Sun has developed an "ultra-secret PC-killer", just when everyone was thinking that JavaStation NCs had been killed by inexpensive PCs. Codenamed Corona, the new device will ship probably next month for $499. When volume sales kick in, the price is expected to fall to under $400, according to Forbes The Corona has an Ethernet card but no local storage, embedded Java and the X-Window system. It also has a smart-card slot so users can insert their smart card to restore their work securely. In effect, Corona is a second attempt to pitch the JavaStation. This time around, it's touted as a network business client with zero administrative cost. IBM has had some success with its Network Station, so the market is now ready for a Sun PC Killer (mk II). Forbes suggests that Sun hopes to sell a million of them next year, which could be good news for LSI Logic if it clinches a contract to make the microJava chips. It seems that Sun was going to release it in July, but held back in order to line up some big names. The government of Singapore is tipped as an early customer. Sun has not said anything about the Corona so far, but the University of California at San Diego will receive 50 of them, with an E250 server, for use in CSE's NSF-funded Active Web project. ®