Sun Microsystem New Product And Services

SUN BRINGS ARRAY OF NEW PRODUCTS AND SERVICES TO LINUXWORLD

Previews New Developer Tool and Advanced Management for Java(tm) Desktop System; Outlines Roadmaps for Linux Support of Java(tm) Enterprise System, Java(tm) Studio Tools and New AMD Opteron(tm) Processor-Based x86 Systems

NEW YORK - LinuxWorld Conference & Expo - January 21, 2004 - Today at LinuxWorld, Sun Microsystems, Inc. (Nasdaq: SUNW) previewed a number of next-generation products and roadmaps for Linux support of the Sun Java(tm) Enterprise System, Java Studio development tools and new AMD Opteron(tm) processor-based x86 systems. With these previews, plus the launch of a new Linux community on java.net, Sun continues to deliver on its strategy to bring new innovations to the Linux OS, to be a leading contributor in the Linux community and to provide added value on top of Linux through new infrastructure and desktop software systems.

Sun also said it is seeing strong demand for the now shipping Sun Java Desktop System, StarOffice(tm) 7 on Linux, OpenOffice.org and Sun Fire(tm) V60x, V65x and blade servers, demonstrating its significant traction in the Linux and open source marketplaces. In recent weeks, Sun announced a series of new customers and partners worldwide in government and finance who are embracing its desktop alternatives, including China Software Standards Corporation (CSSC), United India Insurance Company, TadPole Computing and the United Health Service (UK).

In addition, Japanese reseller SOURCENEXT last week announced it will offer StarOffice (known as StarSuite in Japan) at more than 15,000 retail outlets throughout Japan, including home electronics, convenience and book stores. Recent wins of the Java Desktop System worldwide, as well as the tremendous success of StarOffice and OpenOffice.org with more than 40 million downloads to date, make Sun one of the leading vendors of alternative, open source desktop solutions. More and more customers are turning to Sun for the hardware, software and services to create network computing solutions that save costs, increase security and reliability and reduce inefficiency.

The innovations previewed at LinuxWorld are focused on three key areas:

1. Next-generation desktop technologies including the next version of the Sun Java Desktop System, future management features for the Java Desktop System that allow full control over the desktop experience, Linux on ultra-thin Sun Ray(tm) client systems and a radical new three-dimensional (3-D), Java technology-based PC interface (code named "Project Looking Glass"). Java Desktop System and the new 3-D interface will be demonstrated by Sun during the Computer Associates keynote on Thursday, January 22, at 11:30 am EST;
   
   
2. Enterprise Software and Hardware: Sun will demonstrate the Sun Java(tm) Enterprise System at its LinuxWorld booth (#321 in the Jacob Javits Center), January 21-23. The Java Enterprise System -- Sun's integrated infrastructure software solution for simplifying datacenter deployment, operation and management - began shipping in December 2003 and will be available supporting the Linux OS later this year on Intel Xeon systems and AMD Opteron processor-based x86 servers as part of the Sun and AMD alliance announced in November 2003. The hardware offerings are designed to give customers greater choice, value and performance, and are ideally suited for enterprise and HPTC projects in cluster and grid computing. Sun will present the "Sun and AMD Alliance" in booth #321 at the Jacob Javitz Center, January 21 at 10:00 am EST and January 23 at 1:30 pm EST;
   
   
3. Linux development tools: Sun will preview a future developer desktop solution that combines Sun's new Java Studio Creator (code-named "Project Rave"), a revolutionarily easy-to-use drag-and-drop Java Application Builder, with the Java Desktop System and NetBeans(tm), Sun's open source Java IDE. In addition, Sun will outline plans to support its complete line of development tools on Linux by the end of 2004 -- from the free open source NetBeans software to enterprise-class Java Studio software.

"Sun continues to drive leadership in the linux community with the world's most popular desktop offering, the Java Desktop System," said Jonathan Schwartz, executive vice president of software, Sun Microsystems. "While the competition continues to hire evangelists and call that a linux strategy, we're demonstrating commitment by buildingand shipping indemnified products, safe for corporate deployment, that save millions of dollars each and every day."

Growing Momentum for Alternative Desktops and Open Source Solutions

Sun will continue its Linux desktop leadership in 2004 by releasing advanced Java Desktop System features such as central management of user settings for Gnome desktops, StarOffice software, a Mozilla(tm) browser, Evolution and others as part of the Java Desktop System Configuration Manager, as well as completion of the 3-D Looking Glass project, which uses Java programming and OpenGL to deliver a fluid desktop experience in which users can arrange application windows in 3-D space. Sun is also providing Linux on its Sun Ray desktop appliances, combining the usability of the open source platform with centralized management and smart card authentication for a cost-effective and highly secure alternative enterprise client computing environment.

Java Enterprise System Radically Simplifies, Speeds Service Delivery on Linux

Unlike competing products, Sun's Java Enterprise System includes all infrastructure components pre-integrated and pre-tested as a single system (including email, calendar, portal, directory, identity, application and Web services) released on a regular schedule and priced under a radically simple pricing model. Sun expects to be the first to provide a fully-integrated infrastructure software system on the Linux OS.

Enhancing The Linux Ecosystem for Service and Desktop Development

Sun is broadening the ecosystem of tools for Linux developers with its plans to provide the new developer desktop as well as the migration of all server-side application development tools to Linux this year. Sun's Java Studio tools are based on the NetBeans open source IDE, which has become a preferred development platform for many Linux developers. The current version of Sun Java Studio Standard is shipping today with Linux support. In addition, Sun Java[tm] Studio Enterprise and the upcoming Sun Java Studio Creator are expected to ship in mid-2004 (an early access version of Java Studio Creator is available today). Other tools products from Sun, including NetBeans 3.6, NetBeans 4.0, Java Studio Mobility, and Sun(tm) Studio (C/C++ tools) are also expected to support Linux by the end of this year.

Sun Makes Significant Contributions to Open Communities

Sun has contributed significantly to the Linux code base and is the second largest contributor to the open source community after the University of California, Berkeley, driving participation in OpenOffice.org, Mozilla.org, JXTA.org, netbeans.org and others. In addition, Sun is debuting a new community on java.net (linux.java.net) specifically for Java programming developers on the Linux platform (multiple distributions). The Linux community will have access to infrastructure to support community development projects, as well as community-based communication channels via web blogs, wikis, and others. The launch of this community on java.net signifies the growing strength of the Linux developer community and that the Java platform is an important and popular technology base for this developer community.

One-stop Linux Support

Leveraging Sun's global services infrastructure and through agreements with Red Hat and SuSE for back-line support, Sun provides a full one-stop source for Linux support. In addition, Sun supports the entire system, including the hardware, OS, development tools and applications and offers training on Red Hat Linux. In December, Sun announced an agreement with EDS to help speed the delivery and adoption of the Java Desktop System for customers and iForce(sm) partners worldwide. Under the agreement, Sun will provide global management, support, tools and service offerings for the Java Desktop System, with services to be delivered by EDS. Sun also recently extended its desktop support to include full coverage for OpenOffice.org customers.

About Sun Microsystems, Inc.

Since its inception in 1982, a singular vision -- "The Network Is The Computer" -- has propelled Sun Microsystems, Inc. (Nasdaq: SUNW) to its position as a leading provider of industrial-strength hardware, software and services that make the Net work. Sun can be found in more than 100 countries and on the World Wide Web at http://sun.com