Oracle, Sun Micro Plan to Shutter Windows

Oracle Corp. and Sun Microsystems Inc., in a direct assault on mutual archrival Microsoft Corp., will announce Monday they will work together on a new type of computer that does not require an operating system, analysts and industry sources said. With Microsoft, the world’s largest software company, now mired in its antitrust case, its competitors are becoming more emboldened to attack it directly. This latest move by Sun, based in Mountain View, Calif., and Oracle, based in Redwood Shores, Calif., could obviate the need for the software giant’s Windows NT operating system, designed for heavy-duty computing. NT competes primarily with Sun’s own brand of the Unix operating system called Solaris and Hewlett-Packard Co.’s, called HP-UX. “Dissatisfaction is extremely high with Microsoft,” said Rob Enderle, an analyst with market research firm Giga Information Group. When the products would be available was not clear. Oracle shares rose $2.31 to close at $37.25 on Nasdaq, following an announcement of stronger-than-expected fiscal second-quarter earnings. Sun shares rose $4.38 to $77.38, also on Nasdaq.