But more intriguing was the desktop experiment dubbed "Looking Glass." Demonstrated here for the first time, Looking Glass looks uncannily like Apple's OS X. Schwartz even made reference to the new platform's application icons, noting "Apple's done some cool things with these."

Is Sun working on a desktop partnership with Apple? The question surfaced during the media Q&A session and Schwartz looked to his execs for backup. "We don't comment on partnerships," responded Sun CTO of Software John Fowler.

Implicitly acknowledging the demo had that certain OS X-like sheen, Schwartz went on. "I don't think there is a Sun employee that doesn't love Apple. We would love to partner with Apple, they are everyone's favorite company. Stay tuned." [InfoWorld Tech Watch, thanks again to Michael Swaine]

At first, I found the above pretty bizarre and hard to interpret, given that Sun wants to create a machine to compete with Wintel at half the price. What profit would there be in Apple helping that along, given that they compete with Wintel at, oh, 1.1 times the price?

On the other hand, what if Apple licenses the OS X desktop to Sun, for hardware that was guaranteed by contract to not have some of the key attributes of Apple hardware that are responsible for Apple's famed integration? A world-class, user-friendly GUI is something that the open-source community just hasn't been able to generate, and Sun hasn't been able to do so either.

So, if Sun licenses Apple's GUI layer and desktop for a half-price computer effort, or license part of that layer, Apple could make some money on the low end while retaining the market for the high end.

It would go back to the famous argument that Apple blew it by not licensing the Mac OS in the 1980's, a decision that paved the way for Microsoft's dominance with Windows. Maybe there is a second chance now to try a similar strategy based on the GUI layer.
12:42:19 PM    

"In addition, pursuant to 17 U.S.C. § 512(c), BuyMusic has implemented procedures for receiving written notification of claimed infringements and for processing such claims in accordance with the Act. BuyMusic respects the intellectual property of others and we ask other to do the same. If you believe that your copyright has been infringed through the BuyMusic.com website, please contact R. Scott Feldmann, Esq. via e-mail to sfeldmann@crowell.com, via telephone at (949) 263-8400, via facsimile at (949) 263-8414, or mail...

Don't expect the BuyMusic link above to work if you use a Mac. Their site can only be accessed from IE on Windows. Friendly.

12:28:55 PM