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Sun's Solaris Goes Open Source
Sun's Solaris Goes Open Source January 27, 2005 11:56AM
By offering its own open-source software for systems based on X86
processors, Sun Microsystems is hoping to regain the support of
software developers and corporate information managers who dropped its
products in favor of Linux-based systems.
Sun Microsystems Latest News about Sun Microsystems has said that its
Solaris 10 operating system would soon be available on an open-source
basis, a move that the company hoped would help counter the perception
that its technology was too proprietary and expensive.
The decision, announced on Tuesday, meant that the software would be
free and that programmers other than Sun would be able to customize
and improve it.
The company, based in Santa Clara, California, has lost considerable
business in the market for computer servers to companies like Dell
Latest News about Dell Computer and Hewlett-Packard, whose low-cost
systems run Linux Latest News about Linux, a free open-source
operating system.
By offering its own open-source software for these systems based on
so-called X86 processors, Sun is hoping to regain the support of
software developers and corporate information managers who dropped Sun
products in favor of Linux-based systems.
John Loiacono, executive vice president of software at Sun, said the
decision to offer a free version of Solaris was intended to help Sun
expand the market for its other programs and its servers. "The more
people use Solaris, the more opportunities we have to sell other
technologies," he said.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T
Solaris runs on standard servers from Dell, Hewlett-Packard and
others, as well as those made by Sun.
Scott McNealy, chief executive of Sun, said many large companies
preferred open-source software because they did not want to be
dependent on a single vendor or source oftechnical support Latest News
about technical support.
Sun also announced that it would allow free use of the technology in
1,600 of its patents related to Solaris. The company said a
customizable source code for Solaris would be available in the second
quarter. In the meantime, the company said it was establishing an
advisory board to oversee development of the open- source software,
called OpenSolaris.
Sun's move comes as it continues to struggle financially. Last week,
the company announced that it had achieved a small profit in its
second quarter, though its revenue declined.
Brian Richardson, an analyst at Meta Group Latest News about Meta
Group, said the open-source move would help Sun position its systems
as an alternative to low- price systems running other open-source
software. "It's necessary to counter the threat of Linux," he said.
© 2005 International Herald Tribune
© 2005 NewsFactor Network.
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Contempt of Congress meter reading-offscale.
Hello, theocracy with a fundamentalist US Supreme
Court who will ensure church and state are joined
at the hip like clergy and altar boys.
America 1776-Jan 2001 RIP
.
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