Ho Ho Ho

Just what you always wanted to find under the tree -- a brand-spankin'-new 2U rack-mount Sun Fire T2000 server! Of course, you'll have to either pony up 8 grand (at minimum) for it around the first of March or send it back, but for a couple of months, you can play with it to your heart's content under a free trial program that Sun's announced. Sun prez Jonathan Schwartz says he's confident that many of you will take the option to buy once you've seen what it can do, and hey, isn't that what try-before-you-buy programs are all about? Kick those tires, baby.

On top of which, it'll be cheaper now to run Oracle apps on the new multi-core T2000, after Oracle changed up its per-core licensing agreements. Oracle-dependent shops would have had to consider sticking with dual-core machines or add some costs to the budget, but the reductions now put machines like the eight-core top-end version of the T2000 into play. That's a nice win for Sun in what's been a lively month for the company.