Oracle and SUN Archive

Xandros announced the version 3 release of the Open Circulation Edition of its Linux desktop operating system (OS). The new release provides a new Internet experience with Firefox web browsing, Skype Internet calling, and Thunderbird e-mailing. The Xandros Open Circulation Edition is available for download at no charge. Update: A review.

Sun Microsystems has raised the possibility that it might offer customers its own database, a move that could trigger displeasure at Oracle but curry favor with open-source advocates.

New reviews of Xandros Desktop 3 have been published by Linux Weekly News and LinuxPlanet.

Sun today announced the largest single release of patent innovations into the open source community by any organization to date, marking a significant shift in the way Sun positions its intellectual property portfolio. By giving open source developers free access to Sun OpenSolaris related patents under the Common Development and Distribution License (CDDL), the company is fostering open innovation and establishing a leadership role in the framework of a patent commons.

Sun Microsystems CEO Scott McNealy spoke with IDG News Service correspondent Robert McMillan about company changes, plans for 2005 and how open source relates to Solaris and Java.

LXer reports that Sun has made an evaluation copy of their Java Desktop System 2 available for download. Ever faithful, OSDir provides screenshot zen.

"I've been running the recently released Deluxe Edition of Xandros Desktop OS for the past week. Xandros 3 has proven to be all that I hoped for, and more. This release should prove a good fit for many, combining the ease of use and elegant good looks that Xandros brings to the table with the underlying power and stability of Debian." Read the rest at NewsForge.

"Xandros Linux is among a handful of Linux distributions truly worthy of naming a desktop Linux distribution. Today, there are many distributions out there calling themselves desktop operating systems, and even though most of them are very good attempts, many fall short... but not Xandros." Read the rest of the review here.

"Xandros Desktop OS Version 3.0 is billed as "an intuitive graphical environment that works right out of the box and offers unrivaled compatibility with Microsoft Windows". So it's pretty clear what the market of the product is - all the millions of Windows users that are fed up with an unstable operating system, want something for email and web browsing, and be able to create, edit and send the boss their Word, Excel and Visio files." Read the rest at linuxlinks.com.

According to at least one company, in order for Sun to gain credibility in the Linux market, they must acquire either Red Hat or Novell. Merrill Lynch hypothesizes that with one of these companies as an asset, the Opteron market is theirs for the taking, and without one, they are doomed to cater to mostly Solaris customers.

Sun Microsystems' new Sun Ray Server 3.0 might actually bring thin clients into the ready for prime-time category. The big breakthrough is the bandwidth management software that allows these clients to run across standard high speed internet connections. Though they're still targeting large organizations, this new version opens up the home market, via internet providers. A company like AOL could market a totally managed thin client with a monthly service fee.

"There's quite a bit of value here for anyone and we feel very comfortable recommending it to anyone who wants to move off of Windows and onto Linux. It's stable, easy to use, and comes with a good range of applications. Laptop wireless problem aside, in terms of ease of use, we think that Xandros has set a new standard for Linux distributions." Read the review at ExtremeTech.

Why Sun needs to enter the PC market? Let's first examine several companies in the market today:

Linus Torvalds has some interesting comments on Sun's CDDL License which has been submitted to OSI's approval.