Close
  • Latest News
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
Read Down
Sign in
Close
Welcome!Log into your account
Forgot your password?
Read Down
Password recovery
Recover your password
Close
Search
Logo
Logo
  • Latest News
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
More
    Home Latest News
    • Servers

    JDS Could Be A Winner … If Sun Will Let It

    By
    Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols
    -
    December 9, 2003
    Share
    Facebook
    Twitter
    Linkedin

      Sun is doing well, extremely well, with its Java Desktop System. Who would have thought it? Sun, of all companies, is becoming a player not just on the desktop but also—thanks to its distribution deal with Wal-Mart—on the consumer desktop!

      Of course, JDS really doesnt have much to do with Java. Its really a combination of the Linux operating system, the Mozilla browser, the GNOME desktop and the StarOffice office suite. Thats well and good, but it does raise some questions: Why is Sun supporting SCOs lawsuit? And how can CEO Scott McNealy keep flip-flopping on Linux?

      /zimages/7/28571.gifCheck out eWEEK Labs review of Suns Java Desktop System.

      My answer: Sun has a multiple-personality disorder. One personality sees the company as a hardware vendor. From this viewpoint, everything rests on selling SPARC boxes, and Linux on Intel is SPARCs No. 1 enemy. This side of Sun hates Linux and doesnt have that much good to say about open source in general.

      This is all part of a broader pattern. In the past Sun, has often looked outside of SPARC for a business path, first with Intel x86 Solaris and later with its acquisition of Cobalt Linux-powered servers in a box. Eventually, though, Sun has always reverted to its SPARC roots.

      Theres another personality, though, that sees Sun becoming a Linux company. Thats the one behind JDS as well as the recent deal with Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) to build low-cost Sun Fire servers based on AMDs 64-bit Opteron chip. Clearly, this ones on top for now.

      Finally, theres a part of Sun that still wants to be an application server and software power. Here, Sun seems to have run out of steam. For example, a few weeks ago, Sun released Java 2 Enterprise Edition (J2EE 1.4). This was Big News (in capital letters) for Java developers, and in the past Sun would have made sure that we all knew it was Big News for everyone. Not this time. Sun is presenting J2EE 1.4 almost as an afterthought.

      In light of that thumbnail analysis, am I ready to say that Sun has finally seriously committed to Linux? Were Sun another company, I might, but I think that Sun—specifically, McNealy—really doesnt get Linux or open source.

      If JDS lives up to its promise and makes out like a gangbuster in the market, then hell live with it. If, JDS turns out to be a flash in a pan though, expect Suns SPARC personality to re-emerge.

      Sun, you see, needs to start making money sooner rather than later. McNealy put blamed a lot of Suns stock market woes on the dot com hangover. That was part of it-recall the Sun is the dot in dot com ad campaign?-but Suns troubles has just as much to do with Linux on Intel eating Unix on anything elses lunch and never being able to figure out a way to consistently turn Java into revenue.

      I also see trouble ahead with Sun and its partners with its JDS plans. Red Hat has dropped out of the desktop Linux market. SuSE, Suns other big Linux distributor, will soon belong to Novell-a rival. Looking ahead, I think that one way well know if Sun has finally decided to get serious about Linux is if they create its own Linux distribution.

      One way or the other, though, Sun needs to integrate its personality. Customers will only put up with a company that blows hot and cold from moment to moment on their core platforms for so long. JDS has given Sun an enormous and unexpected boost. If Sun wants to be taken seriously, it seriously needs to get its act together and take advantage of JDS.

      Discuss This in the eWEEK Forum

      eWEEK.com Linux & Open Source Center Editor Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols has been using and writing about Unix and Linux since the late 80s and thinks he may just have learned something about them along the way.

      Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols
      I'm editor-at-large for Ziff Davis Enterprise. That's a fancy title that means I write about whatever topic strikes my fancy or needs written about across the Ziff Davis Enterprise family of publications. You'll find most of my stories in Linux-Watch, DesktopLinux and eWEEK. Prior to becoming a technology journalist, I worked at NASA and the Department of Defense on numerous major technological projects.

      MOST POPULAR ARTICLES

      Big Data and Analytics

      Alteryx’s Suresh Vittal on the Democratization of...

      James Maguire - May 31, 2022 0
      I spoke with Suresh Vittal, Chief Product Officer at Alteryx, about the industry mega-shift toward making data analytics tools accessible to a company’s complete...
      Read more
      Cybersecurity

      Visa’s Michael Jabbara on Cybersecurity and Digital...

      James Maguire - May 17, 2022 0
      I spoke with Michael Jabbara, VP and Global Head of Fraud Services at Visa, about the cybersecurity technology used to ensure the safe transfer...
      Read more
      Applications

      Cisco’s Thimaya Subaiya on Customer Experience in...

      James Maguire - May 10, 2022 0
      I spoke with Thimaya Subaiya, SVP and GM of Global Customer Experience at Cisco, about the factors that create good customer experience – and...
      Read more
      Big Data and Analytics

      GoodData CEO Roman Stanek on Business Intelligence...

      James Maguire - May 4, 2022 0
      I spoke with Roman Stanek, CEO of GoodData, about business intelligence, data as a service, and the frustration that many executives have with data...
      Read more
      Cloud

      Yotascale CEO Asim Razzaq on Controlling Multicloud...

      James Maguire - May 5, 2022 0
      Asim Razzaq, CEO of Yotascale, provides guidance on understanding—and containing—the complex cost structure of multicloud computing. Among the topics we covered:  As you survey the...
      Read more
      Logo

      eWeek has the latest technology news and analysis, buying guides, and product reviews for IT professionals and technology buyers. The site’s focus is on innovative solutions and covering in-depth technical content. eWeek stays on the cutting edge of technology news and IT trends through interviews and expert analysis. Gain insight from top innovators and thought leaders in the fields of IT, business, enterprise software, startups, and more.

      Facebook
      Linkedin
      RSS
      Twitter
      Youtube

      Advertisers

      Advertise with TechnologyAdvice on eWeek and our other IT-focused platforms.

      Advertise with Us

      Menu

      • About eWeek
      • Subscribe to our Newsletter
      • Latest News

      Our Brands

      • Privacy Policy
      • Terms
      • About
      • Contact
      • Advertise
      • Sitemap
      • California – Do Not Sell My Information

      Property of TechnologyAdvice.
      © 2022 TechnologyAdvice. All Rights Reserved

      Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the products that appear on this site are from companies from which TechnologyAdvice receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site including, for example, the order in which they appear. TechnologyAdvice does not include all companies or all types of products available in the marketplace.

      ×