"We're more accurate," McNealy quipped about the "This Computer " icon.
It's these similar usability features, application integration and interoperability with Windows that Sun says is the reason why JDS is the first really widely deployable Linux desktop software.
The version of JDS that launched this week is a preview version, Ulander said, and is being offered at $50 per user to attract early adopters. The next version, due out early next year, will be priced at $100 per user and will include new features and Java development tools, he said.
Thomas Jahn, supply chain division manager for steel manufacturer ThyssenKrupp Stahl AG, said that he was thinking of deploying Java Desktop System in his company but needed further reassurance that the open source software was secure.
McNealy, Ulander and others took pains to convince attendees like Jahn that the software was actually more secure than Windows.
"I'm not saying (JDS) isn't vulnerable to viruses and worms ... but let's face it, 90 to 95 percent of worms are created to exploit the Windows environment," Ulander said.
Already having worked on usability and security features of the Linux-based desktop system, Ulander said that future versions will include management tools to help customers with wide deployment. The market for JDS isn't home users or high-end business users, but task-oriented and transaction workers, Ulander said. Sun is targeting both small and large companies, however, for which rolling out hundreds of Windows deployments or upgrades would simply be too costly.
The company's Java programming language is central to JDS' evolution. McNealy showed off a 3-D Java program called "Looking glass" which will be included in upcoming version of JDS. The program allows users to move around the desktop and view items in 3-D, with documents appearing to float, partially transparent, in the air.
"We're asking Java developers to take the desktop to a new level," Ulander said.
While Ulander declined to say how many developers are working on JDS, he did disclose that Sun has JDS teams in Beijing, Dublin, Hamburg, Germany, and Sun's headquarters in Santa Clara, California.
Microsoft may not be a direct target of the desktop Linux push, but chances are Sun wouldn't mind if it was the greatest casualty.
SunNetwork Berlin closes Thursday.
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