Sun's Net PC will target businesses

Sun Microsystems' Java subsidiary reportedly is planning to aim its Internet terminal at businesses when it ships the device by year's end.

CNET News staff

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CNET News staff

May 6, 1996 6:30 p.m. PT

Taking a distinctly different approach from Oracle and its Network Computer, Sun Microsystems' Java subsidiary is planning to aim its Internet terminal at the business customer when it ships the device by the end of 1996, Reuters reported today.

's="" sparc="" microprocessors,="" george="" paolini,="" ="" href="http://www.javasoft.com" rel="noopener nofollow" class="c-regularLink" target="_blank">JavaSoft director of corporate communications, told the news service. The report said the network terminals would run on HotJava, a new version of the Java programming language that will run directly on hardware systems. Paolini added that the company is planning to beta-test as many as 30 customer sites.

Paolini said Sun does not want to compete head to head with Oracle's much-hyped, consumer-oriented $500 Network Computer, which is scheduled to ship in September.

"Sun's focus has been on reducing the cost of ownership [for corporations] rather than the initial price," Paolini was quoted as saying. He pointed to a study from the Gartner Group market research firm that found personal computers on corporate networks cost an estimated $40,000 over their five-year lifetime.

Sun chairman Scott McNealy said earlier this week that zero-cost administration made possible by the Java architecture was a key selling point for Java.