Garrett D'Amore wrote: > > Linux is a kernel project (only). The other bits, are taken and > coalesced to make a distribution.
Where do you think is OpenSolaris different nowadays? Except that it has its own native libc (rather than glibc) and userland commands and its own tools (rather than binutils)? Everything else is drawn from other FOSS projects just exactly in the same way, leaving aside SMI's proprietary stuff in /opt (which does not actually belong to the OS). > Trying to cast the entire basis of > Ubuntu or RedHat as derived from a single Linux project is, IMO, not > really understanding how the Linux pieces fit together. There are > multiple projects, many of which have little to do with each other, > which make the various Linux distributions. > > > If Sun follows the example of Ubuntu and other Linux distros, we had no > problem. > > Let Sun just create their trademark from their OpenSolaris distro, but > don't > > let them call it "OpenSolaris" as no Linux distro is called "Linux". > > > > Again, Linux is *only* a kernel. Everything else is taken from other > FOSS projects. I'm not sure how familiar you are with the way in which the most important of those "different" FOSS projects are working together. There are leading core developers who do contribute beyond borders. Take Xorg for example, you will always find leading Linux-kernel developers on Xorg's devel list. It all is a big more or less coordinated family, not a bunch of isolated uncoordinated projects. Hence you can compare GNU/Linux very well to the broader www.opensolaris.org community. ###Differences: > Linux-kernel < kernel-part of OS/Net > glibc < Solaris's SVR4 libc > binutils < /usr/ccs ### Similarities: > gcc < gcc (or /opt/SUNWspro, which SMI itself has decided does not belong to the OS, in 1991 with 2.0) > Xorg < Xorg > gtk < gtk > qt < qt > FireFox <FireFox > Apache < Apache > bind < bind > bash < bash > gnome < gnome > kde < kde > glib < glib > libxine < libxine .... (Have a look at http://www.blastwave.org/packages.php for continuing this list of SIMILARITIES.) So, which list is longer, the list of diffs, or of similarities?? I just wonder. > I'm not sure there is much real merit in comparing Linux distributions > to OpenSolaris. Many are sure. > Btw, this whole debate over the name has, IMO, become rather tiresome. The lack of response has been tiresome, too. > I am doubtful that what has already been done is going to change -- the > community can register their displeasure, but once that is done, is > there any real point of the continuing debate? Apart from basically > alienating one group or another? Ditto. > Likewise the public flamage of either individual Sun employees or of Sun > as a corporate entity seems less than helpful. It certainly doesn't > make me (as a Sun employee) feel inclined to increase my participation > in OpenSolaris. If anything, the effect is rather the opposite. I want > to be a proponent of open development, and community involvement within > Sun (and my group in particular), but I will point out that the current > climate of anti-Sun sentiment makes it a lot harder for me to be an > effective proponent to the continued opening up of the activities of my > group. I suspect that others in the company are feeling the same way. Feel free to suggest a close-down of your (or other) group's activities to Jonathan Schwarz. Or better: Suggest it to chief financial officer and executive vice president of Corporate Resources for Sun Microsystems, Inc., Michael Lehman. I somewhat doubt that you will get much resonance from them. Because they seem to know better than you, how many million$$$the move to OSS saves them each and every financial quarter (from time to time monitor the news posted at http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=JAVA ) > (Right now, to be quite honest, some in this community sound like > spoiled children -- *This* does sound like flaming, like an attack. > they've been given a lot of great stuff, but when > they don't get their way on one particular issue, they lash out.) The things you may be referring to are entitled criticism under the terms of the valid constitution. It seems you have a slight misconception about who is giving away something, and who is the beneficiary. Listen: Developers, including myself, are working for you. You (SMI) have invited them to join. So we are working for you because you *have* invited us. We had been willing to join and to contribute, because you had been making promises to your community. It should actually be obvious that your community has at the minimum a moral right to learn, what has happened to those initial promises over time. Every window-cleaner will strike, if his employer does not entirely(!) fulfill their mutually negotiated, agreed and signed employment contract. All your volunteer contributors did enthusiastically agree to join forces via the www.opensolaris.org platform, to help, work, look for bugs, submit bug reports, contribute patches, contribute entire applications, drivers and so on. They did so to make this world a better place, for the pure sake of goodness. IMO they do have a right to learn how their contributions are used. Equally as well, as when somebody donates *lots* of money to some animal rights group. Are you suggesting that you don't agree? SMI came into a position where they could lay-off thousands of developers. Plus they do what they can to get the public image of a saint who is selflessly giving away free beer. This helps selling their commercial products. So I they benefit all over the place. > Can we please stop arguing, flaming, bashing, and get back to the > business of creating great software? I'm sure I'm not the only one who has been doing this all the time already. In the neighboring terminal window. > I'll go crawl back under my rock now. Let me know when the dust has > settled and it is safe to come back out in the open.... > > -- Garrett We are in the free world here. Or do you have a reason for being afraid of an open discussion? -- %martin
