Vendor spat: HP and Sun in 'lies!' dust-up

Hewlett-Packard has formally demanded that Sun Microsystems and its president, Jonathan Schwartz, stop publishing what it calls "misleading and factually incorrect statements" about HP's commitment to its version of Unix - but Sun is standing firm.

On 28 September, HP sent Sun a letter criticising Sun publications saying the HP-UX operating system is doomed, due mostly to the chips that HP is pairing with the operating system. HP said its strategy is sound and Sun's assertions are completely unfounded.

Don Jenkins, vice president of marketing for HP's Business Critical Systems group, said: "We want our customers to know we're committed to HP-UX for the long term."

"If they checked the facts, they wouldn't be able to support the statements they are making," Jenkins said. HP wants debate to be "aggressive and competitive, but intentionally misleading customers or [the media] is not a practice we consider appropriate."

Larry Singer, Sun's chief marketing officer, said HP's letter took issue with a web log posting from Schwartz, an opinion expressed by Singer on Sun's website and an online ad. But asked whether Sun would change the materials, Singer said: "It ain't happening."

Sun's assertions about the longevity of HP-UX derive from a conclusion based on market realities, and Sun stands by it, Singer said "we absolutely think HP-UX is dead," despite HP's recruitment and support plans.

The debate highlights the spats that can ensue when companies take their gripes directly to the public. Sun didn't respond graciously after IBM distributed an open letter asking it to unfetter the source code of its Java software. And Schwartz's attacks on Red Hat have prompted retribution from the Linux seller on the issues of software patents and open-source software.

At the same time, marketing agreements can override such rivalries. Sun, which has lambasted Microsoft for years, has made room on its website for an "exclusive" interview with Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer.

Taking the offensive in the current spat, Sun's Singer said HP isn't afraid to discuss its conclusions about Sun. When HP CEO Carly Fiorina meets with potential customers, Singer said, she brandishes slides that show Sun's stock price slide and tells customers that "Sun is just irrelevant and everyone knows it's about to go out of business," Singer said.

But HP is sticking to the facts in that kind of an attack, Jenkins said. "Sun's stock price performance is a matter of public record. I'm sorry if [Singer] doesn't like it if we point that out to customers," he said.

Sun's attack, however, has "overstepped the bounds of normal business practices," Jenkins said. "We think Sun has maybe become desperate in the way they've gone about saving Solaris."

Stephen Shankland writes for News.com