Debian Etch moves ever closer, and Ian Murdock - the project's founder - has been interviewed about Debian's politics, its lack of strong leadership, and Ubuntu's ever-growing fame. He feels that Debian is too enveloped in process and politics, making it impossible for anybody to make big decisions, thereby hindering the pace of development. In addition, on his weblog Murdock has announced he is joining Sun.
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Member since:2005-07-08
I speculate that what Ian has in mind for Solaris is standardizing on the "Linux" userland (including the GNU toolchain) and implementing the Linux system call interface. Essentially, make everything like a Linux distribution except for the kernel. A Linux-compatible distribution featuring a kernel with enterprise-class stability and functionality, including DTrace, Containers, and ZFS. I would not at all be surprised if Ubuntu winds up involved in some way, shape, or form.
If Sun wants to close the gap between Linux and Solaris, this the best way to leverage all of the development that happens on Linux. Phase 1: open the kernel. Phase 2: support the de-facto standard free software development environment. Phase 3: gain mindshare. And that's the ballgame.
If they succeed in marrying the strengths of Solaris with the strengths of Linux, this could really be something. I've been a naysayer about OpenSolaris and it's plan to compete head-to-head with Linux, but I've changed my mind... sort of. I think that the competition between Linux and Solaris will be fierce, and with Red Hat, Novell, and IBM duking it out with Sun, things should get really interesting no matter which free software kernel you prefer.
Member since:2007-02-17
Well, I think its about time that Linux had some real competition. This can only be good for users as this might force the linux devs to do things they wouldn't normally in-order to offer the same level of functionality. The Linux kernel is great, but there can always be improvements.
Member since:
2005-07-11
Interesting comment about getting Solaris to catch up with Linux with regards useability - this is a good thing in my opinion since Linux has clearly benefited over the last few years with the advent of user-friendly distros. Note the impact of Ubuntu and OpenSuse in the more widespread acceptance of Linux as a viable platform for the average user (if such a being exists!)
Not so sure about the emphasis placed on backwards compatibility. Whilst some is obviously needed, I hope this does not come at the expense of design elegance/simplicity and innovation.
On a side note, I await my free Solaris disks with anticipation - I have not tried this OS since v2.6, at which point I really was not up to the challenge!