Nickname: practicaldude

Review: All of the above posts seem to cry for execution. That is a nice buzzword for the more bookish management folk. The nuts and bolts folk i.e., "manufacturing," "engineering" (non-software), hold the keys to execution. A "mature" (not entrepreneurial) company focuses on "systems" for people. Execution by the nuts and bolts folk demand better "management systems." How many "yield/product" engineers does Intel employ at each of its chipmaking factories (let's count 14 operating factories x 500 = 7000 people)?How "sophisticated" do you expect the yield, reliability and supply chain management tools to be? In reality, very poor. Nobody wants to really improve on the spreadsheet. It's boring compared with Java, compiler design, etc. I think it's time that the IC/system manufacturers spend the time and money to streamline their product development using innovation software or risk being consumed by the rising costs of technology.

Date reviewed: Dec 8, 2005 6:59 PM

Nickname: go_up_sunw

Review: I dont know if the Open Source thing is going to fizzle, but I guess they have to try this out. And to be fair, Sun's a great company and blah blah blah. I just want to know one thing. Why is this guy still the CEO? After the number of mistakes he has made for Sun, how come he is still the CEO. Are there any consequences to failing at Sun? I am just one frustrated stock holder.

Date reviewed: Dec 6, 2005 9:39 PM

Nickname: Bauhinia

Review: I think many of Sun's strategies are a result of desperation and a general lack of sound business acumen. If you look at the organization, you'd think that they have a phobia of talent from the outside world. All they did for years was promote the same incompetents from within. They pour so much money into programs that don't help the bottom line and continue to let the aforementioned people further tarnish the reputation in the process. I attended the Sun Tech Days last year in Brazil and it was just a sham. I'm not quite sure if Sun execs ever had a competent individual evaluate the speakers or the content. But if they are the best speakers/technologists Sun has to offer, then Sun is definitely a sinking ship. It was obvious to me that most of them did not have experience with the technologies that they presented. I want to see Sun turnaround, I really do, but they need to improve their image.

Date reviewed: Dec 6, 2005 6:15 AM

Nickname: Nawaf

Review: Solaris 10 features and support for Intel x86 was needed a long time ago. Now that it's here, I know that the time has come for Sun to rise once again.

Date reviewed: Dec 6, 2005 5:01 AM

Nickname: Sunburned

Review: After a long career at Sun, I still can't see the "benefit" of giving things away. Remember the saying, "nothing is free?" Unless of course, it doesn't have relevance or value. The question still remains, with sinking average selling prices and shrinking margins, how does a company with combined revenues of $14 billion and the girth of 50,000 employees turn a profit? Oh, I see, give your stuff away-for free. There is more discontent in the ranks of Sun than you know. Scott and Jonathan are on the lido deck dancing and there's water coming in the engine room.

Date reviewed: Dec 6, 2005 4:18 AM

Nickname: ex-sun-dude

Review: Lots of great posts. What the interviewer neglected to mention was Sun's still bloated cost structure and the need to cut the 10,000 heads to get the company comfortably into the black on a consistent basis. Yes, Sun has great technology and fills a definite need in the technology world. McNealy just doesn't run it like a business. Hmm, maybe that's why the stock has been flat for so long.

Date reviewed: Dec 6, 2005 1:37 AM

Nickname: cookie

Review: If you want to get the image of the company back to to where it was all McNealy has to do is start buying shares on the open market, instead of getting options at 7 cents. Puting his money where his mouth is will show he belives what he is saying. Come on McNealy show the investment world you and top management believe in the company. Buy shares on the open market or have a company buyback.

Date reviewed: Dec 6, 2005 12:45 AM

Nickname: Sun Observer

Review: This is really nothing new. Sun's been giving away software for years. Just take a look at Java, Open Office, application servers, NetBeans, etc. However, Sun's not been able to monetize from its free software strategy, and it has not been able to increase its market share. BEA, IBM, Red Hat, and Microsoft are all making money and growing, while Sun desperately tries to be disruptive but continues to lose money and market share. Sun seems to have interesting ideas, technologies and strategy, but it fails to execute in the market--year after year after year. Sun should focus more on execution and less on hype/PR. Show me the money!

Date reviewed: Dec 6, 2005 12:10 AM

Nickname: Dr.Magic

Review: Scott McNealy would benifit more if he had totally radical thinkers in his place--like the Google boys.

Date reviewed: Dec 5, 2005 10:46 PM

Nickname: John_Sun

Review: For those of you who are silly enough to believe that Sun does not monetize Java, think again, and read the financials closer. They do make money on it - lots of money. The "give away" software program just announced makes it easier for developers to get their hands on it. They have always "given" the software away to anyone who asked for it from a rep. Now they can just download it off the Internet. Want to use it in production - pay up. Works for Red Hat, why not Sun? Oh yeah, what is it that GM just bought 350,000+ licenses of? Java Enterprise Edition. If I was the IBM rep selling WebSphere in there, I'd be nervous, very nervous. GM needs to save money, and evidently they're turning to Sun to do it. The money is coming right out of IBM's and Hewlett-Packard's pockets.

Date reviewed: Dec 5, 2005 8:23 PM