Sun Microsystems cutting 3K jobs Oct 21, 2009
Sun has been hit hard by the downturn in the economy, causing some customers to turn away from its higher-priced SPARC servers. James Staten, an analyst with Forrester Research, said Sun had to move forward with cuts to lower its operating expenses to keep in line with declining revenues. (San Francisco Chronicle -- Technology)
* Oracle touts promised Sun takeover Oct 13, 2009
McNealy and Ellison assured the thousands of Open World attendees that Oracle intended to invest in Sun, maker of SPARC microprocessors, database management system MySQL and Solaris operating system. I believe our board and our shareholders made a very wise and exciting decision, McNealy said of backing they gave earlier this year to an acquisition by Oracle, based not far from Sun in Northern California. (Taipei Times, Taiwan -- World)
Fujitsu and Sun Microsystems Boost SPARC Enterprise Servers with New SPARC64 Processors; Enhanced Server Line with Faster SPARC64 Processors Sets Four New World Records, Delivers Best Investment Protection on the Market Oct 13, 2009
Tokyo and Santa Clara, Oct 13, 2009 - (JCN Newswire) - Fujitsu and Sun Microsystems, Inc. today announced new quad-core SPARC64(TM) VII processors and an enhanced memory controller for the SPARC Enterprise(TM) server line. The faster SPARC64 VII processors deliver up to 25 percent better performance than the previous generation and with new memory access enhancements, the updated SPARC Enterprise systems have delivered outstanding performance on key enterprise benchmarks ... These results... (JCN Network, Japan)
Oracle OpenWorld 09: Sun assured of continued shine Oct 12, 2009
At the opening keynote of the Oracle OpenWorld conference here, Sun Microsystems chairman Scott McNealy and Oracle chief executive Larry Ellison stressed that all of Suns key technologies Sparc processor architecture, Solaris operating system, Java programming language and the open-source MySQL database would instead receive more research and development dollars than they are getting now ... Ellison added that Oracle is committed in improving Suns systems by tightly integrating Oracle... (The Star Online, Malaysia -- Technology)
What's the Future of x86? Oct 8, 2009
Add to that list the x86 architecture, which stands alone in the broader computer market now that Sun Microsystems' Sparc processor is on life support. There have been many attempts to knock off the x86, from Sparc to HP's PA-RISC to SGI's MIPS to DEC's Alpha. (Datamation)
Oracle ad targets Sun customers, IBM Sep 11, 2009
Redwood City-based Oracle (NASDAQ:ORCL) highlights its plans for Santa Clara-based Sun's SPARC and Solaris and issues a challenge to new competitor (NYSE:IBM). The ad says Oracle plans to spend more money developing SPARC and Solaris than Sun does ... It goes on to say Oracle will "have more than twice as many hardware specialists selling and servicing SPARC/Solarsi systems than Sun does now" and will "dramatically improve Sun's hardware performance ...". (San Jose Business Journal, CA)
Kansai University Seeks Leading Edge in IT with System Upgrade; Fujitsu Provides Comprehensive IT Infrastructure Support Jul 29, 2009
In addition, the system employs the highly reliable SPARC Enterprise Unix server at its core. Its ID Management System running on Solaris(TM) has been constructed to support up to 350,000 user registrations. (JCN Network, Japan)
Fujitsu and Sun Boost SPARC Enterprise Server Performance and Virtualization Capabilities Jul 21, 2009
Tokyo, July 21, 2009 - (JCN Newswire) - Fujitsu and Sun Microsystems, Inc. today enhanced the performance and virtualization capabilities of their chip multi-threaded (CMT) SPARC Enterprise server lines with the addition of 1. 6 GHz UltraSPARC. (JCN Network, Japan)
5 Cut IT Spending in Five Ways Jul 16, 2009
The best part about using off-the-shelf hardware is that it is cheap enough, even when you purchase the loaded server configurations (, Lights-out Management, etc), you're still at a fraction of the cost compared to SPARC or POWER based servers. Not to imply reliability is a concern--it isn't--but at that price point, you can afford to purchase extra servers for redundancy or even high-availability clustering. (Datamation)
CPUs gear up for--and some avoid--Hot Chips Jun 19, 2009
Sun lost Rock's chief architect, Marc Tremblay, to Microsoft and the cast uncertainty over Sun's future Sparc efforts ... The company will describe an eight-core Sparc processor at Hot Chips, and Fujitsu and Sun have a long established relationship of selling each other's systems. (EETimes)
Sun scraps 'Rock' CPU project Jun 17, 2009
Sun recently lost one of its top microprocessor architects, Marc Tremblay, a Sun veteran who was leading the company's next-generation Sparc team. That project was called ''Rock. (EETimes)
OpenSolaris is becoming more like regular Solaris Jun 2, 2009
A key improvement in the release is the addition of Sparc processor support ... In addition to Sparc, the new OpenSolaris can run on Intel x86 and x64 hardware. (Yahoo News -- Technology)
Xilinx & BEEcube to Unveil Next-Generation FPGA-based Multi-core SoC Development Platform for Sun OpenSPARC May 22, 2009
Xilinx be to Unveil Next-Generation FPGA-based Multi-core SoC Development Platform for Sun OpenSPARC ... Xilinx be to Unveil Next-Generation FPGA-based Multi-core SoC Development Platform for Sun OpenSPARC ... and BEIJING, May 21 /PRNewswire/ -- Xilinx, Inc. (Nasdaq: ) and BEEcube Inc. will jointly unveil a high-performance development environment for multi-core UltraSPARC CMT (chip multi-threaded) processors that reduces the time and effort required to design systems using the SPARC... (PR Newswire)
Which PC Should a College Kid Get? May 13, 2009
For a short time, the system-administrator types who kept the Sun SPARC servers humming along also reported to me. I've since held jobs that paid more, and jobs that lasted longer, but I don't think I'll ever again have a job that was as much pure fun. (Fox News)
2 Oracle Believes in Sun's Hardware Biz May 12, 2009
On the contrary, he's committed to the SPARC processor line ... With the Sun SPARC hardware business contracting, speculation was that Ellison just wanted Sun's software assets and he would dump the rest ... He said he plans to increase, not reduce investment in Sun's SPARC microprocessors. (Datamation)
Oracle won't divest Sun's hardware biz May 8, 2009
INVESTING IN SPARC CHIPS. Ellison said he plans to boost investment in Sun's SPARC microprocessors, which serve as the brains in its line of high-end Unix computers ... He believes that by jointly developing Oracle's existing arsenal of software with Sun's computers and SPARC chips, they can build machines designed for specific purposes that work better than ones pulled together from separate components. (India Times)
Oracle Plans to Keep Sun's Storage Business May 8, 2009
Ellison said he believes that by jointly developing Oracle's software with Sun's hardware and SPARC chips, the company can build machines designed for specific purposes that work better than ones pulled together from separate components. "Sun was very successful for a very long time selling computer systems based on the SPARC chip and the Solaris operating system," Ellison said in the interview. (EnterpriseStorageForum)
SPARC (Secreted Protein Acidic And Rich In Cysteine) In Kidney Disease May 4, 2009
ScienceDaily (May 4, 2009) Amy Sussman and colleagues at the University of Washington, Seattle have found that SPARC may contribute to kidney disease ... SPARC, a counter-adhesive protein, is upregulated in podocytes upon injury ... To define the role of SPARC in kidney disease, Sussman et al examined immune-mediated kidney disease in mice deficient in SPARC as well as in normal mice. (Science Daily)
Open Storage Shines as Sun Sets Apr 30, 2009
Of Sun's key growth areas Total Software, Open Storage, Solaris-based SPARC CMT Servers and X64 Servers Open Storage posted the strongest growth, with a 63 percent jump in billings. With $127 million in billings in the last four quarters, Open Storage is just a small part of Sun's $2 billion storage business, but it's the only part of the business showing substantial growth. (EnterpriseStorageForum)
Sun loses top CPU architect Apr 10, 2009
Sun Microsystems has reportedly lost one of its top microprocessor architects, Marc Tremblay, a Sun veteran who was leading the company's next-generation Sparc team ... If the on-again, off-again merger goes ahead, IBM is likely to end the Sparc program at Sun in favor of Big Blue's own Power CPU that drives a wide array of its servers ... Sun desperately needs a hot, new Sparc design to breathe new life into its big database servers. (EETimes)
Analysis: Aftershocks from the collapse of IBM-Sun talks Apr 7, 2009
IBM's shareholders would demand the company rationalize its overlapping businesses for maximum cost savings likely killing Sun's Sparc processors, eliminating many server blade and system designs and several disk and tape systems. Anyway you walk that line some people are unhappy and the company spends time and money on transitions rather than innovations that move the market forward. (EETimes)
* IBM reportedly to purchase rival Sun Apr 4, 2009
BRIGHT PROSPECTS:: Although in a slump for nearly a decade, Sun is one of the largest sellers of server computers and is known for systems based on its Sparc chips NY TIMES NEWS SERVICE, NEW YORK Saturday, Apr 04, 2009, Page 10 ... Although in a slump for nearly a decade, Sun is one of the largest sellers of server computers and is known for systems based on its Sparc chips. (Taipei Times, Taiwan -- Sports)
Would a Sun/IBM deal kill Solaris? Apr 3, 2009
At a recent company question-and-answer session, a transcript of which was filed with the SEC, Otellini warned that Solaris and Sparc are "likely to see EOLs over time through the IBM acquisition," he said ... Otellini said he saw no strategic reason for IBM to maintain Solaris and its Sparc processors "except to attempt to convert the very large Sun Sparc Solaris base to power" IBM. "I think that would be their most likely strategy as part of this," he said. (InfoWorld)
Video: Cisco shows server at Xeon launch Apr 1, 2009
7 times the performance of Sun Microsystems UltraSparc T2 Niagara at half the cost, and 2 ... "We are burying Sparc and Power is left in the dust," he said. (EETimes)
Reporter's notebook: Sundown for Sun? Apr 1, 2009
Over the years, I've watch Sun take on the industry in such heated matchups as the OpenLook versus OSF/Motif GUI battle on the Unix desktop and watched its Unix OS square off against Unix variants such as HP-UX and IBM AIX. On the chip side, Sun's SPARC RISC chip vied for the hearts of IT against IBM Power, HP PA-RISC, and DEC Alpha. Sun always did its own thing and was undaunted when opposed by more established companies such as it did when it faced off against OSF (the Open Software... (InfoWorld)
5 Dell: IBM-Sun Good For Us Mar 28, 2009
"Just the rumor of IBM potentially purchasing Sun creates an enormous opportunity because all of the Sun accounts are very concerned what will happen to the Solaris platform and Sparc microprocessor," Dell told a briefing in Tokyo. "I think this accelerates the migration (to x86-based servers) and sends a lot of those accounts into an opportunity," he said. (Datamation)
* Speculation that IBM may buy Sun opens doors: Dell Mar 25, 2009
The Round Rock, Texas-based PC maker is actively working with large numbers of Sun customers to move those from Suns Solaris, SPARC platforms to x86 Linux platform, where Dell has strong market share, he said. The executive declined to elaborate when asked whether there was an increase in companies switching specifically to Dell because of the speculation about Sun. (Taipei Times, Taiwan -- Sports)
IBM-Sun talk creates opportunity: Dell Mar 24, 2009
Just the rumour of IBM potentially purchasing Sun creates an enormous opportunity because all of the Sun accounts are very concerned what will happen to the Solaris platform and Sparc microprocessor, Mr. Dell told a briefing in Tokyo. I think this accelerates the migration (to x86-based servers) and sends a lot of those accounts into an opportunity, he said. (Globe and Mail -- Business)
Erasure Software now Available for SPARC Mar 23, 2009
JOENSUU, Finland, March 23 /PRNewswire/ -- Blancco Ltd., the global leader in data erasure and end-of-lifecycle solutions, has launched a tailored data erasure solution for SPARC servers and workstations. High end SPARC servers are typically used by data centres and organisations with mass data needs using the SPARC architecture offered by companies such as Sun Microsystems ... Mikko Koponen, COO of Blancco Oy stated "Blancco SPARC Edition is exceptionally fast and a 100 % secure data... (PR Newswire)
IBM and Sun: Good for Unix and Linux, Bad for HP? Mar 20, 2009
They also control a large portion of the big server market, with IBM's POWER and Sun's (NASDAQ: JAVA) SPARC architectures. The only company in the Unix space that effectively competes against Sun and IBM is HP, so as a result, an IBM-Sun combo would be a major challenge. (SmallBusinessComputing)
Analysis: What an IBM-Sun merger would mean Mar 19, 2009
A possible merger of IBM and Sun Microsystems makes business sense and has significant implications for the Sparc and Power microprocessors as well as Java software. For several years now the computer industry has been in an era where bigger is better. (EETimes)
IBM and Sun: What took them so long? Mar 19, 2009
Replace "Linux," "AIX" and "Solaris" with "Intel/AMD," "PowerPC" and "Sparc," and the same statement is true on the hardware side. Related: "." | Cut straight to the key news for technology development and IT management with our once-a-day summary of the top tech news. (InfoWorld)
What IBM/Sun talks could mean for cloud computing Mar 19, 2009
"From that standpoint, adding Solaris on Sun's Sparc servers to the mix would make perfect sense," King says. Sun also has longstanding customer relationships with major telco providers, who have purchased racks and racks of Sparc servers, King notes. (InfoWorld)
Sun-IBM Merger Could Trigger More Takeovers as Silicon Valley Icons Fade Mar 19, 2009
He also regretted stopping a project to adapt it for use on Intel-based machines, focusing instead on Suns own Sparc chips. That mistake destroyed a generation of Solaris developers, and accelerated the rise of alternatives to traditional Sparc hardware, Schwartz said. (Bloomberg -- US)
