Twice knocked down in the thin-client market but not out of contention, Sun Microsystems Inc. on Sept. 8 will unveil a new "information appliance" that sheds the Java-only mentality of its previous workstations.
Last year was supposed to be the year of the network computer. But only half a million thin clients were shipped last year, a number industry players hoped they would see in 1997. Edward Petrozelli, recently appointed to head IBM's network computer division, acknowledges that thin clients haven't stormed the market but says IBM saw sales rise last year.