Sun breaks through to put Java on map

The Irish development arm of Sun Microsystems has been instrumental in devising a piece of technology that will interest anyone seeking basic Internet and e-mail access - and leaving the nuts and bolts end of computing to others. The new Java WebPhone incorporates a screen, telephone and basic keyboard in one unit to provide email and Internet access based on Java technology. Depending on the software vendors that tie into the technology, the device can potentially be used for any number of applications. For example, it could incorporate an entire local phone directory.

France's Alcatel worked with Sun engineers in Dublin to develop the product and it now has plans to replace the entire Minitel network in France - amounting to millions of units - with the new WebPhone. Incorporating an easy-to-use touch screen, the WebPhone will probably retail for around $500 (#467) and, the company hopes, will appeal to home users.

Four years on, and Sun's chief executive officer, Mr Scott McNealy, appears to have finally made a breakthrough in his quest to convert the world to Java, Sun's software which is pitted against arch-rival Microsoft's Windows. The company recorded revenues of $9.79 billion last year and it is on target to exceed that figure this year.

America Online undertook recently to buy at least $500 million in Sun servers over the next three years. A lucrative contract in itself, it is AOL's endorsement of Sun's ability to handle all its Internet traffic that is the most valuable part of the agreement.

More than 10 years ago, Sun evoked the mantra "the network is the computer", and only now is the rest of the world beginning to come round. Its Java software is designed to write programs that can run on any device connected to a network. As mobile phones are increasingly being viewed as the computing devices of the future, major players in the computing and consumer electronics worlds are lining up behind the Sun vision.

The Java licensee engineering group, operating out of Sun's facility in East Park in Dublin, is working on a range of projects. Java software is at the core of the new Psion handheld platform, which is supported by the Epoch consortium, comprising IBM, Nokia, Ericsson, Philips and Siemens. The Dublin team handles all the development work outside the US west coast.

It is working with a number of European-based automotive suppliers who are developing Java-based prototypes for the next generation of cars, due for release in the next two years. The aim is to make some of the features associated with the Knight Rider and Batmobile cars of fiction, a reality. Working with global positioning systems (GPS), Sun has developed sophisticated in-car navigation programs which can source locations within a 10-mile radius.

For example, a driver might like to choose a restaurant in an area he is unfamiliar with. The system will bring up a listing of local restaurants, featuring his preferred food type. Then, through an in-car phone connection to a centralised server, that day's menu will be accessed, or details about availability gleaned.

According to Mr Kevin Farrell, manager of the Dublin Java licensee engineering group, there are obvious further applications of the technology. "It is about providing a truly e-commerce enabled environment, where the driver can swipe a smart card through a dashboard computer, and immediately validate a hotel, flight or theatre booking. There are countless applications of the technology."

Java technology is being used in the development of practically all new computing standards, and the Dublin office is working with television and cable set-top box manufacturers to develop Internet-connected television. It is also co-operating with European automatic teller machine (ATM) manufacturers to programme Internet services, like airline ticket purchases, into smart cards. By July more than 200 people will be employed in Sun's Dublin facility which is being extended to 40,000 square feet. Since it sold its first work station to Trinity College, Dublin, in 1982, Sun has held a strong foothold in Ireland. Locating here in 1993, Sun's Irish operation initially focused on localisation, then in 1995 the development impetus was renewed within the company and the workforce grew from 30 to today's 170.

Now Mr Luke Conroy, general manager of Sun's Irish operation, is consolidating the Irish operation into groups with a specific focus, dividing activities between localisation, desktop and server testing and reliability engineering.

"The entire industry is moving towards a dynamic reallocation of processing power. All the desktop software for Solaris servers is engineered here. Sun moved the function over here from Silicon Valley after saturating the talent pool there," says Mr Conroy.

He admits the work being conducted on the server end is not as immediately interesting as the licensee engineering group's projects, but the technical expertise involved is just as demanding. There is now a strategy in place to expand the Irish operation and Mr Conroy expects the centre to employ more than 300 within two years.