Sun hopes for Linux-like Solaris

TalkBack 12 of 26:

Next »

« Previous

• Thread View
• Flat View

Well, the litigation path is certainly not working out well for SCO ...

And I doubt if Sun would do much better at it. The reality is that the Unix that Caldera purchased from old SCO simply wasn't worth a whole lot anymore. And Linux is only partially to blame for that. Another evolution that is seriously devaluing Unix is the MS move toward the high end server market. Between the attack of Linux on the low and and the attack of MS on the high end, Low end Unix typified by the SCO product AND the lower end Sun product are being squeezed mercilessly. SCO's problem was (and is) that they DON'T HAVE A HIGH END PRODUCT, so Linux and MS are literally eating their lunch (and dinner and everything else in sight). At least in the case of Sun, they still do have a high end product and I suspect that they could safely GPL the core of Solaris AND continue to make money on it. This could be done by creating a GPL Solaris distro enhanced by being turned into 'just another Linux distro' BUT, the difference would be that unlike ANY OTHER Linux distro, Solaris would offer an upward migration path that would, for a price, provide a drop in high end Unix kernel AND high end Unix drivers that would create a best of both worlds situation for the high end user. In other words a power user could migrate over time up to cutting edge Solaris hardware AND STILL RETAIN all of the benefits of the Linux universe. This could turn out to be quite attractive, not to mention the fact that Sun could potentially cut some sort of Novell like deal with MS and bring on line a significant amount of premium content and compatibility only otherwise available from MS. Oh, sure, the Linux intelligentsia would scream and pout, but in the end I am not sure that there is much they can do to stop it EVEN in the era of GPL3. We are now in an era where the commercial Linux industry (IBM, Novell, Sun, etc.) can afford to simply code around GPL3 roadblocks with GPL2 forks if necessary. And before its through, we might even see MS itself releasing GPL2 code IF it can open the door to IP royalty from a new breed of hybrid proprietary/open source combination products. But nobody in their right mind would follow SCO. They have pretty much taken it upon themselves to define stupidity by example for the whole world to observe. No company would be so foolish as to emulate their debacle.

Posted by: George Mitchell   Posted on: 05/10/07 You are currently: a Guest | Members login | Terms of Use

Alert moderator to an offensive message

Subscribe to this discussion via Email or RSS

SponsoredWhite Papers, Webcasts, and Downloads

• Three Steps You Need to Know to Stop Data Loss Varonis Sensitive data exposed to misuse or loss... it is the stuff of nightmares ... Download Now
• Building the Virtualized Enterprise with VMware Infrastructure VMware VMware virtualization software has been adopted by over 120,000 enterprise ... Download Now
• The Impact of Virtualization Software on Operating Environments VMware Today's use of virtualization technology allows IT professionals to ... Download Now