There’s a certain element of the IT and technology communities interested in
investigating Microsoft alternatives, either as a matter of politics or preference,
or as a matter of production or cost controls. I believe that elements from all over
these communities, and IT professionals in general, will find the Sun Java Desktop
System, now out in Release 2, a matter of some curiosity if not of outright professional and technical
interest.
For $50 per seat as part of a special current promotion (the regular price is a very affordable $100),
one can purchase a reasonably complete and powerful desktop client system that runs on any platform that
supports the Java 2 Platform Standard Edition. The platforms include Windows, Linux, and other X86 operating
systems running on standard PC hardware, and Macintosh, Solaris, and other flavors of Unix as well. What
makes the platform interesting and appealing is not just its use of standard well-known software components,
such as GNOME for the desktop and Mozilla for the Web browser, but also the company's bundle of the StarOffice
7 personal productivity package (a reasonable competitor to Microsoft Office, itself worth more than the price of purchase).
Sun touts improved security, lower costs, improved manageability, and more capabilities as reasons for giving
the Sun Java Desktop a once-over. I think that you'll find what Sun has to offer at least interesting, if not
compelling. For me, one of the best values in the offering is six months of free, unlimited technical support as
part of the package, as switching to a new environment is sure to come with perils, pitfalls, and learning curves.
Visit the Sun Java Desktop System site to find more information, including FAQs, technical documentation, and an interesting animated demo.
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