SaltOfTheEarth

Sun Still Clings to Java Dominance Pitch

Simply put, it's down to dog eat dog, mano a mano, Sun vs Dell / IBM / HP - in the following ultimate fighting classes:
1) AMD dual core
2) AMD quad core
3) Intel dual core
4) intel quad core

Commoditization has arrived, there is nothing else, get out the sharp knives and cut away all other time wasters.

Sun Microsystems: Burnout or Takeover Target?

Interesting some of the comments about Intel and Linux. This is itself evidence of Sun's PR failures. Sun is on a steep growth curve regarding Intel systems. Anyone can order any Sun X64 product with Linux. Problem is, most people are stuck thinking of Sun as Solaris / SPARC. I had mentioned some notions of spin offs. Here's one - spin off everything having to do with SPARC. Consider spinning off Solaris.

Sun Microsystems: Burnout or Takeover Target?

RE: "If they continue to piss around with money wasters like Project DarkStar (gaming server) and Project Looking Glass (3D interface) they'll miss a huge opportunity to get some focus, deliver some value and make some profit."

Not to mention, having many execs, and an increasing number of rank and file, being encouraged to play around in Second Life on company time. Time to execute, focus on the real cash cow lines of business, and eating the lunches of Dell, HP, IBM, et al. Market timing, price, effective PR, support. Simple things. Stop screwing around in Second Life, forget about curing world hunger and selling one time deals (later pirated) to Communist dictatorships and get cracking. Read "Good To Great." It's all about excelling at boring stuff, the way Fed Ex did.

Sun Microsystems: Burnout or Takeover Target?

I would add that the fact that all the things customers don't really care about (and investors make fun of) get the PR, instead of the things that actually result in cash flow, would imply that those are the things in need of spin off or outright kill. Well, if it's taken private, you know the sharp knives will be out and about.

Sun Microsystems: Burnout or Takeover Target?

"An example of how undervalued Sun appears is in the price-to-cash flow metric which is historically between 22.82 and 45.90, but at the current price it is at 6.98."

Simply put, the investor community do not value it as much as actual customers (and, as noted, potential acquiring interests) do. That means there are hidden areas of the business, that don't get the PR that Java, free software, etc get. Ergo, Sun either learns how to PR all the "boring" cash cow revenue streams or, gets subsumed by someone with lots of cash (or access to debt). No other outcomes are likely.