Sun Set For Midsummer Push

Mad Hatter marks the first time that Sun has tightly integrated and engineered its StarOffice suite, Mozilla browser, GNOME interface, Evolution e-mail and calendar application, and a Java card to run on its Sun Ray thin clients and x86-based platforms, Schwartz said. By bringing the Mad Hatter suite to market, Sun partners can save their customers billions of dollars, he said.

"Just remember that Microsoft collected $6.5 billion in cash last quarter alone [on its desktop offerings]. We think we can do for $50 to $100 what Microsoft is now doing for $200," Schwartz said. "We are going to drive Mad Hatter in volume. We really think there is going to be a great opportunity to deliver an alternative desktop to cost-sensitive and security-sensitive environments."

He also urged Sun partners to provide input on the pricing model, which hasn't been finalized.

As part of the Mad Hatter effort, Sun is engaging with hardware OEMs to deliver the solution on other x86-based hardware, Schwartz said. Sun also is planning professional services and software tools to help solution providers migrate Windows environments to the Mad Hatter desktop, Sun executives said.

In an interview with CRN last week, Sun Chairman and CEO Scott McNealy said the vendor isn't taking aim at the Microsoft desktop market with Mad Hatter. "We're not targeting the general-purpose power [Microsoft] Office user. We're targeting somebody who wants reduced complexity and lower cost," he said. "There'll be some very interesting enterprise folks looking at value much more aggressively."

Solution providers said call centers, schools and hospitals are likely customers for Mad Hatter because such users tend to stay at their computers.

Dwight Hinkel, CEO of Applied Engineering, a Bismarck, N.D.-based solution provider that focuses on the education market, said the Mad Hatter suite running on a Sun Ray thin client could save a campus with 10,000 students as much as $5 million over two years. "We are in an economy where everyone's budget is being cut by 20 percent. I see significant erosion of the Microsoft monopoly," he said.

Steve Everest, president of Creative Healthcare Systems, a Springfield, Mo.-based application provider serving the health-care space, expects Mad Hatter to increase the number of Sun Rays he installs at hospitals by 10 percent to 20 percent for each engagement.

"I see a lot more PCs going away," Everest said, noting the Sun Rays have lower management costs. "This is really going to blur the lines [between Microsoft and Sun platforms] for our customers."

Sun already is showing Mad Hatter in "whisper suites," said Anil Gadre, vice president of software business management and marketing at the vendor. The next move will be to get Mad Hatter into Sun iForce Centers for customer and partner testing, he said.

Mad Hatter is designed to work almost as an appliance, Gadre said. "Otherwise, you might need a Linux systems administrator, and that kills the [total cost of ownership] advantage. Also, we don't want the reseller to get stuck on installation and debugging."

STEVEN BURKE contributed to this story.