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Technology Stocks : All About Sun Microsystems -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Robert who wrote (40947)	1/30/2001 2:58:07 PM
From: QwikSand	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 64865

I am waiting with bated* breath to see when (not if) the Linux Laboratory turns into another OSF and blows up. My prediction: IBM will be the destroyer of that effort as they were the destroyer of the OSF and every other cooperative enterprise they've touched. For example, one guy from Taligent is now in charge of .NET<g>. --QS *For declining-language anti-spellers: the word in the expression is indeed "bated" not "baited". The expression means to hold or slow your breathing. 'Bated' is related etymologically to the word 'abate': to reduce or lessen.

To: Robert who wrote (40947)	2/1/2001 2:22:23 AM
From: JC Jaros	Respond to of 64865

Sun is moving with Linux in three main areas. First is with developers, specifically Java developers. The acquisition and subsequent execution of the Netbeans product (folded into Forte as Forte <free> Community edition is aimed squarely at Linux using developers. Also, they released versions of iPlanet software for Linux and have partnered with the community to develop and include the current Java JVM, etc into the Linux distros. Linux in many ways is like the branded and robust Solaris' farm team. It's not much of a leap to go from Linux to Solaris as they are both the same flavor of nix. Sun is actively sharing their 'stuff' with the community. A good example is Sun availing various engines and technology (such as SMP) to the community. It's very much in Sun's interest for Linux to have success. What Linux has going against it beyond what you mentioned is that it's not in the same league as Solaris, is less robust, and most importantly, less scalable. The biggest problem Linux has is a serious lack of brand and as time goes on it appears that a forking is inevidable as the community (and Linus) have little interest in tweaking Linux into an 'enterprise' operating system. IBM, for all their hot air about being big Linux patrons isn't really expecting Linux to be made into an enterprise OS. Their real plan is to milk Linux and Linux programs for use by their own proprietary Monterey (renamed AIX Mark IV or something). The community seems to be increasingly hip to IBM's strategy. Sun did, or is attempting to do something interesting along the lines of community cat herding by turning the StarOffice project loose and has employed a professional 'open source' services company to drive the code into the community (see openoffice.org ). From what I've seen, it looks like it has a chance to do what the Mozilla project once hoped for by doing things the right way. Sun has jumped into the GNOME GUI project with both feet and will in fact be replacing CDE with GNOME on it's next Solaris release. Solaris will become increasingly familiar looking to Linuxers, and again is aiming to leverage the developer community to port and write GNOME not only for the desktop but as well the server and ubiquitous client devices. The GNOME thing is a great move on Sun's part and is a pretty exciting development, I think. The newest Linux initiative appears to be the Cobalt devices. I was trying to figure out who the hell has the Linux support contract for these disruptive 'death from below' Linux server appliances. What I found out was; what the answer is is, nobody. Sun is further leveraging the community to provide support for the Linux driven appliances (with their simple simon turnkey GUI admin) and *further undercuts the PC turned small server by reducing support costs along with hardware and software costs. Increasingly Sun has gotten behind the single arrow with Linux and is, despite IBM's boisterous opening of their wierd Oregon Linux ashram, leading the charge. -JCJ