Sun was a innovator throughout the 90's. Many colleges, universities, and startups used Sun hardware. By the mid 2000's, they were on the way out. The market w

Sun was a innovator throughout the 90's. Many colleges, universities, and startups used Sun hardware. By the mid 2000's, they were on the way out. The market was flooded with barely used Sun hardware after the dot-com collapse. At the same time, Linux was now "good enough" that less-and-less people needed Solaris. Of course, some enterprises still needed it. The only thing Sun was hanging on to - Java - was freely available.