Some of the customers using the Sun Fire V480 server and Sun
Fire V440 server include Texas Instruments and Motorola Ireland,
iForce Partners BEA and Kasenna, and the University Hospitals
Health Systems (UHHS). A charity organization in the UK used Sun
servers and other Sun hardware for a fundraising event that generated
over $5 million (USD) during a five-hour period when the event was
broadcast by the BBC.
Sun and a group of independent software vendors (ISVs) are working
together to create model-driven architecture (MDA) solutions that
reduce cost and complexity. MDA helps an organization protect its
investments in software by creating re-usable models.
Sun has chosen to highlight twelve of the hundreds of customers who
have chosen Sun solutions over the past three months. This list
includes the global satellite company Hughes Network Systems, the
educational institution World Book and the U.S. Government's Federal
Aviation Administration, as well as many others.
Sun's services and technologies have been chosen by Shell for use as a
secure network computing platform for Shell's new integrated home
management solution: Shell HomeGenie. Through Shell HomeGenie,
homeowners gain Web-based remote access to household systems and
devices through an OSGi-based residential gateway that uses a broadband
Internet connection.
Sun will try to capitalize on the momentum of Java technology
adoption in Greater China by launching a region-wide alliance on Java
technology. The new alliance will follow the launch of Sun's Java
Center of Excellence (JCOE) program earlier this year with a new
alliance aimed at offering the value and skills of Java technology
programming and architecting to Sun customers throughout China.
Sun Microsystems of Canada has joined the da Vinci Project, a space
project in Canada to launch a manned rocket into space. Sun is one of
the project's official technology product partners and will provide
hardware and network cluster tools for design simulation and virtual
prototyping.
The Digital Asset Management (DAM) Reference Architecture from Sun and
Artesia Technologies enables customers to build and deploy a digital
asset management system. It has features such as the ability to index,
catalog, store, search, retrieve and securely distribute content in a
wide variety of digital formats.
Sun and VoiceGenie are at work on developing a comprehensive set of
open standards architecture solutions for speech-activated applications
and services. They plan to sell the joint solution with the Sun
Java System Portal Server 6.2 (formerly Sun ONE Portal Server)
application server which helps users to easily voice-enable Web-based
data.
Sun will use Avaki Data Grid software from iForce Partner, Avaki,
to provide customers with more powerful data integration solutions.
Avaki Data Grid 4.0 enables businesses to virtualize access to their
distributed data sources, simplifying access to distributed data by
creating a single data service layer that virtualizes access to data
resources.
To reduce the increasing complexity in supply chain management, Sun,
Microlistics and systems integrator Frontline Systems Australia are
presenting ISIS IQ, complete logistics and warehousing solution. ISIS
IQ includes Sun Fire V65x servers with Intel-based processors and
software from Microlistics that delivers accurate, real-time inventory
information and smart radio frequency (RF) scanners from Symbol
Technologies.
Scott McNealy's letter to the stockholders of Sun Microsystems, which
was part of the 2003 Sun Annual Report, highlights the year's
achievements, notably the company's continued ability -- extending to
35 quarters -- to generate positive cash flow and the 3.9 percentage
point improvement in gross margin. The year ended with $5.7 billion in
cash and marketable securities following reductions in capital spending
of $186 million, the paying down of $200 million in debt and the
repurchase of nearly $500 million in stock.
RFID is right around the corner for Walmart suppliers, who are required
to have cartons and palettes tagged with the technology by 2006. Even
now, according to a report on InfoWorld.com, IT
vendors such as Sun, Oracle, SAP and IBM are busily integrating RFID
data into their enterprise applications.
The Solaris Operating System (Solaris OS) will soon be running on
AMD's 64-bit Opteron processor, reports Stephen Shankland of CNET
News.com. A beta version of the Solaris OS is expected to be available
for release in the first quarter of 2004, and the final version is
expected later in the year.
A number of benefits accrue to an enterprise that implements a
Liberty-enabled identity management infrastructure, and increased
security is only one of them. There are efficiencies in employee
provisioning and password management that can result in operational
cost savings of up to 80 percent; there is the ability of a variety of
technology providers to support an adopted single standard; and there
is the resulting ease in outsourcing employee applications securely and
flexibly.
A recent article from eWEEK Labs examines Sun's new StarOffice 7
productivity suite and finds it a strong cross-platform alternative to
Microsoft's Office with a competitive price. In fact, the article's
author, Jason Brooks, writes that StarOffice 7 software's price is "too
attractive for enterprises to ignore."
Aiming to offer increased flexibility to customers, Sun is introducing
four new part numbers that allow enterprises, ISVs and OEMs to purchase
Red Hat Enterprise Linux with the one year service subscription, but
without media. This should allow customers to meet their individual
requirements when purchasing Red Hat Enterprise Linux.
Plumtree Software is developing a version of the Plumtree Enterprise
Web Suite for the Solaris Operating System (Solaris OS) and Sun
Java System solutions. Plumtree also announced plans for the
Plumtree Corporate Portal 5.0J, which will be designed to run
completely within the Java 2 Platform, Enterprise Edition
(J2EE).
Anticipating the near-term need for Instant Messaging, Sun has
introduced the Sun Java System Instant Messaging (formerly Sun
ONE Instant Messaging) 6.1 software. The solution is designed to
combine presence awareness and management with IM, offering extended,
real-time messaging capabilities. These include IM, conferences,
alerts, news, polls and file sharing.
To see the future of object technology, attend OOPSLA to be held on
October 26-30, in Anaheim, California. This year's conference features
over 50 tutorials and workshops. There will be a Java Community
Process (JCP) reception hosted by Sun Microsystems on Tuesday,
October 28.
Join Sun and premier solutions partners for an informative
60-minute Webcast Thursday, November 6, 2003, at 2:00 p.m. (EST)
discussing Core Financial Messaging and Market Connectivity, providing
you with the insights you need to make informed decisions on today's
emerging capabilities.
At the EDUCAUSE conference vendors showcase their technology solutions
for educators. This year's event takes place on November 4-7, in
Anaheim, CA, and features a Party in the Park, at Disney's California
Adventure park. Sun is a silver sponsor and will make a presentation
titled "Infrastructure Middleware for Web Services in Higher
Education."
The Sun Ray 1g Ultra-thin Client has an improved graphics frame
buffer and video memory for driving new high-resolution displays at
1600x1200 and 1920x1200. The Sun Ray 1g Ultra-thin Client is replacing
the Sun Ray 1 ultra-thin client. There is a Sun Ray Appliance Building
Blocks Promotion available until March 16, 2004.
Sun XVR-100 Graphics Accelerator Installation Guide provides an
overview of the product, hardware and software installation instructions,
procedures for configuring multiple frame buffers, video output methods and
I/O port specifications.
Prices have been reduced by about nine percent on the Sun StorEdge
9980 system and Sun StorEdge 9970 system, providing improved
price/performance. These storage systems are well suited to
environments that typically include multiple heterogeneous hosts.
Sun
Microsystems is introducing its Sun StorEdge 9900 Series Dynamic Link
Manager Software (SDLM) for Win2K/NT and AIX v5.1. Sun
is also moving from a controller-based to a server-based
pricing structure. The Sun StorEdge 9900 SDLM is intended for use with
the Sun StorEdge 9900 storage array, for which it provides
functions for load distribution across multiple paths and switching to
different paths in case of a failover.
Sun is creating a new part number that will include a high performance
disk adapter with the Sun StorEdge 9970 integrated disk controller
and array frame. Previously the two had been sold separately. The goal
of this new combination is to simplify the ordering process for
customers.
Sun StorEdge Enterprise Storage Manager 2.0 software
and the Sun StorEdge Management Software Kit effectively
manages open SAN environments and provides immediate feedback reports on
problems and recommended courses of action. The kit gives customers
the core storage management tools on one media kit. The software is
available in two packages: As a full-function product, and as a
sub-set of the full-function product. Sun is also transitioning certain RTU
licenses and offering others that scale better as storage needs grow.
The Student Information System (SIS) Reference Architecture, one of the
Sun Reference Architectures, is specifically created for the K-12 space
in the Education vertical industry. It includes Sun Fire V480
server, Sun Fire 280R server, Sun StorEdge T3 disk arrays,
Solaris 9 Operating System (Solaris OS), Oracle 9i Database, Oracle
9i Application Server and AAL's eSIS software for improved access to
real-time data and up-to-the-minute statistics and information,
accessible from any computer, any time and anywhere.
When the University of Mississippi (UM) recently experienced increased
enrollment and endowment funding, they updated their technology
infrastructure and migrated their mainframe systems to a packaged
enterprise resource planning (ERP) system from SAP. They also are using
the Solaris Operating System (Solaris OS)and some Sun Fire
servers.
The University of Hong Kong Libraries have gone wireless, using a local
area network (LAN) that enables students to access the catalog from
anywhere on campus with a Palm Tungsten C PDA running the Java
programming language. The LAN, designed by Syracuse International,
enables up to 700,000 students to search for over two million
publications, even during a stroll across campus.
Sun has developed the Identity Server Reference Architecture to provide
users with a complete identity management solution that will increase
security, cut administrative costs and improve efficiency. This tool eliminates security silos through its ability to
provide broad-based, multi-agent, efficient solutions that free users
from the need to use multiple authorization methods.
The new Sun Application Services Reference Architecture is a completely
integrated proof of concept deployment of the Sun ONE Application
Server, the Sun ONE Directory Server and the Sun ONE Web Server
products. (All three were formerly known as iPlanet products.) It is
available now in Sun's Authorized iForce Ready Center where users
can test it against their workloads before making a purchase.
A new book offers software developers a practical introduction to unit
testing by introducing a basic test-first approach and then focusing on
an array of special issues and problem cases. The 325-page "Unit
Testing in Java" is written by Johannes Link and Peter Frolich.
The book "Oracle Real Application Clusters," by Murali Vallath, looks
at the features, technology and principles of Real Application Clusters
(RACs) that are a part of the Oracle9i release of the company's RDBMS
product. The book contains three parts which cover application/database
design, development and maintenance life cycles.
Award-winning technical writers and editors from Sun Microsystems have
written a new book aimed at technical writers, editors and
documentation managers. "Read Me First! A Style Guide for the Computer
Industry" is a comprehensive guide to writing technical documentation
that is clear, consistent and easy to understand.
Wiley's new book, "Professional Jakarta Struts," offers a thorough
coverage of the Jakarta Struts Model 2 architecture and components.
The book aims to cover everything the reader may need to know about
Struts and its supporting technologies, including JavaServer Pages
(JSP) technology, servlets, Web applications, the Jakarta-Tomcat
JSP/servlet container and more.
The guide to upgrading from the Microsoft VM for Java technology to
the Sun Java Runtime Environment (JRE) includes the benefits of
upgrading, links for installing the JRE, making sure your browser is
running it and testing applets. There is a list of potential upgrade
issues.
Veloxsoft and iaSolution, two Asian licensees of the Java 2
Platform, Micro Edition (J2ME) will jointly promote and
cross-license their complementary technology in GSM/GPRS and CDMA areas
and co-develop the next-generation J2ME software solutions on WCDMA and
CDMA 1x EV-DO.
Sun's Integrity Assurance Reference Architecture is designed to give
system administrators a heads-up on any unintended changes in data and
system files. The solution delivers information on the performance
implications of monitoring a system and is able to provide a thorough
defense against security breaches by layering on top of other security
mechanisms.
Users accustomed to the security provisions designed into the
Solaris Operating System (Solaris OS) -- encryption of sensitive
sessions, improved access control and the ability to deter unauthorized
use of the network -- will be pleased to find these features developed
even further in the newly released Sun Anti-Virus Reference
Architecture.
The Sun BluePrints document, "Responding to a Customer's Security
Incidents -- Part 4: Processing Incident Data" by Vijay Masurkar covers
authenticating, preserving and analyzing the incident data. The
document provides tips, best practices and figures to illustrate the
processes described.
Ensemble Systems has released Ensemble Glider plug-ins for Borland
JBuilder, Visual SlickEdit, BEA WebLogic Workshop and Glider for the
Sun Open Net Environment (Sun ONE). The Ensemble Glider is a
timesaving Java 2 Platform, Enterprise Edition (J2EE)
development tool used by J2EE platform developers who use some of the
more popular IDEs.
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