| United States Worldwide |
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| United States Worldwide |
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ForewordHighlightsThis annual report, the fourth in sequence for Sun Microsystems Laboratories (SML), documents the achievements of Fiscal Year 1995 for the period from 1 July 1994 through 30 June 1995. The project summaries in the body of the report outline the technical program of the Laboratory and the year's accomplishments. In this introduction, I am pleased to describe some other interesting aspects of the year just passed.
Interns and SabbaticalsEach fiscal year is bracketed by our summer intern program, which manages to expand each year. The interns are a wonderful source of stimulation and energy for the Laboratory, and provide an international perspective. We began the summer of 1994, with 22 interns in our California and Massachusetts locations. Fiscal year '95 ended with the arrival of a new crop of 29 summer students joining us from schools in the USA, Asia, and Europe. In addition, a "Winter-Summer Intern" from Australia joined us while on his summer college break (December through February). Two professors on sabbatical from Aarhus University in Denmark and the University of Valencia in Spain spent significant time with the California laboratory in FY95. Throughout the year, SML also supports a high school intern program with students drawn from local California schools. Oddly, we have had three Russian émigrés involved in this high school program, two currently on board, and one graduate back with us as a summer intern from MIT.
Technology TransferThe recent SML contributions to the Netra product line moved out into product-land, providing a great sense of accomplishment for the Lab, as Steve Gadol and Bill Schweichert left us to focus on development activities.Another important contribution to Sun came through Jim Hanko's design and creation of a high-performance video server technology. SunInteractive now has a very high-performance server capable of delivering many independent high bandwidth data streams. During the year, Sun Federal snatched the Lab's system for indexing video by the associated closed caption text, and has installed a system in Washington government offices for production use.
Electronic CommerceElectronic Commerce, as a new area of topical interest, received considerable attention in FY95. The beginnings of an experimental infrastructure for electronic services and payments is emerging in the Lab. In addition, the Lab has sponsored Sun's initial presence in the Financial Services Technical Consortium, an organization of commercial banks and computer vendors focused on standards and protocols for electronic commerce.
Project EvolutionThe Lab's project portfolio underwent several significant changes in FY95. The Self and Clarity projects were completed and the staff on these projects changed focus to other endeavors, with some project staff shifting to new activities in the Lab and some moving on to other positions. The Self project completed its fourth public system release of this advanced object-oriented system.New projects started as new senior staff joined the Lab. Israel Cidon has recruited a new group to work on Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) technology, and John Ousterhout's new group is continuing his prior activities with Tcl/Tk for prototyping and scripting. Guy Steele joined the Lab's Chelmford, Massachusetts staff, contributing additional experience to our East Coast activities. Finally, Neil Wilhelm completed a round trip by returning to the Lab after eighteen months in the SPARC Technology Business unit.
Customer InteractionsThe Lab program for staff visits to Sun's customers in the field continued unabated in FY95. Staff members made 22 visits to customers' premises during the period. At home in California, the Lab hosted a continuous stream of customer visitors and provided many demonstrations of technology to corporate visitors. It seemed at times that we were merely an adjunct part of the Corporate Visitors Center. Such exposure to commercial reality and customer attitudes and requirements is an important part of a Lab focus on delivering usable value to Sun, our sponsoring organization.
DedicationAs is by now our custom, this report of Lab accomplishments is dedicated to the staff members who have graduated this year from the exploratory activities of our Laboratory to the practical application of technology to Sun's product development activities. Moving skilled people with their knowledge, know-how, and experience is one of the most effective means of transferring technology from the sheltered environment of a laboratory to the more pressured pace of real product development. The tradition continues!
Roster of SunLabs' FY95 "Graduates"David BristorSteve Gadol Neal Gafter Sheri Gish Kent Peacock Bill Schweickert
William R. (Bert) Sutherland
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