Sun CEO On Razors And Blades

Kadin2048 writes "In an interview with BusinessWeek online, Sun Microsystems CEO Scott McNealy sheds some light on the company's new business model and future direction. In particular, he said that Sun's recent open source moves were part of a new strategy, where 'The software is the razor. The razor blades are the servers.' The move was called a huge risk by BusinessWeek, and it would put Sun at odds with the more traditional Microsoft-esque model with high per-seat or per-server software licensing costs and use commodity PCs and servers, which may not go over well with investors. But after having seen its stock slide and users flee for Linux and Windows, they arguably have little to lose. Perhaps the most interesting development to Slashdot readers is that in an effort to draw new developers to the platform, Sun is offering a deal that seems torn from a cell-phone company playbook: offering a "free" Ultra 20 Opteron workstation if you sign up for a $29.95/mo, 3-year service contract."

Slashdotted the sun site?

[SauroNlord]

Lol, I hope that's not an indication of the Ultra 20....

while we're going with the analogy

[intmainvoid]

The software is the razor. The razor blades are the servers. Together they're slicing up Sun's stock price.

Yeah, right.

[Council]

Sun is offering a deal that seems torn from a cell-phone company playbook: offering a "free" Ultra 20 Opteron workstation if you sign up for a $29.95/mo, 3-year service contract.

Oh, come on, we can see right through that. It's just another sleazy attempt by Sun to acquire money in exchange for goods and services.

The nerve.

The razor blades are the servers?

[DoubleRing]

Ok, ok, let me get this straight: The server is the computer, and the server is the razor blade that is on the razor, which is the software. So, the computer, which is the server, which is the razor blade, runs the software, which is the razor. I'm confused. Either Sun is trying to shave using the handle as the blade and the blade as a handle, or I missed something...

Re:Wrong several times over...

[Anonymous Coward]

yes $1080 for a $895 dollar workstation, what a deal sign me up! I was born yesterday

Styptic?

[kybred]

The software is the razor. The razor blades are the servers.

What is the styptic pencil, then?

Re:Looks nice -- but there's a whole Opteron Line

[timeOday]

Yeah, if this isn't committed [sun.com] to AMD I don't know what is:

High-performance AMD Opteron processor-based system at Pentium 4 workstation prices

Man, the world is upside-down. Now when companies advertise steak at hamburger prices, Intel is the hamburger.

Sun CEO on razors and blades

[XNormal]

Ouch! I know you don't like him too much, but this is just cruel.

Fuck Everything, We're Doing Open Source

[NZheretic]

Taking a leaf from Gillette's playbook [theonion.com]:

By Scott McNealy
CEO and President,
The Sun Corperation.
December 2 2005

Would someone tell me how this happened? We were the fucking vanguard of Unix servers in this country. SUN was the server to own. Then the other guy came out with a open source Linux based servers. Were we scared? Hell, no. Because we hit back with a little thing called Solaris. That's three layered enterprise system and J2EE application server. For portability. But you know what happened next? Shut up, I'm telling you what happened--the bastards went to GCJ and JONAS. Now we're standing around with our cocks in our hands, selling three layered enterprise system and J2EE strip. portability or no, suddenly we're the chumps. Well, fuck it. We're going "open source".

Sure, we could go open source next, like the competition. That seems like the logical thing to do. After all, three worked out pretty well, and four is the next number after three. So let's play it safe. Let's make a thicker Java layer and call it the Solaris enterprise environment. Why innovate when we can follow? Oh, I know why: Because we're a business, that's why!

You think it's crazy? It is crazy. But I don't give a shit. From now on, we're the ones who have the edge in the open source game. Are they the best a man can get? Fuck, no. Solaris is the best OS a man can get.

What part of this don't you understand? If the BSD license is good, and the GPL license is better, obviously Sun's even more restrictive open source lisence would make us the best fucking system that ever existed. Comprende? We didn't claw our way to the top of the Unix game by clinging to the posix industry standard. We got here by taking chances. Well, open sourcing theo whole Solaris entrprise system is the biggest chance of all.

Here's the report from Engineering. Someone put it in the bathroom: I want to wipe my ass with it. They don't tell me what to invent--I tell them. And I'm telling them to stick two more abstraction layers in there. I don't care how. Make the JVM so thin it's invisible. Put some on the management interface. I don't care if they have to cram the new enterprise layer in perpendicular to the other four, just do it!

You're taking the "Operating" part of "Operating System" too literally, grandma. Cut the strings and soar. Let's hit it. Let's roll. This is our chance to make platform history. Let's dream big. All you have to do is say that five blades can happen, and it will happen. If you aren't on board, then fuck you. And if you're on the board, then fuck you and your father. Hey, if I'm the only one who'll take risks, I'm sure as hell happy to hog all the glory when Solaris becomes the development tool for the U.S. of "this is how we program now" A.

People said we couldn't go to three. It'll cost a fortune to develop, they said. Well, we did it. Now some egghead in a lab is screaming "Five's crazy?" Well, perhaps he'd be more comfortable in the labs at Microsoft, working on fucking VISTA. Secure platform, my white ass!

Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe we should just ride in Microsoft's wake and make game consoles. Ha! Not on your fucking life! The day I shadow a penny-ante outfit like Microsoft is the day I leave the operating system game for good, and that won't happen until the day I die!

The market? Listen, we make the market. All we have to do is put her out there with a little jingle. It's as easy as, "Hey, developing with anything less than J2EE is like hacking lines of VB off with a dull hatchet." Or "You'll be so smooth, I could snort lines off your firewall." Try "Your source is going to be so friggin' soft, someone's gonna walk up and tie a goddamn Cub Scout kerchief around it."

I know what you're thinking now: What'll people say? Mew mew mew. Oh, no, what will people say?! Grow the fuck up. When you're on top, people talk. That's the price you pay for being on top. Which SUN is, always

Better Check the Fine Print

[Waffle Iron]

Sun is offering a deal that seems torn from a cell-phone company playbook: offering a "free" Ultra 20 Opteron workstation if you sign up for a $29.95/mo, 3-year service contract."

Here are some of the cellphone-like terms from that contract:

- Service plan includes up to 1 Trillion CPU instructions per month, absolutely free.

- Extra CPU instructions are billed at $0.08/Billion peak, $0.03/Billion nights and weekends.

- Free instructions do not include floating-point operations. All floating point instructions are billed at $0.11/Billion.

- Monthly bill will also include a regulatory cost recovery service fee. You agree to pay this fee each month. This fee is not a tax, and it is not a required government payment. It is not possible for you to know the cost of this fee until you receive your bill. The amount of this fee is determined totally at the provider's discretion, it may change from month to month, and you agree that there is no limit how high the fee may be set. You agree that the provider is not required to justify the fee or base its amount on any reason whatsoever.

- If you cancel the contract before the 3-year term is up, you will be responsible for an early termination fee of $75,000 per system per month of contract remaining, up to a maximum of $3,200,000.

- The system remains the property of the provider. At the end of the contract term, you must return it in like-new condition, and you will be responsible for a $2895 restocking fee, plus, at our sole discretion, refurbishing fees for any wear, tear or damage to the system.

- This system is not compatible with household A/C electrical power. This system requires 3-phase, 153 Hz, 67 Volt RMS power. You are responsible for using a compatible power source. Failure to connect appropriate power will destroy the system, and will result in damage fees of at least $17,000. You may purchase optional compatible power from us. Our current rates are $34.50/kWH plus $179/month power connection fee.

- We may change any term of this contract at any time without notice. You agree that any and all changes are binding on you and you heirs.