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   MAJOR WIN FOR SPARC; CHOSEN BY NAVY FOR DESKTOP COMPUTERS

	Large Contract To Buy SPARC Graphics Workstations
 
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. --August 9, 1989-- High-performance SPARC(TM)
central processing units (CPUs) from Sun Microsystems will be at the
heart of computer systems to be purchased by the Department of the
Navy, it was announced today.  According to C3, Inc., a leading systems
integrator, the superior price/performance and other features of Sun's
SPARC boards were among the deciding factors that won C3 the Navy's
Desktop Tactical Computers (DTC) contract, with a potential value of
$115 million.

C3 teamed with Sun Microsystems Federal, a subsidiary of Sun, to
capture the DTC contract.  Sun's 32-bit SPARC CPUs, its GX graphics
accelerator and a suite of system software are the Sun components of
workstations for the Navy.  C3 is providing ruggedized cabinets,
third-party peripherals, systems integration and installation, training
and maintenance services.

These powerful workstations will be utilized by the Navy both in
shipboard and land-based environments worldwide.  The systems will be
used both for development and deployment of tactical decision aids for
fleet commanders.

Initial deliveries under the three-year contract will commence within
60 days, supplying the Naval Underwater Systems Center, Naval
Electronic Systems Engineering Center, Naval Air Development Center,
Naval Oceanographic Office and Naval Ocean Systems Center with graphics
workstations.

SPARC Based on RISC

Sun's SPARC architecture uses reduced instruction set computer (RISC)
technology to achieve high performance at a low cost. One of the
significant advantages of SPARC is the fact that compatible SPARC CPUs
manufactured by different vendors can run the same software.  Thus the
Navy's SPARC workstations will be compatible with a range of SPARC
systems produced by Sun and other manufacturers.  In addition, these
workstations have the potential of being upgraded to future SPARC-based
products.

In addition, the Navy can choose among a large and growing list of
third-party applications included in Sun's Catalyst program.  There are
currently more than 600 applications for SPARC, called SPARCware (TM) ,
which is more software than that available for all other RISC platforms
combined.

Other Sun Products to be Included

The Navy's new workstations will aid in analyzing and displaying
graphical information, using the Sun GX.  Based on advanced VLSI
technology, the GX improves graphics-related functions such as
windowing and 2-D/3-D vector generation.

The Navy's systems will also be equipped with a range of Sun software,
including its standard UNIX(R) operating system, SunOS(TM), the
X11/NeWS (TM) windowing system, the XView
toolkit(TM), intuitive OPEN LOOK(TM) graphical user
interface, standard Network File System (NFS TM ),
SunPHIGS(TM) graphics software, and C and FORTRAN compilers.
 
Open Systems Important to Navy
 
The Navy's DTC program illustrates the federal government's growing
preference for open systems that are based on industry standards, noted
Larry Hambly, president of Sun Microsystems Federal.  "Sun is the
industry leader in the open systems movement," he said.  "Thus we're in
a good position to be able to offer a full complement of commercially
available technology based on universally accepted standards."
 
C3, Inc., headquartered in Herndon, VA, is a leading integrator of
customized systems used by the government, including mini- and
microcomputer products.
 
Sun Microsystems Federal, Inc., is a wholly owned subsidiary of Sun
Microsystems, Inc.  Based in Milpitas, Calif., Sun Federal is a leading
supplier of network-based distributed computing systems to the federal
government and currently accounts for a significant portion of Sun's
revenues. 
 
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Press Contact:  Cindee Mock - (415) 336-3563