Scott McNealy

American businessman

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June 17, 2026

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Scott McNealy is an American businessman and a cofounder of Sun Microsystems, a computer manufacturer. He, along with Andreas Bechtolsheim, William Joy, and Vinod Khosla, established Sun Microsystems in 1982. Their initial goal was to produce affordable, high-performance desktop computers running the UNIX operating system. McNealy played a crucial role in securing strategic deals with early investors and major customers, contributing to Sun's rapid growth. He famously promoted the idea that "the network is the computer," which aligned with Sun's focus on networking and interoperability. Sun Microsystems was eventually purchased by Oracle Corporation in 2010.12

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Internet
Getting over it
…have zero privacy—get over it,” Scott McNealy, the CEO of Sun Microsystems, memorably remarked in 1999 in response to a question at a product show at which Sun introduced a new interactive technology called Jini. Sun’s cheerful website promised to usher in the “networked home” of the future, in which…
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…have zero privacy—get over it,” Scott McNealy, the CEO of Sun Microsystems, memorably remarked in 1999 in response to a question at a product show at which Sun introduced a new interactive technology called Jini. Sun’s cheerful website promised to usher in the “networked home” of the future, in which…
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Bill Joy
…a team led by entrepreneur Scott McNealy recruited Joy for a new start-up company that proposed to create a high-powered version of UNIX for a small cheap desktop-computer workstation. Built by Andy Bechtolsheim, a member of McNealy’s team, the computer was called the Stanford University Network workstation, or S.U.N. for…
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…a team led by entrepreneur Scott McNealy recruited Joy for a new start-up company that proposed to create a high-powered version of UNIX for a small cheap desktop-computer workstation. Built by Andy Bechtolsheim, a member of McNealy’s team, the computer was called the Stanford University Network workstation, or S.U.N. for…
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Sun Microsystems
Founding and growth
…William Joy, Vinod Khosla, and Scott McNealy founded Sun Microsystems, Inc., in 1982 for the purpose of selling low-cost high-performance desktop computers running the UNIX operating system. Those computer workstations found immediate acceptance among engineers, software developers, and scientists who benefited from having dedicated machines rather than sharing more expensive…
Read More
…William Joy, Vinod Khosla, and Scott McNealy founded Sun Microsystems, Inc., in 1982 for the purpose of selling low-cost high-performance desktop computers running the UNIX operating system. Those computer workstations found immediate acceptance among engineers, software developers, and scientists who benefited from having dedicated machines rather than sharing more expensive…
Read More