I couldn't contain myself after spotting this headline off the wires last week. What a coup for the public relations team at Sun Microsystems.
The article likened Sun's Java Desktop System to asprin--take one and your headache's gone.
To the uninitiated, Sun is positioning Java Desktop, previously code-named Mad Hatter, as a Windows alternative. The announcement of the product last week was accompanied by a new, flat-fee licensing structure. For annual charges of AU$190 per desktop or AU$95 per employee (as an add-on to the Sun Java Enterprise System), users will receive StarOffice 7, an open-source alternative to MS Office, a desktop environment based on Gnome, the Mozilla browser, Ximian Evolution for e-mail and calendaring applications, RealNetworks RealONE and Macromedia Flash.
Larry Singer, the company's vice-president of information systems strategy, was quoted as saying: "We're talking about a radical savings--more than 75 percent over just the comparable upgrade cost for Microsoft."
Seasoned CIOs and IT managers I spoke to ranked the purported savings pretty high on the BS meter.
"I'm unsure where the 75 percent figure came from but it's not from any independent studies I've seen," said James Lee, a Melbourne-based technology manager.
"I'm extremely interested to see how Java Desktop will 'seamlessly integrate' with my 50 Windows-based clients," said a cynical Lee.
Jupiter Media analyst Michael Gartenberg echoed Lee's sentiments.
"It's going to be tough for Sun to make much headway against Microsoft in desktop computing," Gartenberg told CNET News.com.
According to Gartenberg, Mad Hatter is more likely to be a replay of earlier failed Sun attempts to crack into the desktop computer market with the network computer and with Java workstations.
"For organisations, the question of interoperability with hardware and software is going to be an inhibitor," Gartenberg said, pointing out that most applications are developed for Windows; it's tough to assure flawless compatibility with Microsoft document file formats; hardware support arrives for Windows often long before other operating systems; and it's expensive to switch operating systems.
Sun also faces an uphill battle against the marketing clout of incumbent Microsoft. Any move to weaken its dominance will be met with great resistance as evidenced by the software behemoth's cost-reduction exercise in various parts of Asia to combat the open source threat.
However, I believe Sun is headed in the right direction and the main challenge now is to present irrefragable evidence to reinforce its cost savings claims.
It may take many, many years to unseat Microsoft on corporate desktops but for users looking to break free from a Windows world, choice is always welcomed.
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