Sun Microsystems is announcing Thursday enhancements to its Sun Startup Essentials program for startup companies, including the addition of a "camp" in New York City. "The goal of the program is to make it easy for a startup to get off the ground quickly," said Juan Carlos Soto, Sun vice president of market development. There have been 1,000 participants in the program since it was begun in November 2006. Partic Sun Microsystems is announcing Thursday enhancements to its Sun Startup Essentials program for startup companies, including the addition of a “camp” in New York City.“The goal of the program is to make it easy for a startup to get off the ground quickly,” said Juan Carlos Soto, Sun vice president of market development. There have been 1,000 participants in the program since it was begun in November 2006.Participants get access to Sun’s Solaris OS but also can run Linux or Windows. Startup Camp, which is being held in New York City October 22-23, brings entrepreneurs and vendors together to network and learn from the experiences of other startups, venture capitalists and technology companies, Sun said. Participants also can win prizes in a contest called “Speed Geeking,” for startups to hone their business pitch. Prizes include a Sun Fire X4200 computer, hosting services and an Apple iTouch.Another part of the event is “Startup University,” featuring speakers from companies such as Microsoft. Sun is announcing an incubator initiative providing office space and hardware infrastructure support for startups. Plug and Play Tech Center has joined the Sun initiative, providing support and discounts on Web hosting, office space and managed services. Also, Sun is expanding its hosting program to include Web hosting partner Layered Technologies, which will offer low-cost infrastructure and services for startups for on-demand hosting and utility computing. Web 2.0 has been a focus of many of the participating companies, presenting many opportunities for entrepreneurs. But monetizing these efforts can be a challenge. “Right now, a lot of the Web 2.0 business models are unproven, frankly,” Soto said. Some seek advertising revenues but they all want to be the next YouTube, he said. Technology Industry