CNet reports that Sun announced heavy losses today. In a seperate report, CNN Tech reports that Sun is ready to announce a new breed of processors that could be up to 100 times faster than current chips. The article is not technical, but promises major improvements of semiconductor to chip and chip to chip communications.
Sun might be able to recoup some money by renting out their IP:
Sun already holds seven patents on the new design and will seek to capitalize on them commercially, a Sun spokesman said.
If they take the IP rental route, they won’t even have to manufacture chips in order to make money. They could definately use a fincancial breakthrough, and this might be it.