Science fiction may become reality with Sun

It might sound like science fiction or a flight of fancy, but computer manufacturer Sun Microsystems is betting on a future where profits will be made from toasters talking to mobile phones.

At this week's annual get-together of the software community which uses Sun's platform-independent Java language, the Palo Alto-based manufacturer of high-end computer servers predicted that networking would soon radically alter both business practices and daily life.

Sun's chief operating officer and president, Mr Ed Zander, predicted that in coming years more and more devices would be connected to the Internet, resulting in what he termed "the network economy".

Sun, which employs 163 engineers in Ireland and which has announced plans to hire 200 more at its software centre in Dublin's East Point technology park, is shifting its focus slightly. Long associated with networking computing, whereby it hopes smaller computers sharing applications on networks will dent sales by its bitter rival Microsoft, Sun is now predicting a world where many everyday devices incorporate tiny on-board computers.

It hopes that by using its Java software language and newer Jini interface, such devices will soon be able to communicate intelligently. Mr Zander cited the example of a freezer which, if it broke down, could send a message via the Internet, alerting its owner before the food within became spoilt.

The $50 billion (€47 billion) company announced two new products. The first, called Java HotSpot, improves the speed of Java machines, which commonly run applications on websites, including, for example, The Irish Times crossword on the Web. The other is called iPlanet, and allows a user to work on a remote computer using a standard Web browser. The company said 10,000 of its employees had been using this technology for the past year, allowing people to log into any machine in any country but still collect e-mail or edit files on their own desktop machines.

Sun has been well known for four technologies. Its Sparcstation computers are principally used as heavy-duty servers, running its own operating system, called Solaris. At the lower end of the computing value chain, Java is growing in popularity among application developers, while the company hopes Jini will become popular as a future method for allowing devices to communicate. It may be over-optimistic when it hopes that most toasters and refrigerators will be controlled from hand-held computers or mobile phones, each device using - and hence licensing - its proprietary Java technology. However, its predictions for pervasive networking are echoed by many IT companies.

Mr Zander told the assembled technophiles that Internet access would become available to anyone, anytime, anywhere, and on any device. He said the Internet had to emulate telephone networks. "Web tone will be more available, more reliable than dial tone," he said.

Explaining that this would lead to a Net economy, Mr Zander said Internet access meant local companies would become global, with speed becoming more important than size and personalised service becoming more important than mass production.

The head of Sun's Irish operations, Mr Aidan Furlong, was optimistic that the Government's e-commerce aims would be fulfilled. Based on enquiries being made to the company, he said: "We see lots of initiatives from international organisations . . . seriously looking at setting up portals in Ireland." These portals, he said, included websites from which companies would buy and sell goods, as well as the increasingly important area of customer relationship management.

Mr Furlong said Sun's revenue growth in Ireland was strong.

He predicted year-end revenues in Ireland this year in excess of £30 million (€38.09 million), up more than 70 per cent from last year's £17.8 million. Sun's financial year ends in June. Mr Furlong said it has already started recruiting the 200 experienced engineers it will employ in the coming three years. Mr Zander, asked about Sun's Irish growth, said: "We're pretty pleased with what we see there."