Original URL: http://www.channelregister.co.uk/2009/12/15/sun_ditches_try_and_buy_program/
Sun ditches 'try and buy' program
60-day trial fails to shine
Posted in Enterprise, 15th December 2009 09:02 GMT
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Sun Microsystems is ending its "try and buy" programme that allowed customers to sample a range of hardware kit for 60-day trials with tech support thrown in for free.
The company - which is currently facing a multi-billion dollar takeover from rival database giant, Oracle - didn't explain why it was dropping the radical offer.
Customers enjoyed free use of the likes of a Sun Ultra 27 Workstation or a Sun SPARC Enterprise T5440 server for two months. All punters had to do to avoid being charged for the kit required was to return the gear before the 60-day trial period was up.
Sun said [1] on its website that it will honour applications for its "try and buy" scheme until the end of biz play on Friday, 18 December.
Perhaps take-up wasn't quite what Sun had hoped for - with IT budgets squeezed it's fair to speculate that tech bosses turned a blind eye even to free trials of hardware. After all, the paperwork was probably a bit of a headache in these cash-strapped times. ®