Gotta love the humor in this Sun press release :)
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| Author | Content |
|---|---|
| PaulFerris Jan 22, 2005 5:36 AM EDT |
"He said local clients will be given a chance to port existing Linux installations to the free version of Solaris 10, which he said resolves most of the problems usually encountered in both Linux and Unix." What problems in Linux? That it has a community development model? That it's tools at the command line level are so advanced that you don't feel like you've taken the wayback machine to 1988? Maybe the problems are all of the ported software or supported commodity Intel hardware (oh, you're going to have fun getting that Solaris box to work with all of your generic hardware). Another sound byte that's amusing: "Cheong is also eyeing the country's large community of Java programmers. Java is a programming language developed by Sun." It's extremely important to include a quote about Java, since we're talking about Sun. What's the reason? Because the topic is Sun software. That's it. Like, you can get a JVM for just about anything (that was the idea of a truly portable language after all wasn't it?), and we're to believe (without directly saying) that being able to run a Sun Solaris operating system (now OSS, don't forget!) means we're going to get the best "support" for it. They're desperately seeking relevance these days. I'm glad they opened the code to Solaris, but time will tell if it ever amounts to anything much. Maybe they'll wait a few months and claim that Linus stole the code from Solaris for the 2.6 kernel. Wait, that's too familiar ;) |
| sbergman27 Jan 22, 2005 10:07 AM EDT |
> I'm glad they opened the code to Solaris, but time will tell if it ever amounts to anything much. What? When did this happen? Last I heard Sun would not comment on what license they intend to use. And where is this code to Solaris that they have opened? Could I borrow your time machine, Paul? ;-) |
| peragrin Jan 22, 2005 12:56 PM EDT |
Yea I have to agree with sbergman here as far as I know Sun hasn't actually released it YET. It was supposed to be the end of janurary to my knowledge so we still have a week. |
| PaulFerris Jan 22, 2005 1:53 PM EDT |
I stand corrected on the OSS comment. It might have a license that ends with the text: "All rights reversed!" As for the wayback machine, sbergman27, you don't want to borrow it, using it involves mushrooms and getting inside my head (perish the though!). Or is that "perish all thoughts!" I can't seem to get that thought into my head... ;) --FeriCyde |
| tuxchick Jan 23, 2005 10:12 AM EDT |
Why would anyone want to migrate from Linux to Solaris? I am not familiar with Solaris, and I doubt the vast majority of Linux users are either. So Sun is going to have to do a lot of education to get anyone to even consider making such a switch. I don't trust Trashtalk McMealymouth or Jonathan "isn't my ponytail hip" Schwartz one bit. (yo Jon- anyone over age 23 is too old to wear a ponytail.) We are all familiar with their endless spew of confusing, contradictory statements regarding Linux and the F/OSS community. One thing shines out bright and clear for me: they're attacking Linux, not Windows. For me that outweighs everything else they say or do, and proves they are not friends to the F/OSS community. |
| sbergman27 Jan 23, 2005 12:45 PM EDT |
Peragrin, It would seem that it's now the proprietary version that will be available at the end of this week. The open sourcing of the OS is now not expected for some months. (Perhaps they'll bundle it with Longhorn.) However, as a "show of good faith", they say they are going to open source DTrace on Tuesday. (The cynical part of me notes that they do not specify *which* tuesday.) This ought to be interesting. If they were open sourcing the whole kernel Tuesday they would surely say that. But how can they open source DTrace without open sourcing at least most of the kernel? |
| PaulFerris Jan 23, 2005 6:27 PM EDT |
tuxchick: On why anyone would want to switch to Slowlaris instead of Linux, all I can say is that I *am* familiar with both. And God, you'd have to pry my Linux from my dying hands... As to why they (Sun) are attacking Linux -- who do you think has been suffering worse from Linux -- Sun or Microsoft? Microsoft may have taken a blow from Linux to the tune of several billion in lost revenues -- but that's cash that they can afford. After all, they still have the rest of the world by the, um, round spherical objects. But Sun? They've lost some serious hardware revenue to Linux at a much larger proportion if you look at the overall picture of their sales. They stand to lose the most. They ain't gonna make it up in Java licenses that's for sure. They needed to do what Apple has done -- make some new markets and find innovative new applications for the stuff they've got. Spouting on and on about Java (Desktop, Web Servers, ? cell phones? ) isn't going to really pay out, unfortunately. Just my observations and opinions... as usual... ;) --FeriCyde |
| tuxchick Jan 23, 2005 9:23 PM EDT |
Well me fine Fericyde, it seems to me the big hole in the business market is top-to-bottom Linux support. Server to desktop, the works. No one offers that yet. Isn't that what Sun used to do? So it's not that much of leap, at least not conceptually. Of course the hardware side is rather a large problem, as you said. But a lot of folks are still very loyal Sun customers, both on the hardware and software sides of the business, so it seems to me that adding Linux and x86 hardware to the mix is the ticket. Linux on Sun boxes, Solaris on x86- let customers mix it up however they like. I think Novell is going to sneak in and capture the whole works. No one else is paying public attention to the desktop- not IBM, not Red Hat, nobody. Novell is perfectly positioned to be not only the one-stop top-to-bottom shop, they're also positioned to be the best cross-platform network operating system, and groupware vendor. No one does mixed networks as well as Novell, you can throw anything in there and make it work. At long last Novell is ready to become the Microsoft killer. |
| PaulFerris Jan 24, 2005 1:46 AM EDT |
tuxchick: great observations. Yes, actually the desktop stuff might very well be Novell's greatest strength if they can pull it off. The best poised for enterprise stuff are HP and IBM. The heaviest emphasis here IMHO on IBM -- they've been doing the consulting gig for years, and have people that are good at it. HP does, however, have some of the best Unix support people I've ever been in contact with, and I know from talking to them (in 1999) those were the people they leveraged for their Linux support. But you're right -- no one has done anything for server to desktop and that might very well be expertise that Novell posesses. As for Microsoft "killer" -- that's not a phrase that really works here. I think Microsoft (have said this before many time btw), is their own worst enemy, but they have some brilliant people and they might pull out of some of their troubles. They have multiple revenue streams and at best there are going to be some bumps in those streams (XP and Office, anyone?). I don't think, in other words, anyone is going to easily knock a company with 40 billion+ (what's the stash up to these days? I don't know) out of the market. But I think we're going to see something we've needed for a long time -- real, honest, competition. For me, that's enough. --FeriCyde |
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