🚀 go-pugleaf

groenvel@cse.psu.edu (John D Groenveld) writes:

>In article <3FD0ABA3.25FC8FC5@hotmail.com>,
>Ronald van Zantvoort  <The_LoekiSPAMBUSTLINE@hotmail.com> wrote:
>>Cobalt is and was a beautiful platform. Why buy it & then kill it off?

>Obviously the server appliance must not have sold very well.
>The only person I know who bought Cobalt Networks systems, always
>installed another OS on top of the hardware.

Don't know why. Cobalt's web-based admin interface is *excellent*. Sun's got
nothing like it in their native software products.

I run a Raq2i here as a web server for the non-profit networking
organisation I'm involved with, and it's running the standard Cobalt OS
package with all the available patches from SunSolve.

Sure there has been no OS development or patches for the last 2 years, but
the machine runs without missing a beat and only stops when the power goes
down or I deliberately turn it off to clean out dust, etc. during the annual
major system clean I do to every machine which I have running 24/7
(currently 6 systems, all various Sun Sparc/UltraSparc models except for the
Raq2i).

><URL:http://www.sun.com/aboutsun/investor/annual_reports/sun_ar03.pdf>
> A summary of Sun's purchase transactions for the three fiscal years
> ended June 30,2003,is included in the following table
> (in millions,except share amounts):
> Cobalt Networks, Inc. 2000-12
> $1,775.7 - 30,456,000 shares common stock issued
> $283.3 - Fair value of 5,565,000 options assumed
> $2.0 - Cash paid for acquisition costs

>That's a $2B whoopsie.

It was deliberate IMHO. Sun are like other companies in this respect in that
they buy up something which they claim can 'complement' their business, then
get rid of it. Microsoft does it too with all their purchases of innovative
hardware and software technology companies. Sun did it with StarDivision but
at least they haven't dumped StarOffice (aka OpenOffice) since it's a major
challenger to MegaSloth Office.

Sun bought Cobalt with, perhaps, good intentions but because Cobalt's
products don't fit into Sun's product portfolio very well, Sun was never
able to do with them what Cobalt achieved pre-2000. And of course Sun were
not interested in supporting Linux on them because of Sun's decision to
start shipping Linux-based Opteron systems (another bad move IMHO, but it
depends on your views on where the market is going).

Regards,

Craig.
-- 
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