Sun Microsystems Inc is wooing NEC Corp to license Sun’s Solaris 2.0 Unix implementation for machines using Intel iAPX-86 and compatible microprocessors to run on its PC-9800 series of personal computers, which although similar are not software-compatible with the IBM Personal Computer. The PC-9800 commands a dominant 50%-plus of the Japanese market. NEC confirmed to our sister paper Unigram last week that such an approach had been made, but could not lend credence to reports already making the Japanese press that the deal is as good as done. Sun president Scott McNealy, reported to be a prime mover in the negotiations, would also not comment, other than to say that he talks to whoever SunSoft president Ed Zander asks him to, and that he has talked to a lot of people. The surprise alliance, if it comes to pass, would be quite a feather in Sun’s cap. The 9800 uses NEC’s V-series 8086- and 8088-compatible microprocessors at the bottom end and Intel Corp originals at the 80386 and 80486 level.Meanwhile, NEC, which is already in the MIPS Computer Systems Inc-Advanced Computing Environment camp in the highly visible role of fabricating MIPS chips and ASICs, last week said it is going to co-develop future operating systems and distributed computing technology with Unix System Laboratories Inc. As a member of the renegade Apache Group and a 3.6% investor in Unix Labs, it is thought that NEC wants System V.4 for its MIPS boxes. NEC is activating a strategic operation it quietly put in place back in April to handle these developments: the Open Systems Technology Center in Princeton geographically near both Unix Labs and Unix International (CI No 1,802).
