In his first entry, Dillon admits one recent blogging choice gave him the legal shivers. Sun decided to let ex-employees who had just lost jobs in Sun's layoff of 4,000 to 5,000 workers keep on posting at a Sun alumni blogging site.

"I have to admit that I held my breath … Read more

Neil Knox, the leader of Sun Microsystems' lower-end server group until his ouster in 2004, has turned up as chief executive of a start-up called PeakStream.

The company is working on programming technology to let high-performance technical computing customers milk more computing power out of the Cell Broadband Engine and other multicore processors, according to a media invitation.

Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and Sequoia Capital provided venture financing for the start-up. The company plans to emerge from stealth mode in mid-September.