Oracle and SUN Archive

"In May or June next year Sun will ship desktop computers running Linux, the open source Mozilla web browser, email program Evolution and Sun's StarOffice application suite. The desktops, being created under "Project Mad Hatter", will also ship with the open source WINE emulator program, allowing them to run Windows applications, and Samba, providing access to networked file and print services." Read the article at ComputerWorld. On Tuesday, OSNews will publish an exclusive article with more information on Solaris, Linux and Sun's plans for the desktop. Stay tuned for more.

"With the last year or two of Linux press describing the financial woes of various Linux distributions, it's refreshing to see a new Linux distribution launched with some fanfare. "New" is something of a misnomer--the Xandros Desktop is a descendant of Corel Linux, but with a new purpose and sharper focus than ever before." Read the review at LinuxPlanet.

"Along comes Xandros 1.0. Xandros is the love child of Ming Poon, the founder of Corel Linux. Some of you may remember the old days when Corel Linux was one of the easier distributions to use, as it came bundled with Corel WordPerfect and some other niceties you just didn't see in the other distros. Ming Poon and Xandros pick up where Corel Linux left off, and 'kick it up to notches unknown' (thank you, Emeril). I should also point out that Xandros is based on the Debian Linux distribution, which is known as one of the most secure and stable distros around." Read the review at BeyondUnreal.

OSNews reader Pat Suwalski writes "I thought this might be original... Here is Xandros Desktop running Internet Explorer 5.0 that comes with MS Office 2000 , updating itself via windowsupdate.microsoft.com. Runs perfectly afterwards too!"

After what many took to be the software's death knell, Sun has put Solaris for Intel processors on a stronger footing. Sun Microsystems plans broader backing for a version of its Solaris operating system geared for Intel processors, the server maker plans to announce on Friday. They also announced an update to its application server software along with plans to offer a free version of the product.

"The "premier release" of Xandros, formerly known as Corel Linux, is being released today at the Xandros.com Web site. Individual users can pick up a copy for $99, and corporate/enterprise users will see a discount price for multiple licenses. I was lucky enough to get an advance copy of Xandros to play around with. This distribution is Linux through and through, but it could just be the Linux that will truly snag a market that is looking to escape from the confines of Windows." Here you can also find an interview with Ming Poon of Xandros. OSNews published the world exclusive preview of Xandros Desktop (Beta 3), just a month ago.

Sun on Tuesday released an incremental upgrade of its Solaris Unix operating system for the Sparc platform, improving memory management and quality of service and adding developer versions of it portal and Web servers. Solaris 9 9/02 features Memory Placement Optimization (MPO), which optimizes memory placement in large multiprocessor servers to take advantage of local memory and thereby improve performance, according to Sun.

McNealy, speaking at a technology conference sponsored by market research firm Gartner, attempted to explain Sun's position of supporting both the open-source Linux operating system and its own Solaris Unix operating system. He said Sun may have erred by pushing customers to adopt complex Sun systems built on Solaris and a 64-bit architecture, when more slimmed-down systems would suffice.

As executive vice VICE president of Sun's software group, Jonathan Schwartz heads the company's new unified software business and is leading the charge to promote the Linux open-source technology. Schwartz met with InfoWorld Test Center Director Steve Gillmor and Technical Director Tom Yager to discuss Sun's recently announced Linux desktop strategy and to explain how it's in the industry's best interests to develop an alternative to arch-rival Microsoft.

Sun Microsystems Inc. is adding another Linux piece to its overall product line, but don't confuse that with a strong endorsement for the open-source operating system. "We don't offer Linux computers; we offer solutions," said Scott McNealy, Sun's chairman, president and CEO, in an interview following the announcement of Sun's desktop initiative, Project Mad Hatter, at the Sun Network conference here last week. Read the article at eWeek.

These days, the big players in the Linux "purely-desktop market" are Lycoris, Lindows, ELX and the much awaited Xandros Desktop 1.0. OSNews got their hands to the latest version of Xandros (beta3b) and we are giving it a whirl. Read more for information and screenshots.

"Sun is expected to unveil a Frankenstein-like desktop Linux strategy this week, combining various software elements developed in-house or by open-source community projects and third-party vendors. Sun's desktop Linux play, which will be spelled out Wednesday at the start of its SunNetwork conference here, marks another shift for the Santa Clara, Calif., company as its battles industry leader Microsoft for the hearts and minds of corporate users." Read the rest of the article at InfoWorld.

So what exactly are Sun's plans? While precise details remain close to Sun's chest, it is clear that the company is planning to assemble a suite of both open source and proprietary software products with which to go head to head with Microsoft. Some of these, such as the MySQL open source database, Sendmail messaging software, Samba file and print software, Apache web server, Mozilla browser, and Gnome desktop, have already been discussed by Sun executives. Our Take: At LinuxWorld, I saw their default configuration of Gnome 2 on Solaris. It looked pretty bad, while their X server did not even support AA. I don't think they are going anywhere to "assault" Microsoft. They might "assault" some other Unix or even Linux vendors, but their game will stop there.

Sun Microsystems Inc is looking to expand its Intel Corp-compatible processor-based server line and is also drawing up a list of OEM partners for its Solaris x86 Unix operating system for Intel-compatible servers, indicating a new level of commitment to the reborn operating system, Matthew Aslett writes.