The JavaStation was a variant of

Sun Microsystems Sun Microsystems, Inc., often known as Sun for short, was an American technology company that existed from 1982 to 2010 which developed and sold computers, computer components, software, and information technology services. Sun contributed sig ...

Network Computer In computer networking, a thin client, sometimes called slim client or lean client, is a simple (low-performance) computer that has been optimized for establishing a remote connection with a server-based computing environment. They are som ...

(NC) developed between 1996 and 2000, and intended to run only

Java Java is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea (a part of Pacific Ocean) to the north. With a population of 156.9 million people (including Madura) in mid 2024, proje ...

applications. The hardware is based on the design of the Sun SPARCstation series, a very successful line of

UNIX Unix (, ; trademarked as UNIX) is a family of multitasking, multi-user computer operating systems that derive from the original AT&T Unix, whose development started in 1969 at the Bell Labs research center by Ken Thompson, Dennis Ritchie, a ...

workstation A workstation is a special computer designed for technical or computational science, scientific applications. Intended primarily to be used by a single user, they are commonly connected to a local area network and run multi-user operating syste ...

s. The JavaStation, as an NC, lacks a

hard drive A hard disk drive (HDD), hard disk, hard drive, or fixed disk is an electro-mechanical data storage device that stores and retrieves digital data using magnetic storage with one or more rigid rapidly rotating hard disk drive platter, pla ...

, floppy or

CD-ROM A CD-ROM (, compact disc read-only memory) is a type of read-only memory consisting of a pre-pressed optical compact disc that contains computer data storage, data computers can read, but not write or erase. Some CDs, called enhanced CDs, hold b ...

drive. It also differs from other Sun systems in having PS/2 keyboard and mouse interfaces and a VGA monitor connector.

Models

There were several models of the JavaStation produced, some being pre-production variants produced in very small numbers. Production models comprised: * JavaStation-1 (part number JJ-xx), codenamed ''Mr. Coffee'': based on a 110 MHz MicroSPARC IIe CPU, this was housed in a cuboidal Sun "unidisk" enclosure. * JavaStation-NC or JavaStation-10 (part number JK-xx) codenamed ''Krups'': a redesigned ''Mr. Coffee'' with a 100 MHz MicroSPARC IIep CPU and enhanced video resolution and color capabilities. ''Krups'' was housed in a striking curved vertically oriented enclosure. Models produced only as prototypes or in limited numbers included: * JavaStation/''Fox'': a prototype of the ''Mr Coffee'': essentially a repackaged SPARCstation 4 Model 110. * JavaStation-E (part number JE-xx) codenamed ''Espresso'': a ''Krups'' with PCI slots and a non-functional ATA interface in a restyled enclosure. * ''Dover'': a JavaStation based on PC compatible hardware, with a

Cyrix Cyrix Corporation was a microprocessor developer that was founded in 1988 in Richardson, Texas, as a specialist supplier of floating point units for 286 and 386 microprocessors. The company was founded by Tom Brightman and Jerry Rogers. Ter ...

MediaGXm CPU. * JavaEngine-1: an

ATX ATX (Advanced Technology Extended) is a motherboard and power supply configuration specification, patented by David Dent in 1995 at Intel, to improve on previous de facto standard, ''de facto'' standards like the AT (form factor), AT design. ...

form-factor version of ''Krups'' for

embedded systems An embedded system is a specialized computer system—a combination of a computer processor, computer memory, and input/output peripheral devices—that has a dedicated function within a larger mechanical or electronic system. It is em ...

. * A 68030-based system designed by Diba, Inc. (later acquired by Sun) circa 1996, which could be considered a very early JavaStation-like system. In addition, Sun envisioned a third-generation "Super JavaStation" after ''Krups'', with a JavaChip co-processor for native Java bytecode execution. This doesn't appear to have been produced. The JavaStation concept was superseded by the Sun Ray series of

thin client In computer networking, a thin client, sometimes called slim client or lean client, is a simple (low-Computer performance, performance) computer that has been Program optimization, optimized for Remote desktop, establishing a remote connectio ...

terminals.

Operating systems

The JavaStation comes with JavaOS in the

flash memory Flash memory is an Integrated circuit, electronic Non-volatile memory, non-volatile computer memory storage medium that can be electrically erased and reprogrammed. The two main types of flash memory, NOR flash and NAND flash, are named for t ...

, but it is also possible to install

Linux Linux ( ) is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an kernel (operating system), operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991, by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically package manager, pac ...

NetBSD NetBSD is a free and open-source Unix-like operating system based on the Berkeley Software Distribution (BSD). It was the first open-source BSD descendant officially released after 386BSD was fork (software development), forked. It continues to ...

on the JavaStation.

References

JavaStation Linux HOWTO

{{Sun Microsystems Sun workstations Network computer (brand) SPARC microprocessor products Computer-related introductions in 1996