If you’re involved with computer/software engineering and aren’t just starting out, you’ll be familiar with Sun Microsystems. For a long time their computers seemed to many of us to be the very apotheosis of a “workstation”. Many software folks still consider SunOS 4.1.3 to be the best commercial Unix implementation before or since.
Sadly, Sun was caught up in the rise of cheap Intel-based workstations running Linux and was unable to adapt to the market changes. The once powerhouse was finally bought by Oracle and effectively disappeared. The most salient extant Sun product is Java. Its hardware and most of its software has simply disappeared.
It’s easy to see why. When I was coming up, Sun machines were too expensive for most individuals and found use mostly as servers and high end workstations for well healed corporations. On the other hand, most folks could afford a cheap Intel machine running Linux or one of the BSDs. These days, Intel/Linux machines have taken over most of the server market as well.
Asianometry has an interesting video that provides a short history of the rise and fall of Sun. It follows Sun from its inception as a Stanford project to its acquisition—and dismantling—by Oracle.
Sun is an important part of our shared history and their hardware and culture are an important part of our story so it’s worth understanding their part in that history. The video is 18 and a half minutes long so plan accordingly.