Recommendation: no GPLv3 for Solaris

Recommendation: no GPLv3 for Solaris

Posted Feb 10, 2007 22:14 UTC (Sat) by Nelson (subscriber, #21712)
In reply to: Recommendation: no GPLv3 for Solaris by sandy_pond
Parent article: Recommendation: no GPLv3 for Solaris

I can't help but think that they just don't understand open source still.

Basically it comes down to press and FUD and they see the lack of support from any community as a FUD campaign.

I've contributed code to Linux, my name is on it, I wrote some stuff. I can use it regardless of how it ever morphs. There is no such promise with Solaris. I can contribute code, but there is nothing that prevents it from showing up in a product that is licensed such that I can't use it. Unless Sun wants to pay me, I won't be contributing unless they promise that my rights to use the code I produce will never be restricted. Very simple. Buy the code or give me rights, it's free but nothing is free.. That's not FUD, that's not press, that's just a fact, if you play ball with Linux you will never be cut off from your code.

In the grander scheme, they are still pissing in the ocean. Sure, they have some slick technologies and a very fine product but it just seems inevitable that Linux will steam roller over Solaris also at some point. They have to find a way to involve a community, part of that is by setting things free. If there is anything that you can learn from MS and Linux it's that the best technologies aren't always the best technologies, a big part of it is a bet on the future. Is there anything Solaris will be able to do that Linux or one of the BSDs won't match at some point? And then what's the time between now and then really worth? If they just went full on GPL the whole way they could change the game, they can leverage their support. Nobody does business with Sun for Sun's code anyways, it's all of the other aspects of the deal.

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