IBM Derides OpenSolaris as Not-So-Open 168
MaverickFire writes "OpenSolaris isn't a true open-source project, but rather a "facade," because Sun Microsystems doesn't share control of it with outsiders, executives from rival IBM say.
"Sun holds it all behind the firewall. The community sees nothing," Dan Frye, the IBM vice president who runs the company's Linux Technology Center, said. Sun could do "simple things" to build a real OpenSolaris community if it were serious about doing so, Frye said. "They would push their design discussions out into the forums, so people can see what's going on," he suggested." I talked to one of the OpenSolaris developers at the project's LWCE booth in the "dot-org ghetto," and though it wasn't in response to this article, he pointed out that OpenSolaris takes contributions from all comers, has active public mailing lists, open IRC channels, and several online communities, so Frye's description seems at least overblown.
Re:Hypocrites... (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Hypocrites... (Score:4, Interesting)
As you said, consumers have been clammering for IBM to OSS OS/2. (Tick, Tock, Tick, Tock) We're still waiting.
What would be interesting to keep an eye on is if OpenAIX or OpenOS/2 show up anytime soon. If they do, it could be indicitive that this FUD is all part of IBM's plan to promote their own OSS projects. Another thing to consider if this happens, is if they would have been released without Sun taking action first?
Re:IBM is wrong (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Hypocrites... (Score:5, Interesting)
Between OpenOffice, OpenSolaris, and their work with GNOME, Sun has made plenty of solid contributions to OSS. Now they're supposedly opening the source for Java, which is the one thing everyone's been screaming about for the past five years and -- IMHO -- the only thing that keeps Sun relevant anymore.
I don't give a rat's ass about Sun, but they seem to be trying. Some douche from IBM doesn't need to be getting in their face because their OS code isn't open enough when IBM won't put AIX or OS/2 out there at all.
And the comment about there only being room for one open source OS is total bullshit. I hope his opinion doesn't represent the majority of IBM's staff.
Re:Hypocrites... (Score:5, Interesting)
Also IBM isn't such an offender, they've contributed a lot to the kernel, apache, and many many many oss projects; Which is something i personally value a lot more then opensourcing OS/2 forinstance
Re:The key paragraph (Score:4, Interesting)
Apparently you've never priced Sun and IBM hardware. Sun's bottom end x86 server is $745, or $945 for a dual core Opteron. They're lowest end SPARC is $3145. IBM's bottom end x86 server is $1129. They're lowest end p-series is $2995 for a PPC970, for an actual POWER5 system it's $3399 and then you have to license the software on top of that.
Claiming that Sun is selling overpriced hardware just indicates that you really aren't in touch with the market.
How about dual-licensing Lotus SmartSuite? (Score:1, Interesting)
-Lotus WordPro, which is easier for me to use, neater, cleaner, and more visually aesthetic.
Lotus Approach, which by light years ahead delivers what most sane end-users would need or want out of a user-friendly, non-programmer, WYSIWYG database front end that produces forms, worksheets, charts, limited crosstabs, and fairly nice detail tables on the forms. Even the reports can have charts embedded.
NONE of this is available in Kexi, Knoda (is that a db front end?), Base, or anything else.
Please, IBM, let us have a dual-license/Open Source Lotus SmartSuite that is free of the crippling licensing that has to date made it untenable to release SmartSuite. If CodeWeavers can get ms orifice to install, then please sponsor them to make SmartSuite work. Mine WON'T, yet. They need your help. ***I*** need your help. Please be NICE: play ball. Sun, with all its sponsorhip and pocket change is NOT helping SO/OOo deliver to people like myself a database like Approach. They've HAD enough time, and haven't deliver. Why not now take the initiative, IBM? Geeks/devs would approach this just out of the sheer challenge and coolness factor of SmartSuite.
PLEASE!!!! PLEASE????