Sun announces plan to enter browser, portal markets

Sun Microsystems announced an interesting plan this week to make its HotJava browser more competitive with Netscape Navigator and InternetExplorer. Also in the pipeline is a Web portal strategy that will haveSun creating the infrastructure needed to make portals work better.

"No one underestimates the importance of Netscape on the desktop today. Weshare the fear of the existence of a single browser, which could turn the world into a company store where everyone is forced to pay with company money--Microsoft's," said Jonathan Schwartz, Sun's director of enterpriseproducts. "We have refocused as a company on creating a Java-based browser."

Sun's HotJava Web browser was introduced two years ago as a proof ofconcept (it was built using Java) but the product hasn't been updated much.Sun plans on introducing a new, full-featured version of HotJava in December at the Java Business Expo in New York City. As for Netscape, Sunrealizes that its plans will bring it face to face with one of its biggestpartners.

"We'll work together on some business, and [compete] in others," Schwartzsaid.

Sun president Alan Baratz says the company is also taking a stab at the Webportal market, where it will offer the tools and services needed to makeportals work. Sun won't build its own portal, but will rather sell itstechnology to ISPs and other companies that want to build their own