Sun, Microsoft Alliance Signals End to Decade-Long Fear, Loathing

Sun, Microsoft Alliance Signals End to Decade-Long Fear, Loathing: "Regardless of its size, Sun will emerge a changed company. McNealy stepped out of the CEO and president rolls--he remains chairman--ceding them to Jonathan Schwartz, who has vowed to take Sun on a decidedly software-based strategy. That might mean less reliance of proprietary UNIX hardware and more emphasis on Intel- and AMD Opteron-based equipment.
As for Microsoft, the company says that it will continue to compete with Sun in the server space, even while cooperating in certain areas and sharing technologies. It's a healthier relationship, the company noted. 'We're going to compete, no question,' Ballmer said. 'I'm not going to do it today, but later I'll tell you why I think our products are better.'"