Comments on: Open Solaris and strategic consequences

IT consultant Paul Murphy examines whether Sun's move to Open Solaris is more than just a case of jumping on the bandwagon.

[iqula]

Ubiquitous linux but still the need for java ... yes!

If Linux does and I believe it will become over time ubiquitous on many platforms thanks in part to revolutionary projects like http://www.cosmopod.com that provide free personal online desktops to embeded linux projects like embedded-linux.org and really the whole OS community.

So if every computing device ran Linux one may say that Java would no longer be needed as any compiled code would run nativly. This is but one of Java's strong points the other major advantage to Java is that it runs in a contained virtual machine, this does and will more so in the future with vicous ad and spyware included in almost every program one downloads offer huge security advantages too.

[MilSpecGuy]

Missing the point

I think you are somewhat mistaken vis-a-vis the point of the article. It would be wonderful to think that spyware and adware would vanish overnight if everyone used Linux. Fortunately or un-, Windows would still exist, even if Linux became a dominant business platform and had acceptance beyond that to personal desktops. But the caveat there would be that the guys writing the 'pay for play' plugins, might decide that ads are okay, and put them in commercial code that plugs into the Linux kernel. Of course, only those lusers that ended up being dumb enough to use such plugins would have problems, but if the incentive to use the plugin is high enough, it might fly. But probably NOT. As to security, I am sure the Linux platform will soon be under attack just like Windows is. In some areas, Linux can and does outdo Windows for security, but NOT all, by any stretch. Security is an issue for EVERYONE. Besides, Windows will still be around for the serious gamers to use. It's not a bad multimedia platform, when you get it to behave. Yes, Java is good for some things, but again, not all. OpenSolaris will be good for a lot of things, but not all. The GOOD thing coming out of all this is that there will be MORE CHOICE available to the users, be they business oriented, or gaming oriented. Choice is a good thing. No one platform can be EVERYTHING to all users. One of the choices will SUCK at some aspect the end user is looking for, and one will SHINE for what THEY want. NOT what the OS wants, but what the end user wants. It truly BITES when Microsoft starts taking such STUPID steps to protect their IP stranglehold on the market, as their recent 'Phone Home to Activate' program. I am going to stop installing WinXP of ANY flavor, until this goes away. But you can't game worth a tinker's trash pile with Linux, unless you use software to do it. So what's a user to do? Ya end up using both, though one of the choices really sucks at something. Be it 'Activate by Phone' or 'Emulate Windows to Play', there are drawbacks to each. But at LEAST WE HAVE A CHOICE!!! (My two cents worth)

[scdecade]

Typical of Sun's perception problem

Here's a guy who literally wrote a book about Unix and who thinks that open sourcing Solaris was a great strategic move. Instead of paying Sun managment a compliment he prefers to chalk it up to "dumb luck." LMAO!

I can't say I blame the guy. Senior Sun management seems more interested in proving themselves "visionary" and "right" while the company's revenue and stock price go nowhere in a hurry. Sun management needs to stop telling audiences to Google on their assertions from 5 years ago. They need to stop insulting their customers (calling their data centers "jalopies"). They need to stop insulting CIO's (likening them to "chief electricity officers"). Sun is the most horribly marketed company I can think of. Who wants to pay them any compliments?

[John Kuzak]

go nowhere in a hurry

http://www.analogstereo.com/subaru_legacy_owners_manual.htm

[Philips]

Oh, please.

"escape the limitations of x86 by getting into the SPARC market"

Try this on current users of Sun/SPARC systems. They will laugh thru tears. They'd love to escape cost of SPARC, but they are unable to escape to highly unstable x86. I see more people - more than I anticipated - moving to PowerPC.

What would change Open Source Solaris? I doubt in couple years some-one will remember.
Closed Source Solaris? - will live even then.

And this laughable appeal "run Linux binaries" is totaly bogus: accepting restrictive license agreement just to run executable you can run absolutely for free? You must be joking.

Need a thicker tinfoil hat?

IBM is being very moderate and hands-off with The
SCO Group. The short story is that TSG went on a
fishing expedition and caught Leviathan rather
than the snapper they were after. Instead of
running away screaming as they should have, they
decided to brazen it out, making their SNAFU far
worse than it should have been. Most of the key
players on TSG's side don't seem able to find
their own butts even given both hands, approach
radar and a map. All IBM really has had to do is
say "we didn't do it" and wait for TSG to exceed
critical mass. No conspiracies here, Paul, move
along.

Linux is not *capable* of being taken over. There
are no suitable political or commercial handles
to grab it by. Trying it is like trying to eat
clear soup with a fork.

[t8]

Solaris vs Linux

Solaris is trying to compete with Linux. To me that is like trying to compete with the Internet.

Why would developers work for Sun for nothing, when they can contribute to a platform that everybody owns and benfits?

Linux may not be the best right now, but it will be. Linux jumps in leaps and bounds today because it is free and promotes sharing of innovation. It is a platform that you can contribute to and also own. It is not owned by any one company but by all and there is no fear that a company can pull the rug from under your feet because there is no one company or owner.

You can't beat that. It's a revolution.

SPARC is a dead-end

Open Solaris will prove to have a business value to Sun only if it manages to drive users toward SPARC and away from commodity x86 hardware. The problem here is that the market trends are clear to everyone but Sun's management (and true believers like Paul): SPARC is rapidly becoming a legacy platform.

Can Open Solaris somehow rescue SPARC? I fail to see how. It's certainly true that Solaris on SPARC presently enjoys some real advantages over Linux on x86, but that has obviously not been enough to stop the mass exodus to commodity hardware.

So what does Open Solaris bring to the table? Not much really, except a new Sun "committment" to an x86 port of Solaris. Of course, Sun can't subsist as commodity hardware vendor absent a fundmental corporate restructuring they've been loath to even entertain. Sun's future is still firmly wedded to the SPARC architecture and nobody has explained how in the world Open Solaris will supposedly drive new adoptions of SPARC.

Paul doesn't even explicitly mention the real imminent threat facing Sun, which is IBM's Power architecture. IBM beat Sun in the engineering competition and they beat them badly. Power is more scalable, more featureful, and, most importantly, it is significantly cheaper--and rapidly getting cheaper still as the economies of scale kick in from IBM's successful wins in the embedded market.

Power/AIX/Linux is the one-two punch which will eventually prove fatal to Sun.