Sun CEO, Scott McNealy, has resigned from his position after 22 years of service. The news comes on the heels of a US$217 million loss in the companyis last fiscal quarter. Mr. McNealy, who co-founded the company, will stay on as chairman. The CEO position is now in the hands of Jonathan Schwartz, his former right-hand man.
Apple Computer and Sun have crossed paths several times, and even came close to merging on more than one occasion. In 1996, SunWorld covered a breakdown in negotiations between the two companies. The other man that helped co-found Sun, Bill Joy, said in an interview with The Register that the companies flirted with a merger on three separate occasions.
Mr. McNealy hasnit held Apple in the highest regard, and sees the iPod as a fad. He said "I guarantee you it will be hard to sell an iPod five or seven years from now when every cell phone can access your entire music library wherever you are."Sunis profits have been steadily declining for some time now, and analysts are hoping that Mr. Schwartz can breath new life into the company. Investors, at least, seem a little more upbeat. Sunis stocked opened the day at US$4.98, and is up $0.10 (2.01%) to $5.02. In comparison, Apple is currently trading at $65.9891.