Sun Spanks MS
In a very witty response to a Microsoft email circulated to reporters “asking” 15 questions of Sun Microsystems, Sun has given MS a reasonably embarrassing lesson in technology. For those who don’t know, Microsoft snidely querying Sun about open source and web technology is like the Mafia accusing the Justice Department of legalizing prostitution for its own gain. MS is a bit out of its league with Sun, and it shows. It’s all pretty technical, but well worth the read.
Microsoft Question 1: Why is Sun having a special day to discuss its software strategy when Scott McNealy believes “software is simply a feature of hardware?” Does this mean Sun is abandoning all its software development for platforms beyond its own hardware systems? Industry wags joke that the way Sun builds a $1 billion software business is to buy two $1 billion software businesses and manage the two for a year. Can Sun be a successful software provider in a hardware-centric culture?
Sun Answer: We absolutely believe that software is a feature, even if Microsoft isn’t getting that point. Consider call forwarding on your telephone system. How do you get it? Do you order a piece of software, load it, configure it, update it with new features, etc.? No way. You call the phone company and order it. You let them deal with the complexity.
That said, we can understand why Microsoft might be getting a bit testy when it comes to the service-driven network. After all, they’ve spent billions building a brand in software, and now find that the next battlefield is for services and that software is no longer front and center. That’s got to be pretty scary.
As for hardware. Yep, you’ve got us. We make hardware. But in our experience we haven’t found a piece of software yet that doesn’t require hardware. It takes both (not to mention partners and customers) to deliver the service. Of course, you’re learning all about this as you’re trying to ship your X box.
Thanks to QGL for the heads up.
Sun.com
posted by monty · at 2:05 am · filed under News