OpenSolaris to challenge Linux, maybe
Posted by cabalamat on 2007-Sep-04
Sun says that their open source version of Solaris, OpenSolaris, will challenge Linux:
OpenSolaris will challenge Linux says Sun
Sun Microsystems has ambitious plans for the commercial and open-source versions of its Solaris operating system, hoping to achieve for Solaris the kind of ubiquity already enjoyed by Java.
Sun intends to take the operating system into markets where it hasn’t traditionally been a force, such as desktop and embedded systems, according to Marc Hamilton, vice president of Solaris marketing at Sun. The vendor is also keen to position OpenSolaris as a real alternative to Linux. “There’s an enormous momentum building behind Solaris,” said Ian Murdock, chief operating platforms officer at Sun.
Saying it’s so doesn’t make it true. I’ve been using Linux for years, and keep up to date on news of open source / free software, and I’ve not noticed any particular hype or excitement regarding Solaris.
If Sun had open sourced Solaris 10 years ago, this may have made a difference. But now? I doubt if anyone cares particularly. And even if it does become popular, Solaris is just a kernel; if I was running it I’d be running the same user-space applications that I do now, such as Firefox, KDE, etc.
In summary: Solaris is unlikely to become particularly popular among people now using Linux. And even if it does, it’s no big deal (and the fact that it’s not big deal — I can do the same things with Linux that I could with Solaris — is partly why Solaris won’t challenge Linux).
(Link from Slashdot)
trickii said
This artical starts with an emotional hypothasis and trys to justify it with heresay…time will tell but opensolaris is very much commercially oreintated but its brand is proof of concept which is a great pull for the potential business customer