JavaPC: Sub-$100 Miracle Worker?
Problem: Java was designed for a 32-bit architecture, yet 40 percent to 60 percent of corporate desktops around the world still run on older processors and operating systems that predate Windows95. And many of these large pockets of legacy systems have proven to be unlikely candidates for network computers for economic reasons.

Solution: The JavaPC.

By the end of the year, Sun intends to begin shipping an operating environment based on the JavaOS that runs on the JavaStation. Sun acknowledges up front that the software has limitations--it's not intended as a full desktop replacement, and performance will suffer if it is used for more than small Java apps and applets. It's designed for single-task applications, 3270 emulation, call centers, data-entry or e-commerce applications. In other words, JavaPC isn't a miracle that will make Lotus E-suite, with 64-MB RAM requirements, run on a 486. Nor has it found a way to make typical 486 memory installations accommodate the 32 MB of RAM required for the just-in-time compilation that speeds the performance of other Java platforms. For stronger apps, says Sun JavaPC product manager Nicholas Lorain, you'll need at least a two-year-old 90-MHz Pentium.

Yet, at a $99 list price, Sun sees the JavaPC as a way for businesses to migrate to Java and extend the life of existing hardware, without giving up access to existing DOS and Windows applications. Lorain says many businesses also see JavaPC as a way to avoid cash outlays to upgrade hardware at a time when it's critical to fund year 2000 fixes.

JavaPC will run on older IBM-compatible 486-DX2 and faster machines, though Sun recommends a Pentium. JavaPC taps DOS drivers to run on the same platform with DOS and Windows 3.x applications, though the user or an automated process must essentially toggle between the environments from the DOS prompt. JavaPC, currently based on JDK 1.1, requires 8 MB of RAM to run and 10 MB of free disk space, and it doesn't support modem connections.

An OEM version of the software began shipping in June. Lorain says there have been more than 10,000 downloads of the direct-to-business version of the software now in beta. Later this year, Sun plans to provide a new version, JavaPC 1.1, that will let users cache applications on a hard disk, rather than having to download them each time the user logs on the network. A beta version of the software should be available by the time you read this. The caching is accomplished through a process independent of browser-based Java Plug-in. The product will be smart enough to recognize whether an updated version of an app is available on the server and, if so, to download it--all of which should minimize business concerns about Java causing network congestion, according to Lorain.