Re: The future of Solaris?

On Thu, Dec 11, 2008 at 6:00 AM, Liraz Siri <liraz(at)turnkeylinux(dot)org> wrote:
> Guy Rouillier wrote:
>> Liraz Siri wrote:
>>> Solaris is awesome (dtrace rocks!), but I still prefer Debian/Linux for
>>> the same reasons I prefer PostgreSQL over MySQL - its lack of dependence
>>> on any single company.
>>
>> OpenSolaris?
>>
> I think it takes more than a license to make a true community opensource
> project. You need significant buy-in from a large consortium of diverse
> interests. Sun dominates Solaris/OpenSolaris development and IMHO it is
> unlikely Solaris would survive as a viable long term option if Sun
> dropped support for it. Solaris has a single point of failure. Linux may
> still be behind Solaris in a few areas but I'll wager Linux will catch
> up and make Solaris completely, utterly obsolete in the not too distant
> future. Sun opened up Solaris too late. It has no future outside of tiny
> specialized niches and legacy installations.
> But thats just my opinion. I could be wrong.
> Cheers,
> Liraz

I understand and accept that this is just your opinion, but its sheer
dripping passion tends to highlight its lack objectivity!
"and make Solaris completely, utterly obsolete in the not too distant future".

For what it's worth ..
1. Solaris and Linux are both fine pieces of technology
2. In the most general sense, I suspect Solaris (in general) will
survive longer than your next Ubuntu instance, so you would be safe
using Solaris instead of Ubuntu.
3. Sun is struggling, but it is made up of profitable and unprofitable
areas. The Solaris and Server areas would seem to be relatively
profitable, so even if Sun as a whole failed, the profitable areas
would likely march on into the future.
4. As anyone with a little life experience could tell you, things
don't just disappear. That is true in computer or other areas of life.
Cobal aint going away. Baddies aint going away. Religion aint going
away. There are plenty of Solaris fan boys to keep Solaris going.
Even if all your friends tell you it is bad and as god as dead.
5. Ubutu is generally an excellent choice for a desktop, and Solaris
is generally an excellent choice as a server.

Did I tell you I currently use MS-Windows exclusively! Not because of
the technology, but just because all my customers do.

All the best
-Damian