And Sun just recently announced that Solaris 10 will comply with the Linux Standard Base (LSB), thus allowing Linux apps to run on Solaris. Sun offers a Linux-friendly license for Java (though it is not GPL), and the company generously donated large chunks of code from Sun StarOffice to create OpenOffice. Which is a pity, because compared to many other big IT companies, Sun has been a decent corporate citizen. Given that home hobbyists can now slap together a powerful server for US$500 or less, and run a free OS, where does that leave Sun?Īpparently, with a shrinking market. On the software side, no one doubts that Solaris is a very powerful server-oriented OS, but Windows, Linux and *BSD have all become increasingly capable and feature-rich. Aside from rock solid hardware, Sun's other great claim to fame is the Solaris operating system.Įven today, a significant portion of the Internet runs on SPARC boxes, but Sun's market share has been eroding steadily mostly thanks to the increasing performance of low-cost x86 machines. Sun's main product lineup includes servers and workstations (traditionally based on SPARC processors, though Sun is now dabbling with the x86). For those who need a refresher course, Sun came into existence in 1984, and went on to become king of the server business. Certainly, most readers of DistroWatch are familiar with Sun, even if only a small percentage of you have actually used Sun's hardware and software. A quick look at Sun's share price is certainly not encouraging.īut first let's backtrack and take a look at Sun's survival scheme over the years. There are a number of credible sources - like this one and this one - who seem to believe that Sun is setting fast. Why is this so funny? Mainly because Sun can't afford it. At least, that's according to a story on ZDNet (and ZDNet doesn't usually kid around). It's either too early or too late for April Fool's, so this has to be taken seriously - Sun Microsystems wants to buy Novell. Sun Mulls Buying Novell - Shop Till You Drop?
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