Attending the Sun Microsystems Inc Enterprise Computing Forum in New York City yesterday was like stepping back in time as far as the Java story is concerned. Not because anything in particular looked backward or clunky, but because the Java success stories had a very familiar ring about them. There was the Sabre Group travel system, old Java faithful CSX Transportation (10/30/96), the Lotus e-Suite Java applications suite first sighted back in January 1997 and then called Kona (01/28/97), and a JavaStation demo that didn’t work. Admittedly the latter appeared to be fault of a local ISP, not Sun, but it did little to dispel the perception that the much-delayed JavaStation and network computers in general are still some way off widespread acceptance or use. Oh, and next year will see the widespread deployment of system employing smart cards to enable users to log in to any NC and be presented with their personal webtop. A trip round the Enterprise Solutions Pavilion revealed Sun’s Netra j NC management software that is still only capable of booting up and managing JavaStations, although the recent Java tie-in with IBM Corp will mean its Network Stations will soon be controllable from a Sun server, and vice versa. As for what’s next with the JavaStation, Steve Tirado, Sun’s VP network computer systems says new lower-cost versions will arrive early next year at the same time as the JavaOS for Business operating system being jointly-developed with IBM (04/02/98). He says it will finally hit the much-vaunted $500 price point. He also says it will use a faster architecture although after repeated questions, he would not say if the processor would come from Sun or elsewhere, just that it would be faster. The browser will also be improved, bringing it in line with the functionality of Netscape Communications Corp’s Navigator/Communicator and Microsoft Corp’s Internet Explorer, he says, improving the JavaScript and HTML support. Sun has to do that work itself based on its HotJava technology ever since Netscape abandoned its Javagator project in July with some disparaging remarks about the caffeinated language (07/06/98). Some IS managers and other people in the track on Java hosted by Tirado yesterday seemed to have heard the Java story a few times before as well. One said that the JavaStation story works well when compared to PCs, but trying to convince workstation users that NCs are reliable enough to cope with their demands for the sake of saving a few hundred dollars per device, which Tirado acknowledged was a valid objection. However, Tirado retorted to a similar question about when Java is not suitable by saying that the only obstacle he has come across is the quality of the programmers. He also acknowledged that it is not suitable for very big applications. And while performance will always be an issue he says the Sabre system, which will be rolled out in the first quarter of next year initially to airlines, demand sub- second response times. Sabre will act as a reseller of Sun’s Netra servers and JavaStation NCs, targeting its user based of airlines and travel agents. He predicts deployment of thousands of JavaStations with the Sabre deal.
