Found a Winner

Viva Sun! (“Sun Microsystems Blazing a Red-Hot Trail in Computers: $300-Million AT&T; Deal Moves Firm to Set Sights on IBM,” Jan. 31.)

Yes, I’m sure Sun’s competitors are freaked out about the company’s new deal with AT&T.; It will lead to a truly standardized computer operating system. Each of the competitors has developed its own proprietary version of the Unix operating system that isn’t 100% compatible with anybody else’s in an attempt to “lock in” their customers and manufacturers. It seems that AT&T;, after stumbling around in the computer business for the last several years, has finally hooked up with a winner in Sun. Although most of the software available for the Sun-4 workstation is engineering and science oriented, I wouldn’t be surprised if more general business applications were developed for it very shortly.

The winners, besides Sun, are customers who can mix and match the best-suited components into their systems from the vendors with the best solutions, not the vendors trying to exercise “account control” with proprietary architecture.

FRANK SHOFNER

Culver City