Sun and gains

As I watch Sun I am ever more impressed with how well J. Schwartz has lead that company. Making small incremental gains and establishing a strong base will allow the company to grow by leaps and bounds latter. Everyone always seems to badger him about the stock price. My opinion, who cares about the stock price? Sun will receive no further money from it now that it is in the secondary market. Stock entitles people to a piece of ownership and technically nothing more. Since the loss in court by SCO I think that Linux and the opensource community can now go forward at a much quicker pace . It seems that Sun wants to enter the arena with Solaris. I see fragmentation problems. Linux has so many distros now that it is mind boggling. I hope the smae doesn't happen to Solaris. Many distributions allows for lots of experimentation but becomes moot after a point because there are so many to sift through that you can't even find the bits and pieces that could make the one great distro of all time.

Linux and Mr. Softy a strange alliance?

Recently Linspire, Xandros and Novell have made agreements with Microsoft in regard to patent infringements. Some could argue that these Linux vendors have sold out and buckled much like SCO had hoped for in their suits against Autozone and Diamler. I would say that there is a distinct difference here. What these companies have done is forge a partnership that allowed them access to code and a symbiotic relationship where they can really benefit from learning how the software that runs on most of the worlds computers works and will allow them to offer it to a wider audience while simultaneously broadening their own exposure. One of the things that has held Linux back on the desktop is that there are many apps. people take for granted and expect that those apps will be available in any other O/S environment. This will put Linux light years ahead of Solaris unless Sun decides to pursue a similar route. While Solaris has many improvements from an operating standpoint it also lacks many of the same things Linux does. While the open source community will cry foul without a doubt lets mark this point in time and see which distributions enjoy the most growth over the next decade. I would put my money on Xandros or Linspire. Linspire has made a commitment to exclusive work on making desktop Linux easier to use and with the agreement now in place, has shielded its base from litigation. While I am somewhat dubious of Microsofts intent, I am glad to see them working to promote diversity and strengthen communications. Desktop Linux has essentially developed in about the third of the time it took Windows to develop. Of course it is easier to replicate what has been the norm than to innovate so some time differences should be expected. I think more people will try Linux and alot will quickly move straight back to Windows because it is a work in progress but it will have fewer and fewer people leaving it as it gets better over time.I think that Microsoft has seen that Linux will not go away, it will only gain share, especially overseas so the only way to get a piece of the emerging Linux software market is to start now by working with Linux vendors. Microsoft makes very little on the O/S in contrast to office applications so why focus on the O/S? A brilliant move. Work on software the masses can afford abroad regardless of the O/S and stymie the growth of inadequate open source apps before they have a chance to mature in the Linux environment. People will pursue something that is more refined and is genuinely supported before attempting to navigate the murky waters of open source which thus far has led to a large amount of fragmentation, duplicative efforts and poor cross distribution functionality. While this strange relationship will stain the open source community and fragment it even further to the fringes of isolation it will benefit Microsoft in the end as well as Linux. The penguin has not lost nor triumphed but has made a strategic yet loose alliance.

Sun and Intel

Not too sure about this one. Sure they have worked together for years but I feel that grabbing the marketshare by touting the Intel logo is not really in Sun's best interest. Do whats best for the consumer. Suns own chips are by far more efficient than Intels. Remember the release of the Gallaxy servers and the Niagra chip? Limiting power consumption was a key component in the design of those products and Sun was on to something big. It takes a lot of cooling to run a data center, big costs are involved. So why the jump to Intel before looking at AMD's quadcore chip? And what of these new non-silicon chips? Are there some serious prototypes to use or is it all hooyey? Now as I understand the new material chips will have significantly reduced power leakage and a small up tick in speed but compared to the boost of a quadcore? Will there be any comparison? Not to mention the fact that AMD may even leapfrog Intel and release the quadcore on the same material. Now a lot of naysayers will contend that while Moore's law does in fact hold true that things are getting faster and faster they may also say that the extra speed is not really even necessary. Well it is in the respect that quadcore should really be put onto video cards and soundcards at the same time as motherboards. Now that would be something really interesting if its even possible. Well thats it for today.

Novell and MS ? and other things.

Well the world is certainly gone into some strange territory. Linux continues to gain ground, especially on the desktop. I have seen some great distros as of late, however I simply haven't had the time to try them. On my list are the newest SuSe and Xandros. Mandriva keeps improving too. Linspire has opened up its code in a move that I see as absolute genius. In other areas I see that Sun continues to gain share and I am becoming more interested in them. I wish they would really beef up StarOffice though. It could be a real contender if it had the statistics tools and so forth. As I write this Vista has finally made its way to at least the business arena where it already seems to be having trouble (big surprise there). This may have been Microsoft's folly in that it has really opened the door for Linux. I saw recently that both India and France are shunning MS. They are not banning it but simply have chosen to move in a more open source direction. I see lower lic fees in the next decade because share will slip if MS can't get it right this time. I looked at early previews of the next office suite, dull to say the least. I also tried downloading their accounting software (which failed, must have been from a MS server). When will they learn that it will take alot to compete with Intuit. Not that Intuit is great (because it sure is not in my opinion) but it is the standard so if you can't make as a good a product or better, you simply better not try. Tucker's auto was too ahead of its time and some of the very things he began we are seeing in todays cars. Only about 40 years of difference. Well that is all I have time for today. Look forward to that next Thunderbird release.

Sun, Apples and Novell oh my....

Well a lot has transpired in teh recent months. Microsoft embraces Mozilla, rumors abound that Sun could be an acqussition target for Apple and Novell releases some really good stuff. The world must be ending right? Well I don't see Sun as really being taken by Appple, 2 different cultures, 2 different visions. Apple should be the target of Sun if that one were to ever occur. Sun still leads in innovation as far as I can see. They release products that work unlike the Apple portable laptop/hotplates with Intel processors. What a stupid move on Apples part to go with a power hungry crappy chip just to be popular. If it weren't for the iPod Apple wouldn't even exist today. Novell has released som every interesting stuff in Suse Linux recently. How does that distro just keep gaining ground? It is a real contender to Redhat. I am pleased that Redhat has gone forward to make a live CD that way people can at least expereince it before moving to something better like Linspire, Xandros or Mandriva. Speaking of Mandriva they are becoming incresingly more renoun as well. Hearing more and more about them in Linux circles. Unbuntu (or however you spell it) seems to be losing traction as far as I can see. Hearing about it less an dits staunch attiude to be completely free of propritary code will crush any chance of it gaining popularity and delay release cycles enough that it will fade into non-existence. Sorry folks as great as open source is it still has to have some propritary umph t take on the Redmond behemoth. What is amazing is the differnce in the amount of time it has taken Linux and Windows to evolve. Linux has made inroads further and faster than Windows ever has in a much shorter amount of time. On a side note though without a full scale Java based applications assulat it will not make inroads against Windows. There still is a gap that exists because there is no great software that exists that is portable across multiple platforms. Intuit refuses to recognize the value of Linux and therefore ignores it. The accounting software and project managemetn software for Linux are simply pathetic. The OpenOffice,org suite is great for a general user and it works on many platforms but still lacks the advanced features of MS and therefore is still shunned. The reason a business will not leave the teat of Microsoft is simple, there are too many gaps still to get alla the daily tasks done without having to use valueable time to accomplish those tasks. Time is money is never more evident than it is in today's fast paced business world. If someone took the time to build great Java based apps that did anything and everything MS stuff does then they would make money from the Apple user, Solaris user, Linux user and Windows user as long as it was priced competative. When researching apps for Linux that were specifically written for Linux some were so cost prohibative it made no sense to use them. With Java the audience is bigger, more people to sell to, translates into cheaper prices to reach the break even point. (costs=revenues to non-business folk). We stand at the edge of what could be however no one will take the leap to achieve greatness.

Layoffs at Sun

Well Sun Microsystems has finally gone the way of the stock valuation courtesan. In an effort of "free up" cash they ahave gone and laid off duplicated roles and so forth. while they were very reclusive in their staemetns i imagine with that many layoffs amany that could have been re-deployed were simply cast out. Unfortunate as R&D is vital to Sun. By re-intoducing open source they have opened a floodgate of opportunity for participation however I have to disagree with the idea that Solaris should not splinter into factions like Linux. In a true free market innovation and survival depend on competition. Without it Solaris may never evolve to reach its full potential. While itr makes standardization a bit of a nightmare as it has in the Linux realm the fact remains that more options are better for feedback as to what consumers want and the availabilty of choices. If th eoption to change things is present th erest will follow. MSN is rummored to be looking at buying eBay. Gee, wonder why? One of Suns biggest customers. Wow what won't they spend money on to ensure dominace, Oh yes, improvements and new products! I almost forgot. IN aquiring eBay they could easily remove the servers and the Java based technology which would set Sun Microsystems back about a decade. Microsoft finally realizes its mistake. THey have pissed off the consumer by ignoring them and not producing anything of substance in decades. The time for desktop Linux has arrived and through collaboration and partnerships the end of Microsoft dominace is drawing near. Microsoft is running scared already. Without a decent hardware vendor they may as well dump everything they have into R&D to make a platform consumers will have to obey rather than hope they don't reformat to Linux or try Solaris only to realize how much they overpaid in teh past and how much they had missed. Linspires move to openource CNR is huge news. If every Linux starts to do that then they can focus more on the OS and worry less about people not having apps to run or having it be too dificult to install things and give Linux a real chance.

Changes in the wind?

Recently I saw that Microsoft is going to be working with SAP to improve communication between SAP and Office. This should have been done long ago. As for the open source community I have not seen anything similar (although it may exist) for linking OpenOffice.org and any ERP type software. Shame on us for not fully developing such a thing (although it may exist, I haven't heard of it so it may as well not be in existence) I also see that once again Microsoft has tried to trounce Firefox although from what I have seen of the new IE it still comes up short. Firefox is perfectly good as it is so theres no reason to give MS a second look. As for Linux, what about Freespire from Linspire? I read one critical article that takes the idea of open source to the extreme. While it would be nice to have a totally open platform it wont happen any time soon and Linspire is geared at the novice user migrating away from Windows. I think that this will give what is already a great distro some more leverage and may even make some Linux users take notice. There seems to be a strong push from Novel as well, I knew this company was destined for greatness years ago but no one listened then. I saw just how much they are focusing on business which will be the Linux winning formula. Most people will use what they use at work at home. Most people use the computer at work more than at home anyway so why not make it the same? People in reality are much lazier than software companies give them credit for. Learning another OS is the last thing people have on their mind and what if they want to tele-commute? Have to have what the office has right? Actually they don't for the most part thanks to ajax.Write.com and OpenOffice.org but anyway people don't know about those yet so they continue in the doldrums of techno Mesopotamia while the open source world and the informed move ahead.