Apparently all it takes is a little jab to get a Sun PM defensive.

He must have missed that the post was in the humour category. Ah well, that’s okay. I’d probably react the same way. Jim’s a smart guy who I’ve been reading for a while.

Here’s what he had to say:

Won’t make a big difference?

I wonder if Jeremy could name another company that has done what we are doing. I mean, we’re only open sourcing our core product — some 10 million lines of code (kernel and networking and some other stuff) — changing the development methodology, the license, and the entire business model, while simultaneously engaging with our installed base to build a community at the same time we are finishing the most significant update and release of the Solaris 10 platform in the company’s history. That’s all. So, just for kicks, name another company the size and complexity of Sun that has done this. I mean, if Jeremy is going to discount us so completely he surely has the data to back up such a claim, right? I’d just like to know the standard by which I’m being judged, that’s all. That’s fair, isn’t it?

Which standard you’re being judged? Don’t worry, you’re not. Anymore than Novell, Microsoft or Veritas were being judged in my post.

It’s all very tongue in cheek.

Seriously though? Open Sourcing Solaris is huge. In your own little echo chamber. In the same way that blogging is huge: for those who get blogging. Solaris will push Linux to get better. It’ll push IBM and Novell to do better. So in that sense it’ll make a difference, and in a few circles it’ll make a big difference.

But, no, I don’t see Solaris making a big difference in 2005. Though, I’d be quite happy to be proven wrong. So consider this a challenge Jim: make it make a big difference and I’ll actually install the OS and any other apps you want to give me to see just how good it is. Deal?