Announcements by Sun and Troll Tech
February 1st, 1999 by Marjorie Richardson in
On December 8, Sun Microsystems made two announcements of interest to the Linux community. One was the completion of the Linux port to the UltraSPARC architecture; the other was the new, more open licensing of Java.
When Sun joined Linux International back in May, it was with the expressed intention of joining the Linux community to do the UltraSPARC port. This has now become a reality. In addition, they have announced their intention to allow vendors to sell the UltraSPARC preloaded with Linux as well as Solaris.
Every machine sold preloaded with Linux is another win for Linux. An even bigger win is having yet one more of the “big guys” acknowledge that computers with Linux pre-installed are more attractive to potential buyers, especially those new to Linux. I for one am happy to see Sun following in the footsteps of Corel Computer and Cobalt Networks in making this decision.
The new, open licensing for Java has been speculated about for some time. Will Sun make it open? If so, when? Well, they did it with this announcement-another big win for the Open Source movement. Source code has always been free for non-commercial use and the binaries have been freely available for use in tools developed by others. Here's how it has become more open, according to the press release:
Allows commercial entities to use and modify the source code for commercial software product development without charge.
Allows innovation of the source code without requiring that innovation be returned to Sun.
Allows commercial entities to modify and share compatible source code with other commercial entities without charge and without mediation from Sun.
Allows licensees to package for resale Sun's Java platform class libraries with virtual machines from other licensees.
These are major changes, but not quite the GPL. Developers who actually incorporate the code into a commercial product will still be required to pay a fee to Sun. Still, it's a step in the right direction and others are sure to follow suit.
In a similar vein, Troll Tech announced in November that it plans to release version 2.0 of the Free Edition of the Qt graphical interface under an Open Source license. This will eliminate any worries and controversy regarding inclusion of the KDE desktop in commercial products.
Good news, indeed, to everyone who has wished for a user-friendly desktop for Linux. KDE has come a long way toward providing that option for those who are shy of the command line. (See “KDE: The Highway Ahead” by Kalle Dalheimer in this issue.)
Special Magazine Offer -- Free Gift with Subscription
Receive a free digital copy of Linux Journal's System Administration Special Edition as well as instant online access to current and past issues. CLICK HERE for offer
Linux Journal: delivering readers the advice and inspiration they need to get the most out of their Linux systems since 1994.
Delicious
Digg
StumbleUpon
Reddit
Facebook
Post to TwitterSubscribe now!
The Latest
Newsletter
Tech Tip Videos
Recently Popular
From the Magazine
December 2009, #188
If last month's Infrastrucuture issue was too "big" for you then try on this month's Embedded issue. Find out how to use Player for programming mobile robots, build a humidity controller for your root cellar, find out how to reduce the boot time of your embedded system, and if you're new to embedded systems find out the basics that go into one. You can also read about the Beagle Board, the Mesh Potato and a spate of other interestingly named items. And along with our regular columns don't miss our new monthly column: Economy Size Geek.
Post new comment