Sun Hasnt Set - Bits - Technology - New York Times Blog

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The company has evoked skepticism for years by arguing that it can grow by giving away software. Despite the fact that Java runs on a vast number of cellphones it is still an indirect generator of revenue. The argument is that more cellphones creates the need for more centralized computing hardware in cellphone companies.

On Wednesday, Mr. Schwartz acknowledged that Open Office — the freely distributed Sun office productivity software which he said is now being used by one hundred million PC users — is still largely a branding exercise.

However, he said that Sun’s recent acquisition of MySQL, an open source database program, has a more direct revenue impact on the company. Fifty to seventy thousand copies of the open source database are downloaded each day, and each one of those downloads is likely to be someone who will need to purchase a computer to run the database software.

Sun Hasnt Set - Bits - Technology - New York Times Blog