Re: How to save SUN. If you work for SUN, read my ideas!
From: Tim Smith (reply_in_group_at_mouse-potato.com)
Date: 04/30/04
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Date: Fri, 30 Apr 2004 04:53:56 GMT
In article <3d6111f1.0404291622.4cbb59f@posting.google.com>, Mike Cox wrote:
> I think I have a solution to SUN's problem in the market place. If SUN
> adopted the same position as IBM did with its AIX, SUN would turn around.
> Let me explain. First SUN should make a Linux affinity program with
> SOLARIS the same way IBM did with AIX 5L.
>
> Solaris should be completely compatibly with Linux, and the next versions
> should be branded as such. For example, Solaris_LX would be a good name
> (feel free to use it!). Make the default tools GNU and also have kernel
> developers start working on Linux putting SUN kernel expertise into it.
> Then be totally agnostic on which OS customers prefer to run. Make sure
> Linux runs on EVERY sun machine!
That would be about the stupidest possible thing that Sun could do. Sun
*IS* *NOT* IBM. What worked well for IBM would be incredibly bad for Sun.
Sun is primarly a hardware company. They want to support things that lead
to more sales of their hardware. They need to oppose things that make
hardware a commodity.
Linux makes hardware a commodity. Every time Linux acquires the ability to
do something well that previously was only on Solaris, or that was
significantly better on Solaris, Sun will *lose* hardware sales, as people
go with Linux on much cheaper x86 hardware.
Joel Spolsky explained this all quite well:
http://www.joelonsoftware.com/articles/StrategyLetterV.html
Basically, certain pairs of products are in a relationship where lowering
the price of one increases demand for the other. These are called
complementary products. For example, lowering the price of travel increases
demand for hotel rooms.
If you are selling a product, you want to commoditize its complements.
IBM is selling enterprise consulting. They want to commoditize enterprise
software. Hence, it makes a huge amount of sense for them to support Linux,
in the same way it would make sense for a hotel company to support something
that would lower travel prices.
Sun supporting Linux to the extent you suggest would be about as dumb as
developing an efficient, free, portable, write-once-run-anyware software
platform. Oops...no wonder Sun is in so much trouble! (Java commoditizes
hardware to an even bigger extent than Linux does).
-- --Tim Smith
- Previous message: Roedy Green: "Re: How to save SUN. If you work for SUN, read my ideas!"
- In reply to: Mike Cox: "How to save SUN. If you work for SUN, read my ideas!"
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