Sun Developer Journal

Sun Microsystems, whose future is dicey at best right now thanks to the European Commission, revved its virtual desktop Sun Ray software Tuesday.

Oracle, Sun's would-be acquirer, by the way, was an early access customer and is evaluating the software for potential use as part of its own IT infrastructure.

Anyway, the new Sun Ray Software 5 delivers a rich virtual Windows, Linux or Solaris operating system desktop to Windows PCs and laptops as well as the usual Sun Ray thin clients.

It involves a new Desktop Access Client that enables centralized desktop access from Windows PCs.

Sun says it can help to extend the life of current PC assets and reduce the environmental impact of frequent desktop refreshes. Computer Concepts Ltd, a Sun systems integrator, says it's "essentially a migration tool to get groups of end users switched over to Sun Ray clients in phases."

Sun also improved the software's Adobe Flash performance and expanded its peripheral device support to virtual desktops through USB redirection to Windows. The widgetry can now display Windows Server 2008 applications in 32-bit color and supports Windows Server 2008 TS Session Broker.

Sun also says that many of the features of Sun Ray Software 5 will also appear in the upcoming release of Sun VDI Software 3.1 but doesn't say what exactly.

Sun Ray Software 5 runs $100 per concurrent user for a perpetual license. There's a free trial of the software at http://www.sun.com/software/sunray/getit.jsp.