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COMMENTARY: SUN NEEDS A DISPOSITION TO MATCHWhat a week for Sun Microsystems Inc. and its CEO, Scott G. McNealy. On Nov. 17, it won the first round in its lawsuit charging Microsoft Corp. with breaching its contract to use Sun's Java software. That put Sun and McNealy firmly back in the driver's seat with the software widely seen as a threat to Microsoft's Windows. Then, on Nov. 24, Sun became the linchpin in the deal for America Online Inc. to buy Netscape Communications Corp. Suddenly, years after co-founding Sun as a maker of arcane engineering computers, McNealy has emerged as a key direction-setter not only for computer hardware but Internet software and electronic commerce as well. TRASH TALK. Scott McNealy, elder statesman for the Net Economy? If it sounds improbable, then the problem facing an otherwise rising Sun becomes clear. McNealy has always set Sun apart from the industry mainstream. He loves to make brash pronouncements about rivals, like calling Windows a ''hairball'' and dismissing industry consortia as ''big hat, no cattle.'' Today, more than ever, McNealy positions Sun--which designs its own hardware, chips, and software--as the lone holdout against the personal computer duopoly of Microsoft and Intel Corp. McNealy now has a chance to play a pivotal role in the development of the entire industry--and for that matter, in the development of how other industries use technology. But first, he needs to lose the isolationism and try a little more diplomacy. In an industry accustomed to cooperating on setting standards, Sun has an image of being difficult to work with, consistently putting its own development priorities ahead of the needs of its many partners. That could prove a major stumbling block to McNealy's prospective leadership of an effective alliance against Microsoft's hegemony. Even erstwhile partners such as Hewlett-Packard Co. and IBM complain about Java--unhappy with the way Sun meets other companies' needs. They say Sun insists on total control over the direction of Java yet is slow to develop crucial technologies to make it a broad alternative to Windows. For instance, while Sun is now part of the International Standards Organization's industry standards-setting process, it still insists that licensees hew to its own definition of Java and cede any improvements to Sun itself. Says Jim Bell, general manager of HP's Embedded Software Operation: ''A lot of things they accuse Microsoft of doing, they do themselves.'' Adds a computer industry CEO: ''If anything is going to kill Java, it's Sun's stranglehold.'' Alan Baratz, president of Sun's Java software unit, admits Sun helped create a rift with some partners, such as HP, by pricing components too high for the low-cost computer market. ''The consumer markets are new to Sun, and we're learning.'' To its credit, there are signs that Sun is taking criticisms to heart. Next month, for instance, it is expected to give licensees a bigger role in guiding Java's evolution. And many of Java's 900,000 developers think Sun is doing just fine. ''We do think there is an opportunity to be more flexible,'' says Baratz. In the end, the proof is not in what McNealy says but in what he does. As he notes, his outsider stance ''certainly didn't keep us from doing a deal with AOL, even though they're a partner to Microsoft.'' Indeed, for all his trash talk, McNealy knows how to work on a team. An avid hockey player, he's known on the ice for quick passes to set up others to score. Now, more than ever, it will behoove him to take that attitude from the rink to the boardroom.
By Robert D. Hof RELATED ITEMS
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Updated Nov. 25, 1998 by bwwebmaster
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