Mixed Feelings About Sun Setting In Silicon Valley

MICHAEL LIEDTKE

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — If IBM Corp. had managed to buy longtime rival Sun Microsystems Inc., it might have been as incongruous as waking up to a big blue sun.

But even though Sun now plans to sell itself instead to Silicon Valley neighbor Oracle Corp. the computer server and software maker still could be in for a rude awakening.

"It all comes down to who would you rather have as your parent," said Paul Saffo, a Silicon Valley forecaster who has followed high-tech's ebb and flow for 30 years. "There are quite a few people in Silicon Valley who see Oracle as a wicked stepmother, so I am sure there is going to be some trepidation about this deal too."

Oracle, a leading maker of business software, has fattened its profits by ruthlessly cutting costs while buying dozens of companies during the past four years.

Santa Clara, Calif.-based Sun became Oracle's latest conquest with Monday's surprise announcement of a $7.4 billion deal between the longtime business partners. Oracle outbid IBM for Sun.