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==History== {| class="wikitable floatright" | {| style="font-size:90%; line-height:1.4em; width:230px; border-collapse:collapse; margin:0" ! colspan="2" style="text-align: center;" | Sun Microsystems logo history |- style="border-bottom:1px solid #999" | '''Logo'''|| '''Years''' |- | [[File:Sun-1 Badge.jpg|150px]] || <small>Original Sun Microsystems logo, as used on the nameplate of the [[Sun-1]] workstation</small> |- | [[File:Sun Microsystems 1980s logo.svg|150px]] || <small>Revised logo, used from 1983 to 1996</small> |- | [[File:Sun Microsystems logo.svg|150px]] || <small>From 1996 until 2010 / acquisition by Oracle Corporation</small> |} |} The initial design for what became Sun's first Unix [[workstation]], the [[Sun-1]], was conceived by [[Andy Bechtolsheim]] when he was a graduate student at [[Stanford University]] in [[Palo Alto]], California. Bechtolsheim originally designed the [[SUN workstation]] for the [[Stanford University Network]] communications project as a personal [[CAD workstation]]. It was designed around the [[Motorola 68000 processor]] with an advanced [[memory management unit]] (MMU) to support the Unix operating system with [[virtual memory]] support.<ref>{{ cite tech report| url=http://i.stanford.edu/pub/cstr/reports/csl/tr/82/229/CSL-TR-82-229.pdf| title=The SUN Workstation Architecture| first1=Andreas| last1=Bechtolsheim| first2=Forest| last2=Baskett| first3=Vaughan| last3=Pratt| name-list-style=amp| institution=[[Stanford University]], Computer Systems Laboratory| id=STAN//CSL-TR-82-229| date=March 1982| access-date=July 28, 2009}}</ref> He built the first examples from spare parts obtained from Stanford's [[Stanford University School of Engineering|Department of Computer Science]] and Silicon Valley supply houses.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.stanford.edu/group/wellspring/sun_spotlight.html |title=Wellspring of Innovation: Sun Microsystems Spotlight |first=Carolyn |last=Tajnai |website=Stanford.edu |access-date=July 28, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090517063315/http://www.stanford.edu/group/wellspring/sun_spotlight.html |archive-date=2009-05-17}}</ref> On February 24, 1982, [[Scott McNealy]], [[Andy Bechtolsheim]], and [[Vinod Khosla]], all Stanford graduate students, founded ''Sun Microsystems''. [[Bill Joy]] of Berkeley, a primary developer of the [[Berkeley Software Distribution]] (BSD), joined soon after and is counted as one of the original founders.<ref>{{cite book |title=Vinod Khosla and Sun Microsystems |author=Amar Bhide |type=Case study |publisher=Harvard Business School |date=September 28, 1989 |url=https://hbr.org/product/vinod-khosla-and-sun-microsystems-a/390049-PDF-ENG | url-access=subscription}}</ref> The company was the second, after rival [[Apollo Computer]], to specialize in workstations.<ref name="nicholls198902">{{Cite magazine |last=Nicholls |first=Bill |date=February 1989 |title=The Current Crop |url=https://archive.org/details/eu_BYTE-1989-02_OCR/page/n290/mode/1up?view=theater |access-date=2024-10-08 |magazine=BYTE |pages=235β244}}</ref> The name "Sun" is derived from the initials of the Stanford University Network (SUN).<ref>{{cite book |title=Silicon Valley |url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780762742394 |url-access=registration |last=Vance |first=Ashlee |author-link=Ashlee Vance |year=2007 |publisher= Globe Pequot Press |location=Goulford, CT, US |isbn=978-0-7627-4239-4 |page=[https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780762742394/page/117 117]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| title= Mr. Scott McNealy |website=Sun.com | publisher=Sun Microsystems| date=April 24, 2005| url=http://www.sun.com/products-n-solutions/edu/gelc/bios/scottmcnealy.html| access-date =September 17, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090930034150/http://www.sun.com/products-n-solutions/edu/gelc/bios/scottmcnealy.html |archive-date=2009-09-30}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://blogs.sun.com/dador/entry/sunw_stanford_university_network_workstation |title=SUNW = Stanford University Network Workstation |website=Jim McGuinness's Weblog |access-date=February 22, 2009 |date=August 27, 2007 |first=Jim |last=McGuinness |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100816154500/http://blogs.sun.com/dador/entry/sunw_stanford_university_network_workstation |archive-date=August 16, 2010 |df=mdy-all }}</ref> Sun was profitable from its first quarter in July 1982. By 1983, Sun was known for producing [[Motorola 68000|68k-based systems]] with high-quality graphics that were the only computers other than [[Digital Equipment Corporation|DEC]]'s [[VAX]] to run [[4.2BSD]]. It licensed the [[Computer architecture|computer design]] to other manufacturers, which typically used it to build [[Multibus]]-based systems running Unix from [[UniSoft]].<ref name="fiedler198310">{{cite news| url=https://archive.org/stream/byte-magazine-1983-10/1983_10_BYTE_08-10_UNIX#page/n133/mode/2up| title=The Unix Tutorial / Part 3: Unix in the Microcomputer Marketplace| work=BYTE| date=October 1983| access-date=30 January 2015| last=Fiedler| first=Ryan| page=132}}</ref> Sun's initial public offering was in 1986 under the [[Ticker symbol|stock symbol]] ''SUNW'', for ''Sun Workstations'' (later ''Sun Worldwide'').<ref>{{cite web| url=https://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/06/02/sun_shows_metropolis/| date=June 2, 2004| title=Sun goes back to the future with Metropolis |first=Ashlee |last=Vance| access-date=January 31, 2007| work=[[The Register]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.sun.com/aboutsun/investor/faq/#04| title=Sun Microsystems β Investor Relations: FAQ| website=Sun.com |access-date=January 23, 2007| publisher=Sun Microsystems |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060621182201/http://www.sun.com/aboutsun/investor/faq/#04 |archive-date=2006-06-21}}</ref> The symbol was changed in 2007 to ''JAVA''; Sun stated that the [[brand awareness]] associated with its Java platform better represented the company's current strategy.<ref>{{cite web |first=Alexei |last=Oreskovic |url=http://www.thestreet.com/_yahoo/newsanalysis/techhardware/10376053.html?cm_ven=YAHOO&cm_cat=FREE&cm_ite=NA |title=Sun to Switch Symbol to JAVA |work=[[Thestreet.com]] |date=August 23, 2007 |access-date=July 28, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091014061541/http://www.thestreet.com/_yahoo/newsanalysis/techhardware/10376053.html?cm_ven=YAHOO&cm_cat=FREE&cm_ite=NA |archive-date=October 14, 2009 |df=mdy-all }}</ref> Sun's logo, which features four interleaved copies of the word ''sun'' in the form of a rotationally symmetric [[ambigram]], was designed by professor [[Vaughan Pratt]], also of Stanford. The initial version of the logo was orange and had the sides oriented horizontally and vertically, but it was subsequently rotated to stand on one corner and re-colored purple, and later blue. === Dot-com bubble and aftermath=== During the [[dot-com bubble]], Sun began making more money, with its stock rising as high as $250 per share.<ref>{{cite web| title=Sun Microsystems' Rise And Fall |url=https://www.forbes.com/2009/03/18/sun-microsystems-internet-technology-enterprise-tech-sun-microsystems.html| website=Forbes |access-date=27 December 2021}}</ref> It also began spending much more, hiring workers and building itself out. Some of this was because of genuine demand, but much was from web start-up companies anticipating business that would never happen. In 2000, the bubble burst.<ref>{{cite web |title=The $1.7 trillion dot.com lesson |url=https://money.cnn.com/2000/11/09/technology/overview/ |website=CNN |access-date=13 February 2020}}</ref> Sales in Sun's important hardware division went into free-fall as customers closed shop and auctioned high-end servers. Several quarters of steep losses led to executive departures, rounds of layoffs,<ref>{{cite web|title=Sun to lay off 1,000 |url=http://news.cnet.com/Sun+to+lay+off+1,000/2100-1022_3-5078493.html |access-date=July 13, 2007 |date=September 18, 2003 |work=[[CNET News]] |first=Stephen |last=Shankland |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120711071052/http://news.cnet.com/Sun-to-lay-off-1,000/2100-1022_3-5078493.html |archive-date=July 11, 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web| access-date=July 13, 2007| date=June 24, 2005| url=https://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/06/24/sun_layoffs_2006/| title=Sun layoffs hit hundreds in US|first=Ashlee| last=Vance| work=The Register}}</ref><ref>{{cite news| url=http://news.zdnet.com/2100-1009_22-6058894.html| date= April 7, 2006 |access-date=July 13, 2007|title=Sun layoffs hit high-end server group| work=[[ZDNet]]| first=Stephen| last=Shankland| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070210194319/http://news.zdnet.com/2100-1009_22-6058894.html| archive-date = February 10, 2007}}</ref> and other cost cutting. In December 2001, the stock fell to the 1998, pre-bubble level of about $100. It continued to fall, faster than many other technology companies. A year later, it had reached below $10 (a tenth of what it was in 1990), but it eventually bounced back to $20. In mid-2004, Sun closed their [[Newark, California]], factory and consolidated all manufacturing to Hillsboro, Oregon and Linlithgow, Scotland.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.bizjournals.com/portland/stories/2004/01/12/daily49.html |date=January 16, 2004 |access-date=July 14, 2007|title=Sun to add jobs in Hillsboro | work=[[American City Business Journals|Portland Business Journal]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050905185327/http://www.bizjournals.com/portland/stories/2004/01/12/daily49.html | archive-date=2005-09-05 | url-status=live |url-access=limited}}</ref> In 2006, the rest of the Newark campus was put on the market.<ref>{{cite news |url= http://sanjose.bizjournals.com/sanjose/stories/2006/05/08/daily55.html |date= May 11, 2006 |access-date=June 14, 2011 |title=Sun to sell Newark campus, move 2,300 workers |work=San Jose Business Journal |first=Sharon |last=Simonson |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110622032553/https://www.bizjournals.com/sanjose/stories/2006/05/08/daily55.html |archive-date=2011-06-22 |url-status=live |url-access=limited}}</ref> ===Post-crash focus=== [[File:Meta HQ 2023.png|thumb|right|Former [[Menlo Park, California|Menlo Park]] campus, now owned by [[Meta Platforms]]]] [[File:Sun Agnews Campus Bldgs 21 22.jpg|thumb|right|Buildings 21 and 22 at Sun's headquarters campus in Santa Clara]] [[File:SunCanada.jpg|thumb|right|Sun in [[Markham, Ontario]], Canada]] In 2004, Sun canceled two major processor projects which emphasized high [[instruction-level parallelism]] and operating frequency. Instead, the company chose to concentrate on processors optimized for [[Multithreading (computer architecture)|multi-threading]] and [[multiprocessing]], such as the [[UltraSPARC T1]] processor (codenamed "Niagara"). The company also announced a collaboration with [[Fujitsu]] to use the Japanese company's processor chips in mid-range and high-end Sun servers. These servers were announced on April 17, 2007, as the M-Series, part of the [[SPARC Enterprise]] series. In February 2005, Sun announced the [[Sun Grid]], a [[grid computing]] deployment on which it offered [[utility computing]] services priced at US$1 per CPU/hour for processing and per GB/month for storage. This offering built upon an existing 3,000-CPU server farm used for internal R&D for over 10 years, which Sun marketed as being able to achieve 97% utilization. In August 2005, the first commercial use of this grid was announced for financial risk simulations which were later launched as its first [[software as a service]] product.<ref>{{cite press release| url=http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/08-24-2005/0004093251&EDATE=| date=August 24, 2005| title=CDO2 Unlocks The Power of Sun Grid for Faster Financial Risk Simulation| publisher=Sun Microsystems |access-date=2009-12-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110605125124/http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/cdo2-unlocks-the-power-of-suntm-grid-for-faster-financial-risk-simulation-54991327.html |archive-date=2011-06-05}}</ref> In January 2005, Sun reported a net profit of $19 million for fiscal 2005 second quarter, for the first time in three years. This was followed by net loss of $9 million on [[Generally accepted accounting principles|GAAP]] basis for the third quarter 2005, as reported on April 14, 2005. In January 2007, Sun reported a net GAAP profit of $126 million on revenue of $3.337 billion for its fiscal second quarter. Shortly following that news, it was announced that [[Kohlberg Kravis Roberts]] (KKR) would invest $700 million in the company.<ref>{{cite press release| url=http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/01-23-2007/0004511496| date=January 23, 2007| title=Sun Microsystems Welcomes Endorsement and Investment From KKR| publisher=Sun Microsystems| access-date=2007-02-15| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929132028/http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=%2Fwww%2Fstory%2F01-23-2007%2F0004511496| archive-date=September 29, 2007| url-status=live}}</ref> Sun had engineering groups in [[Bangalore]], [[Beijing]], [[Dublin]], [[Grenoble]], [[Hamburg]], [[Prague]], [[St. Petersburg]], [[Tel Aviv]], [[Tokyo]], [[Canberra]] and [[Trondheim]].<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/32/9/37846828.pdf | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080910041023/http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/32/9/37846828.pdf | url-status=dead | archive-date=2008-09-10 | title=Offshoring Software Development | type=presentation by Sun to the OECD | first=Pavel |last=Suk |date=2006}}</ref> In 2007β2008, Sun posted revenue of $13.8 billion and had $2 billion in cash. First-quarter 2008 losses were $1.68 billion; revenue fell 7% to $12.99 billion. Sun's stock lost 80% of its value November 2007 to November 2008, reducing the company's market value to $3 billion. With falling sales to large corporate clients, Sun announced plans to lay off 5,000 to 6,000 workers, or 15β18% of its work force. It expected to save $700 million to $800 million a year as a result of the moves, while also taking up to $600 million in charges.<ref>{{cite web|first=Ashlee|last=Vance|title=Crisis Hits Tech Sector With Layoffs as Sales Slump|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/15/technology/companies/15sun.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=November 14, 2008}}</ref>
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