SAN FRANCISCO (06-09-95) - Sun Microsystems Inc.'s heady brew of its Hot Java Internet browser is having a ripple effect among Sun users thinking about the practical uses of Sun's Internet authoring and security technology.
In the weeks since Sun's May 23 Internet announcement, many users have said they intend to download the free Hot Java browser software from Sun's home page. But firms authoring Internet home pages will have to adopt it before Hot Java's animated icons become widespread on the World-Wide Web, users said. And some are unsure how soon Sun's Internet building blocks, including its secure Internet servers, will deliver electronic commerce for large information systems enterprises.
Users expect Hot Java's animation capabilities to add life to static data. Users can browse Web home pages, and the Hot Java software will download animated applications written in the Java object-oriented language. Stock tickers, video clips of baseball games and colorful travel maps can all be programmed in Java.
"We're interested because Sun has made a good effort to make [Hot Java] a standard," said Matt Fahrner, network manager at Burlington Coat Factory Warehouse Inc., which has more than 400 Sun machines nationwide. "We like the idea of multimedia extensions. They would be very useful to us on our home page."
Netscape Communications Corp. has licensed the Java programming language for inclusion in future Netscape browsers, Sun said.
But Fahrner said he believes Sun's SunScreen security server products, priced from US$50,000 each, are too costly. He said standard $7,700 Sun SPARCstation 5 workstations, $5,000-plus Sun Netra servers, Sun's Firewall- 1 software and a standard network router can do much to secure an Internet site. Firewall-1 is priced between $5,000 and $18,000.
However, some early users have already put Java and Sun's Netra servers to work. StarWave Inc., a developer of Internet content and services in Seattle, has already built one Java application that updates sports scores while games are in progress. The application will be available to end users this summer.
Other users are enthusiastic about the promise of doing electronic commerce on the Internet using Sun technology. But some say they will need to see more Internet infrastructure in place to guarantee reliable services before they launch into electronic commerce themselves, .
"This technology has to get to the level where it is an appliance," said one Chicago network manager, who requested anonymity. "The vision that this is plug and play is erroneous. They're selling you the back-end servers, but there [have] to be people in the middle who make all this work, such as service providers to help IS."
Victor Wheatman, research director at Gartner Group Inc.'s electronic commerce strategies service in Santa Clara, Calif., agrees the Internet is not as stable as traditional T1 or T3 leased data lines. But Sun has suggested that IS managers can pair SunScreen Internet servers to provide secure Internet links that tie two corporate offices together. Sun's encryption software was designed to scramble network signals so hackers cannot decipher them.
Sun's idea of bundling security and user-friendly software with Internet servers should pay off, said Michael Goulde, a senior consultant at Patricia Seybold Group in Boston. "It's a start at giving them a solid position in one of the highest potential growth areas in the industry," he said. SIDEBAR: Sun's Internet Building Blocks By Computerworld staff (Computerworld)
FRAMINGHAM (June 9) - The following are some of Sun's Internet building blocks:
--Hot Java browsers and Java object-oriented programming language, which is similar to C++. The browsers and the language are free for noncommercial users; negotiated license fee for Internet server and data services providers. The Hot Java browser is available on Microsoft Corp.'s Windows NT now and will ship for Microsoft's Windows 95 and Apple Computer Inc.'s MacOS by July.
--Netra I 2.0 servers, priced from $5,800 to $16,000, depending on configuration, will be available by July. Netra servers are based on existing SPARCserver 4, 5 and 20 systems.
--SunScreen SPF-100 security server and bundled software, priced from $50,000. Available in limited quantities, with volume shipments in September and restrictions on its sales outside the US Sun is also aiming for wide acceptance for its security software by submitting its SKIP (Simple Key Management for Internet Protocol) security specifications to the Internet Engineering Task Force.
[Copyright 1995 Computerworld (US), International Data Group Inc. All rights reserved.]