Submitted by “If you’re an OpenSolaris x86 user and are using a NVIDIA graphics card with NVIDIA’s binary Solaris drivers, you can now enjoy Compiz on your desktop. Erwann Chenede has produced packages of Compiz 0.5.0 for OpenSolaris x86. In fact, to ease the process he has even written an OpenSolaris install script for Compiz. More information (download links) is available from Erwann’s Sun Blog.”
I don’t use Solaris, but it’s nice to see cross-platform compatibility and portability in effect
Nice to see that now I can run compiz on my server! When will an OpenBSD port be available? </sarcasm>
Yeah, it’s not like Solaris has been used for years on high end UltraSPARC workstations for graphical and CPU intensive operations such as medical imaging, oil exploration, CAD and EDA…
</sarcasm>
(Yes I know that this will only work on the X86[-64] version)
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Nice to see that now I can run compiz on my server
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OpenSolaris is not for the servers only anymore. You can run it on your desktop as well.
> OpenSolaris is not for the servers only anymore. You can run it on your desktop as well.
Yeah, I tried. There are still problems with it. That is why I am so happy that Sun hired Ian Murdock and I hope they incorporate dpkg into their system to make management and configuration easier. Solaris needs to offer more flexibility for users, just like most Linux distros do. Now it is big, coherent environment, where it is hard to remove anything… and it is similar to Windows in this area. Personally, I prefer Linux’s flexibility.
I’m a linux guy too, but I really would like to see a unix variant become desktop ready and still have the tracks set by a single corporation. Not saying it would be better than linux, but it would be a good thing nonetheless.
And I don’t mean Mac OS X, as those are too expensive here in Brazil.
Unfortunately, from what I heard and read, OpenSolaris still has a long long way to go. Let’s see how it ends.
I just would love if Sun could come up with a great system with a nice standard UI and solid release based version of libraries, so developers would have a still target if they wanted to develop for an Open Unix Variant in Desktop.
Yes, I agree. I think that there should be more options to choose from. Linux has got flexibility and good hardware support. Solaris has got great company behind it. Maybe GNU/Solaris would be a solution? Solaris on top of Debian architecture, something like guys from opensolaris.org do, but directly from Sun. Dpkg, rpm or portage, or pkgsrc, or anything better than it is now. apt-get install solaris-kernel-XXX ;D
I don’t know if this is what you were talking about but, if you don’t know yet, you might want to take a look at Nexenta OS.
It is kind of an unofficial “Debian GNU/OpenSolaris”
I haven’t got the time to test and it probably wouldn’t run on my hardware, but I would like to give it a try.
Would be a great scenario… OpenSolaris, Gnu userland (with some nice tools from solaris, of course) and a Debian-like release schedule (a bit faster, perhaps) with long life releases for which the developers could aim.
It would be nice to have a selection of software built for, say, Nexenta XYZ, being distributed by their own developers, good support for third party developers and all that stuff that appeal to some but most Linux development ignores.
Nextena is a fantastic distro of opensolaris. I don’t know your hardware, but it worked on my 3 year old machine with no problems
Sorry but this is nonsense, the quality of Solaris/Opensolaris is because of the fact it’s a complete systeme. Kernel and userland together. This “kernel only” thinking is something suitable for this other childish wannabe-Unix out there.
Perhaps you’re right, although because of the WAY you expose your opinions I won’t mod you up again (even if I didn’t mod you down in the first place).
I can see the logic in your argument and I’ve seen how well it worked for FreeBSD guys.
Well, if that is the case, then I’d still love to see a Solaris variant, made by sun, using Sun’s tools (even better if they customized a few of the things we use in the Gnu World, like DBus and other stuff) to deliver such a system in a Desktop-ready sense.
I don’t really care about GNU userland, although some of the cmdline options of the Gnu stuff is great (at least compared to a few *BSD stuff, I have not much knowledge of Solaris, except for a workstation I used many years ago) … more “user friendly cli” if you allow me to say
I also don’t care about GPL, CDDL, BSDL, Proprietary-with-a-reasonable-price-and-not-attached-to-any-particular -hardware Whatever it is, if it is affordable and well managed I’d like and buy.
I just think it would be awesome to have a stable platform designed with some company’s needs in mind, to take advantage of that company’s Marketing division, R&D budget and the Power (even if it is not that big) to press a few vendors for more drivers supports or codecs or… you name it.
Long live Solaris, I hope you bring the fun of healthy competition back to the Open Source Desktop World.
BTW, slightly off-topic but, I am thinking in giving FreeBSD at my Desktop a new try. Can anyone talk about how does it compete with the things we’ve seen in Linux the last years (hal, dbus, udev, auto mounting usb devices on plug, hardware support for usual hardware (I don’t care about exotic hardware)) ? It is a great system and I’d love to have it running as my 3rd or 4th OS.
Me back to cave now
pkgsrc runs very well on Solaris; it has some little problems yet, but with some people of the community working on it, it could be a great package management infrastructure for Solaris.
As long as I know, pkgsrc is the main package management system on Belenix, an OpenSolaris distro.
What is hard to remove? I have never had any problems with pkgrm. And what is this flexibility you speak of that Linux has and Solaris doesn’t.
Exactly, the same goes for me. We have lots of customers running solaris systems that i maintain and i have never any problems and the stability is awesome. So far, by the systems i have worked with, only SGI irix is more stable.
Well you had better get unhappy because Ian being hired at Sun has absolutely nothing to do with Solaris. As far as “Linux’s flexibility.” That’s a lie. It depends on what distribution you’re using. Not only that, you make it sound like you can’t remove packages from a Solaris system and still have it work, which isn’t true at all. There are required ones yes, but not all of them are required (most them are not I would venture to say).
Also, adding dpkg wouldn’t do much for management and configuration. Solaris’ built in package manager is just as capable as dpkg. What you’re looking for is apt4pkg.
Nice one. Where do people get this stuff.
From http://www.opensolaris.org/jive/thread.jspa?messageID=102415⠁…
“I’m joining Sun as chief operating platforms officer, which basically means I’ll be in charge of Sun’s operating system strategy, spanning Solaris and Linux.”
From http://ianmurdock.com/2007/03/19/joining-sun/
“I’ll be advocating that Solaris needs to close the usability gap with Linux to be competitive; that while as I believe Solaris needs to change in some ways, I also believe deeply in the importance of backward compatibility; and that even with Solaris front and center, I’m pretty strongly of the opinion that Linux needs to play a clearer role in the platform strategy.”
So yeah, that makes you wrong.
No, it doesn’t. If you read statements from other Sun engineers, they have explicitly stated that his contributions are marketing, not technical.
Therefore, my statement stands in the given context, which was packaging mechanisms.
Ian has absolutely no say in what packaging mechanisms, etc. are used by Solaris.
Edited 2007-04-25 04:40
My understanding is that he was hired for usability, but the definition of usability can cover a vast array of issues; from working on JDS to helping Sun create an interface with the Linux and opensource community on how to use OpenSolaris and its APIs.
What Sun doesn’t need is yet another packagee, what they do need is for opensource developers to realise that Linux isn’t the cetnre of the universe, which would benefit *BSD as well, as well as bringing about some standards which will provide compatibility between Linux and OpenSolaris, atleast in terms of being able to ‘download and compile’ things without major breakage.
Yeah, it’s just that it’s not very good for it yet.
Call me when a decent package manager + servers, kde port, e17 port, oss support in all packages and the os itself are there.
Seems to be the sweetest server os out there thought (and probably as development desktop aswelll.)
Nexenta was concieved on the basis that the Linux kernel is total crap and that the SunOS kernel is superior from a technological standpoint.
But from what I’ve observed, Linux still manages to foster the most innovative features like KVM, new WiFi network stack, a new process schedular and have superior hardware support of any Unix and Unix-like OS.
Edited 2007-04-25 01:11
No, Nexenta was conceived on the basis that the Solaris userland is total crap and that the Linux (sic) userland is superior from a functionality standpoint.
But from what I’ve observed, Solaris still manages to foster the most innovative features like ZFS, DTrace, Zones, and has the superior interface stability of any free and open source OS.
…I like it. Bring it on Sun. The Linux community out-codes you guys in userspace, and they’ll out-code you in the kernel. But you insist on competing on technical merit and putting your work out in the open, and for that you’ve earned my respect. We’ve had Vi/Emacs back in the day, then KDE/GNOME, and now Linux/Solaris. The free software community thrives on these pairs of dueling camps, and I expect that the impending battle between Linux and Solaris on the desktop and server–involving many of the biggest players in the computer industry–will be a huge win for the community, regardless of whether you grok the Tux or use the Schwartz.
butters,
The world can do without another Unix war.
That would require another UNIX. Linux is NOT Unix, therefore, no UNIX war would exist if that is what you are implying.
Besides, like the Linux world can speak any better with well over three hundred distributions and rising…
Zones are not innovative. IBM had these sorts of features along with hardware virtualization on their mainframes eons ago.
While ZFS is by *far* the most technologically advanced filesystem on the planet, the concept of log structured filesystems is not new or innovative.
Nothing really compares to DTrace for any operating system on the planet, it is simply amazing and super innovative. Using a combination of what is possible with utrace and systemtap, Linux will have features for tracing userland[1] and kernelland[2] similar to DTrace.
You are right, competition makes all of the players work harder and only benefits us.
1 http://people.redhat.com/roland/utrace/2.6-current/0-intro.txt
2 http://sourceware.org/systemtap/
Zones are innovative. They provided functionality *first* in any consumer level operating system. Not only that, they were definitely first in any *free* system. Zones are also not identical in nature to what IBM has. Hardware virtualisation does not count.
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Nexenta was concieved on the basis that the Linux kernel is total crap …
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why do people like to make things up and use colorful words? To catch eyeballs or get voted up?
Nexenta believes in OpenSolaris kernel, but did anyone say Linux kernel is “total crap”?
Be glad that both camps are innovating, and you’ve got one more excellent choice in Open Source, that’s OpenSolaris, which brings unique innovations to the table, and shared by *BSD and OSX world.
>why do people like to make things up and use ?>colorful words? To catch eyeballs or get voted up?
Because thats exactly whats Nexenta is all about. GNU userland with a “better” kernel.
Yes they did say the Linux kernel is crap. Just ask the devs opinion of the Linux kernel on their forum or read the blog post about: “GNU deserves a better kernel.”
Stop spreading the lie that “Nexenta was concieved on the basis that the Linux kernel is total crap” – no matter how you spin it, it’s a lie!
Do Nexenta founders think OpenSolaris has an overall better kernel than Linux? You bet:
“It is a result of our inspiration and desire to build a great system based on the best existing software: SunOS kernel and GNU software.”
Do you have to agree with them? No.
Do they think (or based their project on) Linux kernel is “total crap”? No.
I ordered the Opensolaris DVD’s a month Ago http://get.opensolaris.org/ and absolutely no word on it. Makes me feel it was just a scam to get my email address and contact.
I was thinking the same one of these days, although I think that I ordered mine more than one month ago. I expected that packages shipped overseas would take some time to arrive so that's not big deal but come on!
In the meantime, I started to receive Sun newsletters on a nearly weekly basis on my e-mail. The only reason that I haven't cancelled my subscription yet is that the content is interesting indeed (if you forgive the excessive marketing yadda-yadda…)
Just after I posted that i am still waiting for my Opensolaris dvd’s, a hour later, someone rang bell and the postman had package for me… guess what , It was Opensolaris dvd pack shipped from chicago.. Talk about coincidence .
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/0903/kyroW2S/solaris_dvd_2.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/0903/kyroW2S/solaris_dvd_1.jpg
I am definately going to install it this weekend
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Hmm, how can I know you are not part of the scam. I’m still waiting for mine
did u not read my second post after that?
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/0903/kyroW2S/solaris_dvd_2.jpg
i got it after 1 hour when i posted i didnt get it..
Now I just wish afs can run on nevada, it will be a perfect desktop for me.