Version 9, Sun Microsystems Inc’s specification for the next generation of Sparc architecture, which includes 64-bit extensions, has been rubber-stamped by Amdahl Corp, L M Ericsson Telefon AB, Fujitsu Ltd, HaL Computer Systems Inc, Hyundai Electronics Co, ICL Plc, Interactive Systems Inc, LSI Logic Corp, Matsushita Electric Industrial Co, Oracle Corp, Philips Electronics NV, Ross Technology Inc, Texas Instruments Inc and Sun itself. After taking account of relationships between the various firms in the list, we’re left with a core number that can almost be counted on the fingers of one hand. Sun put out the wire to its community describing Sparc as an open evolutionary process… the only co-operatively-developed, royalty free architecture in the world. The Sparc International supporters club – ostensibly there to serve this process didn’t get a look-in on the announcement, and the only contact on the message is a Sun flack.
