Java Centre plans leave Morse cold

Sun Microsystems? largest reseller, Morse Computers, has shunned the vendor?s Java Centre initiative after deciding there was not enough demand to set one up.

The manufacturer set up six Java Centres in the UK in conjunction with its channel partners to show resellers how Java can be used in vertical markets (PC Dealer, 2 April).

But Morse is understood to have decided not to participate in the initiative. A source close to Morse said: ?There?s a lot more talk than there is reality when it comes to take-up of Java Stations.?

In February, Geoff Doubleday, MD of Japanese bank Nomura International?s information systems department, announced it was buying 1,100 Java Stations.

But Morse, which was to handle the Nomura deal, said it had sold only one of the machines on the grounds that they were ?fragile? and unsuitable for enterprise-wide deployment. A Nomura representative confirmed that no Java Stations were actually being deployed.

Pete Deane, Sun UK reseller partner development manager, said: ?It?s not a disadvantage that Morse has decided not to get involved in the initiative.?

John Sniadowski, an analyst at Bloor Research, said: ?Corporates are interested in Java, but not in Java-specific hardware yet. The centres of excellence thing has been tried before ? and it didn?t work then. I think resellers investing in Java Centres stand a significant chance of losing money.?