What Sun got wrong

The Oxide team will be in Emeryville this week for their annual OxCon meetup. In preparation for the event, the company created t-shirts featuring Oxide logos, paying tribute to past computer companies. Designer Ben Leonard crafted these homage shirts, which are all highly praised. However, one shirt has sparked nostalgia for Sun, a once prominent player in the industry.

This nostalgia is well-earned, as Oxide's mission is rooted in Scott McNealy's epitaph for Sun, and the company's reflection that over 28 years he never had to hide the newspaper in shame from his children remains a guiding principle for all companies. Yet, nostalgia can also become overwhelming, leading those who came after Sun to question what Sun did wrong.

As the author of this piece, who worked for Sun, acknowledges that while they were not ashamed to be part of Sun, they were often embarrassed by its failures. In 2011, the author shared their perspective on what Sun got wrong in a Hacker News comment, and while they stand by that analysis, they would now distill the issues even further.

Sun had become disinterested in the mechanics of running a business. This disinterest was exemplified in 2005 when a startup using Sun's OpenSolaris software struggled to secure Sun hardware. Despite the startup's success, Sun failed to respond promptly or accurately to their inquiries. In contrast, the startup had a positive experience with Dell, who swiftly provided assistance.

This difference highlighted Sun's inability to succeed despite its strategic success, as the company had lost interest in the operational aspects of running a business. The author left Sun to join the startup that ultimately led to the creation of Oxide. Interestingly, the Dell executive who significantly contributed to the startup, Steve, also joined Oxide, demonstrating the value of learning from both the successes and failures of past companies.