Million+ boxes basing on "Java Desktop System"

Miscellaneous Topics
#1

Today I read that SUN and the “China Standard Software Co.” (CSSC) made a deal about “standard desktop systems” in China, which base on SUN’s Linux-Java-x86 system namens “Java Desktop System” (which bases on SUSE Linux). The CSSC targets a total of 200 million installations. SUN will provide the first million (software?) systems for a $50 licence. The CSSC intends to install about 1/2 to 1 million every year.

That sounds very well. I’m pretty sure this is good for Java, good for Linux, good for SUN and of course good for Java games (and their developers). :slight_smile:

PS: I think I should make a big partition for Linux now. :wink:

#2

Thats pretty foresighted of them, 200 million desktops at 1/2 to 1 million a year… SUN are now planning ahead 200-400 years in the future?

Could you post where you read this?

Kev

PS. You should dedicate at least one machine to Linux :slight_smile:

#3

http://www.bayarea.com/mld/mercurynews/7285339.htm

As far as I understand it, Sun wants to sell them 1 million units, while China itself want to deploy 200 million systems based on free software (meaning than 199 millions will not have Sun support).

Can you imagine 1 million people calling Sun support and asking in Mandarin Chinesee why their LG drive stopped working after installing OS ? :wink:

#4

[quote]Thats pretty foresighted of them, 200 million desktops at 1/2 to 1 million a year… SUN are now planning ahead 200-400 years in the future?
[/quote]
The article I read hasn’t been in english but Abies quoted an URL to one. This clears the situation and I’ve edited my original article accordingly.

[quote]PS. You should dedicate at least one machine to Linux :slight_smile:
[/quote]
Yes, you’re absolutely right. Unfortunately I don’t have got two PCs at home at the moment.

#5

Now just try and actually sell something to one of those Chinese users.

Ahhhhh.

There’s the rub.

Cas :confused:

#6

Sun may have hit on a gold mine with this desktop thing;

Alot of people are eager for an alternative to microsoft it seems.

The only reason I’m not using Linux full time is the lack of an easy way to connect to a dsl modem with a non-network pc. Its a 1 dialogue operation in winXP but with linux you have to call your isp and find out your ip mask and some other stuff then modify your config files; bleh.

#7

[quote]The only reason I’m not using Linux full time is the lack of an easy way to connect to a dsl modem with a non-network pc. Its a 1 dialogue operation in winXP but with linux you have to call your isp and find out your ip mask and some other stuff then modify your config files; bleh.
[/quote]
Try a Mac :slight_smile:

JK

#8

Or get a DSL model with a ethernet connection? (or can’t you get these, cable modems come with um)

Kev

#9

[quote]Or get a DSL model with a ethernet connection? (or can’t you get these, cable modems come with um)

Kev
[/quote]
You mean like the one over there —> (points in corner of room) attached to my linux box? :slight_smile:
cost me all of 30 quid, even got the VPN working fine with it, and apache and ssh and …

It’s not hard to get the basic setup working, infact, it’s alldone with dhcp, so you just tell the nic to use dhcp (not hard, especially if you have some point and click gui interface) and it does it all for you, I on the other hand I am an awkward sod, and don’t have X on that linux box, so I had to edit config files, but even that wasn’t hard on gentoo.

Cheers

Endolf

#10

[quote]Sun may have hit on a gold mine with this desktop thing
[/quote]
Probably. And more: it will help Java and Linux a lot (also Openoffice and Staroffice). The Asia IT market is going to dominate the world’s one in a few years, so it’s cool that they start to install the “Java Desktop System” as standard now.
While I don’t know if the Chinese users will buy “our” Java games (and apps), it’s only the beginning: don’t forget the IT alliance which China, Japan and (South-) Korea builded. In Japan and Korea not only do video games sell well, several of the best video games ever come from Japan. Also these people got many high speed Internet connections - so they could download the JRE with no problems, if they didn’t have it already due to the “Java Desktop System”, hehe.

http://wwws.sun.com/software/javadesktopsystem/faq.html
Q.: “Why was the product name Sun Java Desktop System selected?”
A.: “Java technology plays a very important role in the Java Desktop System - the Java Virtual Machine is integrated, the Mozilla browser is Java-aware, Java is the preferred development environment, etc. To reinforce this, we have selected the name Sun Java Desktop System.”

[quote]The only reason I’m not using Linux full time is the lack of an easy way to connect to a dsl modem with a non-network pc. Its a 1 dialogue operation in winXP but with linux you have to call your isp and find out your ip mask and some other stuff then modify your config files; bleh.
[/quote]
Strange. I still find some other reasons why not to use Linux full time yet, however going to the Internet per cable DSL modem (PPP over Ethernet) has been a one click operation with Suse Linux and a three click operation with Mandrake. Same applied to ISDN adapters. :wink:
Actually connecting to the Internet has been easier with Linux compared to Win2000 for me.

#11

In all seriousness, I am planning a game deployment tested and developed on the Java Desktop Linux system (whatever it’s called) specifically for that ready-made Chinese market. Web-Start to start, of course, but think about it, Sun just made a game market as big as a console in one move.
Believe those information workers wil be playing games even in communist China :slight_smile:

#12

No joke, remember there are over 2 billion people in Asia. Thats one hell of a market and alot of human potential waiting to be tapped.

I do have dsl thru ethernet; I could never figure out what went wrong. Well, I’m getting ready to move and when I do I’m going to drop dsl (wasting too much time forum lurking, not getting any gamedev done…) and go back to dial up so I’ll give it another go then. I’m making a list of downloads to burn to cdrom before I do that though…

#13

Not sure, but I think for getting a DSL-connection you just need to call pppoeconfig (or use any of the nice-looking frontends) and enter your data . At least I got an internet connection without any problem when I installed a Debian box for someone some months ago.

#14

http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,4149,1406645,00.asp
:slight_smile:

#15

Any news on the rumor that the British Ministry of Health could intend to use SUN’s “Java Desktop System” for their PCs, too? (How many systems then?)

#16

Lets not forget these are just proposals to use the “Sun Java Desktop” but hopefully some will eventuate. Sun’s doing a good job of boosting Linux acceptance in the work force.

I’d be switching my office tomorrow if we weren’t locked in to Windows due to heavy use of VB and Access (by previous IT staff - believe me if I had my way it would be Java all the way).

Will.