OpenSolaris

Apache co-founder quits Sun over its alleged culture of control

Over the years, Sun has been progressively pushed by the open-source community to open up. OpenOffice, Java, etc.: the company's efforts to embrace open source have never been quite enough for some.

For Valentine's Day this year, Sun received another arrow, this time from Roy Fielding, co-founder of the Apache HTTP Server Project, who quit Sun to protest its alleged inability to relax its control over OpenSolaris and truly forge a community around it. As Fielding notes:

Sun didn't just make vague statements to me about OpenSolaris; they made promises about it being an open development project. … Read more

Underexposed blog: Links of the day

Nexenta Core Platform 1.0 is now available - OpenSolarix X Debian--Elatte release of Nexenta, which hybridizes OpenSolaris kernel code with higher-level tools from Debian and Ubuntu. Includes Xen, ZFS-compatible apt-clone, CIFS, zones, and live upgrade support. Fedora 9 alpha is out: "Sulphur"--New: (http://jkeating.livejournal.com/53326.html): "Disk resizing during install (incl. NTFS), encrypted block devices, simplified install method choosing, gnome 2.21 development release, KDE 4.0 builds, Firefox3 Beta2 builds, PackageKit, kernel 2.6.24" Barracuda Networks re. fight against Trend Micro re. open-source ClamAV patent issue--"Barracuda … Read more

OpenSolaris follows Linux to the mainframe

Free-wheeling Linux was an improbable enough operating system to be used on IBM's mainframe line, but now an even more unlikely operating system is making an appearance there: Sun Microsystems' Solaris.

Sun and IBM have been archenemies for decades, but through the combination of open-source flexibility and something of a detente between the companies, the operating system has arrived. IBM expressed interest in collaborating with engineering firm Sine Nomine Associates, which has been working on a mainframe translation of OpenSolaris since Sun opened the source code in 2005. Now Sine Nomine is demonstrating the software on a System z … Read more

Sun reveals its open-source ambitions

Sun is increasingly one of the industry's most interesting open-source companies, and confirmed its ambitions on Monday during an "open source at Sun" day. At the show (which, unfortunately, I couldn't attend as I'm on vacation) Sun offered an update on its open source plans, including GlassFish, OpenSolaris, and other projects.

I particularly found this Java/language project interesting:… Read more

Sun says new test Solaris easier to install

Trying to install Solaris in the past was one of those experiences that made me pine for a prebuilt virtual machine disk format. A new version of Sun Microsystems' OpenSolaris-based operating system, though, attempts to amend that.

As of Monday, Solaris Express Developer Edition is now in its third version, craftily named 9/07. Sun gave the installation routine, for the first time in 12 years, "a complete and massive rewrite," said Dan Roberts, director marketing for Solaris and OpenSolaris. The new installer has the same plumbing underneath, but presents a much less technically nitty-gritty interface. However, it'… Read more

Sun christens its Xen-based virtualization xVM

SAN FRANCISCO--Sun Microsystems, a longtime participant in the Xen open-source hypervisor project, has named its Solaris-based offshoot xVM, short for x86 Virtual Machine.

"Because Xen is trademarked, we don't want to call the code we've implemented Xen," said Marc Hamilton, Sun's vice president of Solaris marketing, on Wednesday. It works only on computers with x86 chips such as Intel's Xeon; those with Sun's newer UltraSparc processors use an equivalent technology called logical domains, or LDoms.

Virtualization, blossoming as a technology foundation for x86 servers, lets a single computer run multiple operating systems simultaneously … Read more

Sun supper offer appeals to Torvalds

In the latest word in a peculiarly public interchange, Linux leader Linus Torvalds appears inclined to take up Sun Microsystems Chief Executive Jonathan Schwartz on his offer for dinner.

Last weekend, Torvalds expressed some "cynical" thoughts about Sun's intentions regarding its open-source Solaris operating system, which in turn led Schwartz to invite Torvalds to dinner to demonstrate Sun's intention of being a team player in the open-source realm, not a parasite.

In an interview Wednesday, Torvalds indicated he was interested in the dinner date, even given the condition Schwartz attached.

"I'm a fervent (believer … Read more

Sun CEO to Torvalds: Let's work together

Days after Linus Torvalds discussed the possibilities of Linux and Solaris joining forces as open-source projects, Sun Microsystems Chief Executive Jonathan Schwartz has invited the Linux leader to dinner to allay his suspicions about Sun's motives.

"We want to work together, we want to join hands and communities," Schwartz wrote on his blog Wednesday. "We have no intention of holding anything back, or pulling patent nonsense. And to prove the sincerity of the offer, I invite you to my house for dinner. I'll cook, you bring the wine."

Linux is governed by version 2 … Read more