David Kirkpatrick, Fortune: "It would be easy to see today’s announcement as just a way for Sun alumnus Schmidt to lend some of Google’s astonishing luster to his friends at the long-suffering Sun, which hadn’t had an operating profit for nine quarters until this year. ... But don't underestimate the techies at Sun. For years the company has said, 'The network is the computer,' and Sun really does aim to make that a reality. These are people who have believed in something for a long time, and they see it now finally becoming real in companies like Google. This is an alliance that is likely to matter."

Scott McNealy, Sun chief executive: It's natural for these two companies to work together. It's also natural for me to be sitting here with an ex-Sun employee . . . There will be a lot of money flowing both ways if we do this right.''

John Rymer, Forrester Research analyst: "The idea that Google will turn around and redistribute OpenOffice is nuts. When they do something, it has to be cool. It has to go further than Microsoft Office. It would have to address the way we work."

Laura DiDio, Yankee Group analyst: “What if two of the industry’s biggest luminaries decided to hold a press conference and everybody came, but there was no news? ... This announcement at this point lacks substance, context and specifics.”

Columnist David Berlind: "Desktop Java has long needed a sugar daddy. And, as one of the few companies with the reach, the resolve (to disrupt the status quo), the cash, the Java expertise (Adam Bosworth, anyone?), and various desktop application implementations that fall an imperceptible sliver short of where desktop Java can start to take them, Google is the hottest prospect to come desktop Java's way in a long time."

JDJ Enterprise Editor, Yakov Fain:  "If Google and Sun will offer a free downloadable replacement for Microsoft Office suite (see  OpenOffice.org ),  millions of people who do not use anything other than a Web browser, word processor , e-mail client and a spreadsheet will convert to their religion.  Which OS will they use?  Who cares,  Java will run anywhere."

• Sun + Google = (Very) Bad News For Microsoft?
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• Sun-Google Partnership: Is It About Money, or About Microsoft?
• Developer Viewpoint: (Google+Sun) > Microsoft
• JDJ Exclusive: First "Post-Google" Q&A With Sun About the Java Desktop