March 18, 2009 10:08 AM PDT
Open Sources Twit-cast: Sun and IBM
Instead of our normal Open Sources podcast, Matt Asay and I decided to use Twitter (@daveofdoom and @mjasay) this morning to discuss the news surrounding the rumor that IBM is acquiring Sun.The full transcript is below for your enjoyment.
Note: the top post is the last one, so you need to read from the bottom up if you want the whole thread.
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daveofdoom: @mjasay This wraps-up our first Open Sources Twit-cast (I hate that I used that phrase). Thanks to @botchagalupe and @glynmoody -
cote: @botchagalupe @daveofdoom @mjasay you guys should put down the Twitter and record a podcast right now. Seriously. You can use my conf line. -
glynmoody: @daveofdoom interesting -
daveofdoom: @mjasay @botchagalupe I don't see how it matters materially in next 3 years. But sooner or later it would have to be meaningful.
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daveofdoom: @glynmoody Amazon APIs are overwhelmingly the dominant force. Word is Sun got scared of patent threats from AWS so went with CC.
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mjasay: @daveofdoom @botchagalupe Will a Sun+IBM combo make any material difference to Microsoft's dominance in the next 3 years?
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botchagalupe: @daveofdoom Agree and disagree. They both have not really done anything yet. However, Qlayer and TSAM will have to be reconciled.
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mjasay: @daveofdoom I'm not sold on Sun's cloud strategy, but then, I'm not sold on anyone's
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botchagalupe: @daveofdoom @mjasay IBM is (IMHO) still bleeding from all the acquisitions over the last 5 yrs. Even IBM would have a hard time adding SUN
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daveofdoom: @botchagalupe Sun's got nothing meaningful in the cloud yet. Is this just a media frenzy to make the deal seem attractive?
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mjasay: @daveofdoom Mostly, I think this gives Jonathan a reason to stop hewing so hard to the "F" in FOSS.I know MySQL has had a positive influence
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daveofdoom: @mjasay What do you think about this Sun Cloud nonsense? Just cause they made an announcement, now they're a cloud provider?
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botchagalupe: @daveofdoom @mjasay of course after they put an IBM'r in charge...
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mjasay: @daveofdoom I would not want to be a Sun employee right now. Though @botchagalupe could be right, and IBM could leave them be for a bit
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botchagalupe: @daveofdoom @mjasay 1 of IBM's acquisition models is to leave the acquired comp alone for a few yrs. My bet is this one will go that way
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daveofdoom: @mjasay How much of Sun staff gets whacked in that deal? IBM is bloated but Sun is over-the-top.
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daveofdoom: @mjasay I think the culture clash is overblown. I bet Sun would be fine with Apache-style. Plus maybe they would stop CDDL.
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mjasay: @daveofdoom Do you think Sun's OSS fervor would have any impact on IBM's more buttoned-down, Apache-style approach to OSS?
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mjasay: @daveofdoom I think more BigCos will see OSS startups as a way to acquire new customers. Sun wasn't too far off w/ its "adoption" story
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mjasay: @daveofdoom re fewer BigCos to acquire OSS startups - yes,but I agree w/ @timoreilly that most will be bought by proprietary vendors, anyway
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daveofdoom: @mjasay Who buys all the Java-based OSS companies if Sun is gone? I don't see IBM doing it.
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daveofdoom: @mjasay I think IBM cares about MySQL. The rest of the software is not meaningful to them.
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daveofdoom: I think IBM cares about MySQL. The rest of the software isn't meaningful to IBM
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daveofdoom: @mjasay Without Sun, there is one less large company to acquire open source startups
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mjasay: @daveofdoom Do you think IBM even cares about Sun's open source assets?
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mjasay: @daveofdoom ...within Sun (MySQL, Java, etc.) would survive. Glassfish? No chance. OpenStorage? Could be a good loss leader for IBM
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mjasay: @daveofdoom I do think Sun+IBM has the potential to limit choice, but we're already well down that path. Real q is whether key OSS bits ...
Dave Rosenberg dishes up "Software, Interrupted" with nearly 15 years of technology and marketing experience that spans from Bell Labs to multiple start-up IPOs to open-source enterprise software companies. He is co-founder of MuleSource and currently serves as the general manager of Hardy Way. He is a member of the CNET Blog Network and is not an employee of CNET. Disclosure. You can contact Dave via e-mail at softwareinterrupted@gmail.com or follow him on Twitter @daveofdoom. 
