No More Free Solaris
Looks like Oracle understands that Sun's "make it up in volume" theory just wasn't working out:
Rebranded Oracle Solaris operating system, the UNIX OS will now be available for a 90 days trial version and then users have to pay to buy a licence. Earlier, under Sun, the OS was available for free but users had an option to buy support from Sun. This may seem OK for enterprise customers as cost of OS is miniscule compared to cost of services. Companies like Oracle generate extremely thick revenues through services and support.
I'm not sure what kind of future Solaris has in any event, free or otherwise. Linux mostly qualifies as "good enough", I think.
Comments
Re: No More Free Solaris
[Steven Fenger] March 31, 2010 15:19:59.562
OpenSolaris is still free.
Re: No More Free Solaris
[james Robertson] March 31, 2010 16:19:54.948
... but effectively dead, it sounds like
Re: No More Free Solaris
[Steven Fenger] March 31, 2010 16:53:50.148
No not really. Except for the license change info, the other quotes in the article are from just after the take-over closed. There has since been further announcements that OpenSoalris is not going away.
A note on the updated Solaris 10 license. One blogger noted that given the new wording, the 90 day trial version only applies if you register your name, etc, when you download a copy of the OS. If you don't register, you are not bound to the 90 trial period.