First look: OpenSolaris 2008.05 a work in progress
The OpenSolaris project, which has been slowly gaining momentum over the past year, issued its first official release last week. Designed with an emphasis on usability and easy installation, OpenSolaris aims to provide a complete desktop platform for users and developers built on top of Sun's Solaris kernel. We have been testing OpenSolaris 2008.05 in order to see how it compares to modern Linux distributions like Ubuntu, Fedora, and OpenSUSE.
When the OpenSolaris concept first emerged, there was a lot of confusion about the scope and purpose of the project. This was initially a serious impediment that made it difficult for a community to grow organically around the technology. That changed when Sun brought in Ian Murdock to build a real platform strategy for OpenSolaris. He envisioned OpenSolaris as a cohesive desktop software stack that would enable users to download and install a complete environment that would be practical for regular use.
The OpenSolaris community has attempted to fulfill that vision by bringing together the OpenSolaris kernel and a multitude of open source software components that are commonly found in desktop Linux distributions.
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Aesthetic, proportional, gui display similar to ajax websites ?
OpenSolaris may need more artists to make the apperance better. Java programmers don't appreciate how eyecandy can be achieved.
Linux without the Freedom
Until Sun departs from the CDDL it's better not to leave Linux aside and poke Sun with a bargepole. You can't beat Linux with a half-Linux. Take OSolaris and ZFS into the GPL domain, Sun. Just like Java...
From:
http://www.groklaw.net/newsitems.php
"The CDDL can't hold a candle to the GPL as far as benefits to programmers or end users. Period. CEOs might love it, but programmers? Why would they? What's in it for them? Sun needs to make up its mind. Is it open source? ? I don't care if it chooses to be open, proprietary or mixed, but I can't see any reason why anyone would contribute code under the CDDL for free, unless you just get a thrill out of helping Sun make money from your unpaid labor, as I explained back in 2005. I continue to view the CDDL as a problem, in part due to the Sun-Microsoft agreement, which includes patent elements, and I remind you of what Dan Ravicher of PubPat.org said about CDDL back in 2005: "My advice is that developers should ask themselves if they really want to work on software distributed by a company that has expressly retained the right to sue them for patent infringement if they don't give their improvements back to the company."
On the other hand, a recent interview with Rich Green of Sun indicates that at some point Sun will switch the license to GPL.