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Solaris 9 Support On x86 - But With A Price
choka writes "According to this ZDNet UK article, Solaris 9 will return to x86 platform for $99 instead of being free. There will also be a $20 early access version for testing. Support and update will cost $75 per month. However there is no mention on the Solaris web site yet." There's more than just not being free -- originally, rumor had it that Sun was not going to be supporting, in a major way, Solaris 9 on x86 at all -- that decision has now been reversed. See our past article for information about the original decision.
I think I'm going to adopt Sun's policy on this one and start charging all my QA testers instead of paying them a salary.
Can someone remind me what Sun's business plan is again? Oh-yeah, it's selling hardware... No wait, it's software... No, maybe it's selling consulting. Who knows??? Do they even know?
I don't know what you are talking about. I only have a dual 3.7GHZ system with 2 gigs of RAM and it seems all right to me. It's not snappy, but I wouldn't call it slow.
If you had nuts on your chin, would they be chin nuts?
All this will do is make people buy SUN gear USED on EBay. SUN might think this will cause people to buy their overpriced new hardware, but there is a glut of nice used machines out there.
Bad move, JMO
We can all throw out our 32-bit DOS extenders now that Sun has graced us with an x86 UNIX.
Do I read this right? I can buy and run Solaris 9 for only 99 bucks? Is anyone doing this?
Is there a catch?
Support and update will cost $75 per month.
So if I purchase Solaris 9 and want to keep current as patches are released, I have to pay $75 a month? Or am I misunderstanding?
You would think Sun would give the x86 version away, i mean don't they make enough from the huge servers, the solaris for the sparc, and staroffice, to let this one just slide...So much for solaris 9 on one of my boxes
I am a little disappointed that Sun has decided to charge for the x86 version of Solaris, but I guess it's better than the alternative of not having one at all. Besides Solaris is quite the advanced operating system and I for one would rather pay $99 for a copy than pay the current price for that Redmond made OS.
Now the $25/month for updates, that worries me.
Signatures are for Nerds!
I thought the whole idea was to get people to try Solaris, and then if they like it to get them to 'upgrade' to Sun Hardware? (You know, the first hit is free...) Or is Sun going to actually support x86? I think it would be wish for Sun to get behind Hammer... Or I think it might just loss out to the lower cost x86-64 based hardware suppliers....
Actually, it isn't. The $99 for the initial cost is not bad, Windows and Mac OS X run for over that. The catcher is the support. Is the support for the testers or just in general? It seems to be ambigious. If its in general then it isn't too bad, that is if you know Solaris. Otherwise, its a bad idea.
It also seems that Solaris is coming to the x86 platform alittle late. Intel is moving away from the x86, and AMD also seems to be moving that way with the bridge with their x86-64.
The time may be wrong, and I don't think many mainstream users (non-Solaris know-how people) will attempt to start to learn it with this move.
Who knows, there may be some network admins that go and get it for their home pc.
both x86 versions and Sparc (I have an Ultra and I run x86 on a Dell Optiplex). Solaris is SLOW on x86 because of I/O. But as a server, it runs like a champ. The funny thing is, It takes a lONG time to get a usable system with Solaris. A default install is practically useless. It takes hours to install GNU tools, Apache and any other tools I need. I've been using Solaris for about a decade, and I STILL forget that you need to edit 2 files to change the IP. (/etc/ifconfig and /etc/nsswitch). I always thought that was dumb. I only remember that I screwed up when CDE no longer works. Oh well. I will not upgrade to x86_9 unless it has REAL benefits.
If you're not a Liberal in your 20's, then you have no heart.If you're still a Liberal in your 30's you have no brain.
Sorry, $75/month for updates, now I'm really worried.
Signatures are for Nerds!
Solaris has always been just another argument for buying sun servers - that you get support and free updates to the os when you buy the hardware. I mean, if you make your own/buy other unix-based x86 server, what's the point of later buying solaris for it? It won't offer anything more, then, say, linux. Now sun has made their x86 servers look more expensive - that you've got to pay for the updates + service too.
Solaris only makes a real difference on sparcs - and that's where they can charge for it, because if you already have a sparc server, then you are much more likely to pay money for a solaris update, then if you have an x86 server and the ability to switch to other OSes without losing performance or compatibility.
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This is the first port of a major OS to x86 in years really, yes?
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Not me sounds like another OS were I wont be able to get drivers for.
Why pay uberbucks for Solaris on x86 instead of using Slackware or OpenBSD for free? Its like when you continue to drive your 1988 Cutlass, which is in the shop for repairs every other week, when your brand new prowler sits in the garage gathering dust.
0xfeedface
Which begs the more obvious question:
Why pay uberbucks?
*sigh*
Calling the Sword of Truth uber is one thing, but uberbucks? Do you even know what you are saying?
Anyway, you would pay regular dollars (perhpas something else w/ exchange rate) for Solaris, as opposed to superdollars (worth more?).
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That what was all this school was for... to teach us how to solve our own problems. -- janeowit
I presume sun would have to reverse the decision to support Solaris 9 on x86, seeing as the LX 50 uses x86 hardware.
I used to work in the group at Sun that promoted Solaris on Intel. There is a core group of morons that is very good at dodging layoffs, signing large contracts that don't deliver revenue, and bitching to Scott McNealy that Solaris on Intel really isn't dead. This leads to all sorts of pathological decisions.
Solaris is an operating system, and a pretty good one. Solaris generally has oddly optimized drivers for large boxes that make it very useful for large sites. Also, Solaris is the vehicle for pushing Sun's special talent; networking more processors more effectively. Solaris on SPARC works well.
Solaris on Intel is the bastard child of an unresolved angst over controlling the client desktop. Sun has never figured out that it has a special weakness against making a decent client. Sun has never turned around to the niche market and embraced Apple clients, or PC clients, or anyone else. The wierd waffling on Solaris on Intel is a sickness from a lack of decision.
The problem will not go away until the group is fired. Deal with it.
But it still didn't work.
Solaris on x86 is like putting perfume on a pig. Any IPC/IPX will run circles in IO performace next to a pentiumII. Any modern sun system will absolutely spank any x86 hardware.
By the time you get done buying all the parts for your high end x86 solaris server with an adaptec 29160, 5 drive array, 2 gigs of ram, and a 2 gigahertz processor you could have bought a modern sun for the same price with half the ram and half the processor speed, but three times the memory and disk IO so it really evens out.
How will this make people buy used Sun gear?
Given the choice between buying an new x86 machine (or using one of the ones I already have) and running Solaris on it, or buying more expensive, used hardware with an old version of Solaris. I'll stick with the x86 option any day.
I think that it's far more likely that people will just move away from Sun and Solaris in favor of Linux or *BSD solutions.
Signatures are for Nerds!
I find your comments to be an overly complex stream of belted out opinions without much support. How about an application's compatibility with the kernel however that doesnt just go over to another OS. Also, does anyone know the strategy behind this move of sun's: whether its because they're phasing out of hardware development, or what? Who's able to read through the lines anyone?
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As soon as this story was posted, this discussion forum seemed to turn into a Solaris-bashing free-for-all, filled with a bunch of uninformed attacks on the performance of Solaris and a bunch of trolling about how Linux or BSD performs so much better. These are the same kind of people who complain about Microsoft spreading lies (FUD) about Linux, but these hypocrites have no problems doing the same regarding Solaris, because it doesn't fit into their open source ideology.
I have been a Linux user for years, and I love Linux for lots of reasons. But I make my living doing parallel/numerical computing research and I know from runnings lots and lots of performance studies that Solaris beats Linux handily in several situations. I have seen vastly better performance under Solaris (compared to Linux) with some of my codes because of better cache management, superior mmap() implementation, and better job scheduling in the presence of system memory shortages. Solaris isn't just a unix that is for people "too stupid" to use a free OS. There is a huge amount of manpower devoted to its development, and in many respects it is quite clever. For certain categories of codes, it outperforms Linux handily. I'm not saying that Solaris is better than Linux. I am saying that it is foolish and ignorant to bash the performance of Solaris simply because it is not open source.
The price of Windows, the applications of Unix. Why would I want to run it? If I want an x86 *NIX, my choice is *BSD. Now, if Solaris could run Windows apps, or even if it could run MacOS X apps it'd be more than worth it.
Paying for maintenance or "subscribing" sucks too. That's why I won't downgrade to XP. They are trying to move people towards the subscription model. I'm holding out for MacOS X for x86, or a *NIX that can run Windows apps. Running Windows apps a major release back (ie, Win2k apps now, WinXP apps by 2004) would be just fine. If the price is one-time $99, I'm sold.
Does anybody have what it takes to get Windows apps running in less than 2 years? Wine couldn't do it. I wager that a large company like AOL or IBM could do it if they made the commitment. They wouldn't become "the new Microsoft" but they would be like generic drug makers--not household names, but still a good business.
For all intensive purposes, "whom" is no longer a word. That begs the question, "who cares"?
Uh, never? WalMart mainly targets the general public. Solaris is mainly developed as a workstation and server OS for use by businesses and organizations. So unless the general public starts wanting to set up and configure their own workstation and server environments...
slashdot!=valid HTML
It's usually Linux eating up Solaris' market share, not the other way around.
The Raven
The Raven
This is... bizarre.
I don't know anyone who runs Solaris on a x86 because they like Solaris on an x86, but it's a very good platform for keeping current on your Sun sysadmin and netadmin skills or prepping for the cert exams.
And that, in turn, affects our employer's decision on which hardware to buy when they need honking big servers.
Microsoft, for all of its other faults, does understand that the developers and admins are key people to get in the loop. These programs can be a real pain if you're a small consulting firm, but if they think you're large enough to be throwing business their way you can get access to a lot of software so your familiarity with it may be a line item when the CIO decides which package to purchase.
So why is Sun pissing on the SCSAs and SCNAs? They don't need to worry about the people who are already using Solaris-on-Sparcs at work, they need to worry about the people who are using HP/UX or AIX or Linux or *BSD and might not remain current on what Solaris offers unless they have that low-cost box to play with.
For every complex problem there is an answer that is clear, simple, and wrong. -- H L Mencken
How about an application's compatibility with the kernel however that doesnt just go over to another OS
Umm... can you please show me an example of a server-oriented application that only works on solaris and doesn't have a substitute on other systems?
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Here's the Heliopod blurb *cough*shameless plug*cough* from Oct 4:
By the way, TechTarget.com posted an interview with Chris Baker, Sun's Product Manager for Solaris x86. They discuss quite a few aspects of the OS, including support, driver development, and pricing plans. If you run x86, it's probably worth checking out.-- null
This is a serious question!
What's the reason to run Solaris on x86 instead of Linux or Free/Open/Net BSD? From what I've heard it's slower and has much less support for hardware, besides the fact that it's so conservative that I often bang my head on the desk and install GNU stuff on all Solarisboxes we have at work..
The only reason I can think of is to learn it so one can put "Solaris" on the "list of things I know" when looking for a new job...
My other account has a 3-digit UID.
That's a beast of a system. By it not being "snappy" on that machine, yes, I'd call it "slow" in the world of real computers.
Duder, you're thick.
It was a joke.
not for solaris. But here's an example of a patch to the linux kernel for postgres.
Here
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>> Why pay uberbucks for Solaris on x86 instead of
:)
>> using Slackware or OpenBSD for free?
>Its like when you continue to drive your 1988
>Cutlass, which is in the shop for repairs every
>other week, when your brand new prowler sits in the
>garage gathering dust.
So, Slackware would be the Prowler, and Slowaris would be the Gutless?
We've finally converted all of our Solaris machines to Slackware. Slackware seriously outperforms Solaris on the same machines. I'm talking identical. We'd copy off the client data, and install Slackware.
Serious? Seriousness is well above my pay grade.
It is cheaper and it is Solaris.
l /) so I don't see any price advantage for Linux.
RH has a price of $149.95 (http://www.redhat.com/software/linux/professiona
On the other hand, Linux supports more hardware. But as Solaris kernel interface doesn't change THAT often, it is much easer to develop something kernel-level in Solaris.
There is a plenty of documention for various aspects of Solaris -- and Sun says they will port most of their software to Solaris x86.
How many guys do you know running slowaris on thier laptop? I can't think of anyone.
Remember back in the day when it was a right of passage just to get Linux on your laptop (with X)? We can now have those days again. Hardware support, who needs it. Real men write thier own device drivers. For $99 I can have bragging rights and show my domanance as the alpha geek. Oh yeah, I'm in.
I was only joking. I only wish I had a system like that. Truth be told, I have never used solaris on an x86. just on sparc hardware.
If you had nuts on your chin, would they be chin nuts?
With Solaris on the commercial side and FreeBSD on the free side, both technically superior and more stable and linux 2.0, 2.2, 2.4, 2.5, 3.whatever, linux distros spiraling down the path of no return into oblivion for setting back the state of computing by 10 years reinventing a wheel.
While I think your post provided lots of great insight. I do hope even you would admint that your final utterance could be worded better.
The project should be finished and the workers repositioned. Fire...sheesh.
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The point is not that people are actually running Solaris x86 on a high end server box. They're (me included) throwing it on one of the hundred or so old P3 500's you have in the back room(thanks to the dot.com layoffs) to add another service to an existing Sun environment. I run a small web development farm, consisting of 5 Sun Netra T1's and X1's. No big whoop. But you should hear the laughter from Up Above when I need to roll out, say, a Proxy server, and ask for $2000 + for another Netra. Why bother, when I have all those P3's gathering dust.
Sure, I could throw Linux on them, but keeping the same OS across the board was important.
I just got my Solaris 8 Admin I cert, and guess which platform I did the majority of my studying on? x86, right. No one cares if I kill test servers left and right. Hearing the screams from Up Above when I accidentally down the development Oracle DB (or Weblogic App server) for our $2 million dollar app is not cool. (Granted, I did have to come in on weekends to learn the OpenBoot PROM crap, but whatever.)
So the point, (from Sun's perspective?), of Solaris 9 x86 isn't that its going to be doing hard-core production work right next to your Sun 220R screamers. No, its that you: a) use it to get more familiar / get certified with the SPARC version, b) deploy it on cheap and already available machines, for low-end projects, and proof-of-concept projects.
not for solaris. But here's an example of a patch to the linux kernel for postgres.
Well, this only shows that all applications that are needed for a server can run on anything else just as well as on solaris - any kernel-issues are resolved with a patch. And besides the example you gave is about inter-architecture compatibility, not kernel-compatibility - the patch is for posgresql to work on ia64. We are talking bout x86 systems only. Perhaps I misunderstand your point...
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If they couldn't decide if they should even release it (Solaris 9) on x86 then what happens when Solaris 10 comes around? Are we sure that we are going to have the same type of upgrade path that most Linux Distros offer? I was running Solaris 8 on x86 until SUN said they would no longer support Solaris on x86, now should I jump back in and take a risk or stay with Redhat who I know will be around for quite some time to come?
if common sense was common, wouldn't everyone have it?
Even when it was "free" they charged $40 for the CD's and something like $75 for the CD's including docs and trialware.
It's worth $90 to me in order to keep my skills sharp on one of the top UNIX flavors.
I wish HP and IBM would provide a similar service.
A good one too... hahahhahahahahahahahahahahahahahhahahahahahahahaha hahahaahhaaha
I don't get why slashdot geeks are giving this the thumbs down. At the end of the day, it's one more choice for a hardened geek and as such can only be a good thing.
:>
In addition to the choice angle, Solaris on x86 is there for 3 key reasons:
1) A proportion of us that opposed its death would be quite happy to offer payment to continue its existance - there are a reasonable number of developers & admins with time and money already invested in Solaris on x86 for one reason or another.
2) There will be those who take Solaris on x86 as a chance to learn before they jump in to the world of Solaris on Sparc - For example, it may be better than investing in a Sparc just to pass your exams.
3) For those who want to push Solaris on Sparc, it may be an easy way to prove to management that Solaris does have the advantages, again without buying the Sparc kit - hell you could even sneak it in in just the same way BSD and Linux advocates do, under the radar.
Sure, Solaris on x86 isn't perfect and certainly doesn't perform as well as on the Sparc architecture but is this any great surprise - Sun are trying to hit a moving target when it comes to modern PC hardware - if you stick to whats supported you should be fine.
The other criticism is that you need to install additional tools, but isn't this the case with any OS. These days, Solaris is supplied with most of the key open source tools. Additionally, resources like Rutgers RPM archive + apt-get bootstrap kit along with SunFreeware make getting a Solaris box up easy.
As I see it, this news has 4 (i/c the aspect of choice) positive points and 0 negative. Having said that, the news is moot to me, I run Sparc
Tim Brown
I haven't used Solaris on Intel since the free binary licence for Solaris 7, which I found to be quite sluggish and in many ways different from Solaris implementations for Sparc.
One solution to ready (not to mention cheap) access to a Sun platform is to purchase some of the cheap Sun hardware which another poster pointed out is readily available at places like Ebay. For the cost of X86 Solaris 9 you could pick up an Ultra-5 and download Solaris 9 Sparc for free.
Personally I went for an Ultra-30 with 760Mb of ram and a 21" Sun badged Sony Trinitron monitor for £GB500.
Sun sells tin, I don't expect to be paying for Solaris any time soon.
I haven't heard "Slowlaris" since the mid nineties. I guess the System V vs. BSD debate is still going strong. Or, more likely, the poster just thinks the term has a nice ring to it.
/.'ers.
History of the term "Slowlaris" (according to me):
A long time ago there was a mobo named SUN, the Stanford University Networking board. Some folks took this tech and turned it into a product.
They needed an OS for their computer and, after losing their way initially, they eventually stopped upon unix, the Berkeley Standard Distribution (BSD). They used BSD as the base and created their OS, which they called, unimaginitivly enough, SunOS.
Time passed, Sun made more and more products, and eventually deciding on a multiprocessor architecture for their workstations. This decision ate up huge amounts of silicon and resulted in a dog of a machine called the sparc 10. The main problem was that there were no multithreaded applications for the multiprocessor hardware. That and the concentration on multiprocessor hardware meant that the cpus, on their own were pretty slow, AND, not to mention the fact that the cpus and mobos were so expensive, owing to the smp arch , that most clients could only afford 1 cpu.
Anyway, around this time Sun thought that, going forward they needed a better kernel to support all this smp shit, so they started on a new kernel, and, why stop there, a new layout to the entire OS.
About this time there was the BSD-SVR5 holy war going on. Most people probably don't realize that before MS, people actually used to argue about which unix was best.
So they renamed SunOS to Solaris 1 and then introduced a new SVR5 OS called Solaris 2. Nobody likes change and Solaris 2 didn't exactly make your sparc 10 run any faster, so most users kept on running SunOS (er. Soalris 1).
This is where the term "Slowlaris" came into vogue, the BSD'ers who didn't like the switch to system 5, talked up the fact that Solaris was sooo much slower than SunOS. Which was not entirely inaccurate, but the real issue was more likely the shitty software they were running on top of the OS.
And then NT and the MS marketing machine hit like an atom bomb and, if not for Sun and Gnu/Linux would probably have moved unix onto the os scrap heap with cpm, amiga, and all those other "speedy" os's loved by
Often time when I read Slashdot articles I get the impression that many of you think that any company that tries to sell software for money is bad. I just don't understand why you would make a big deal out of something not being free. The reason I use open source software isn't because its free.
Stop being such cheep bastards and start paying for software. It helps open source companies out. The more money in the open source companies the better.
I don't really care if you buy Solaris though. Its not open source.
July 8, 2002
Sue does strapon
When I was 20, I worked in a local office as an Admin Assistant. It was fairly mindless work but paid well and kept me in beer and underwear. I was single again, having just split up with my girlfriend of six months and was starting to look around for the next sexual entertainment in my life. The people I worked with were fairly OK, if a little boring. I was the youngest in the office by a couple of years but treated as an equal, which made a change. I worked for Debbie who was the secretary of the office manager, Sue. My job was to help her sort out the backlog of paper work left after her last assistant had walked out on the job. Debbie was in her mid-twenties with a gorgeous trim body but a dull character. Her main topics of conversation were her husband, their cats and the 'exotic' package holidays they treated themselves to every year. I soon found myself saying yes, no and lovely at appropriate moments and letting my mind drift.
After three weeks, I came in on Friday morning to find I was covering for Debbie for the day as she had rung in with a migraine. I got my head down and tried to do as much as I could. Sue turned up at 10am and called me into her office. She told me that I should not try to do everything and gave me some priorities. It was the first time I had spoken to her and found myself warming to her straight away. We struggled on, staying late into the evening, as everything seemed to be at crisis point. I began to realize why Debbie had a bloody headache.
At around 11pm Sue said we should call it a day and asked if I wanted to go for a drink. I pointed out that the pubs were all closing and it would mean going to a nightclub. Sue immediately suggested that I come back to her place for a drink as she only lived five minutes drive from the office. I took her up on the offer and we headed to her flat. An hour later, we were deep in conversation on her couch, a glass of wine in our hands. We had started off with small talk about what I was studying and what my plans for the future were. Talk turned to boyfriends and I decided that I would see how shockable Sue was by telling her that I was bisexual and my last boyfriend was a girl. She raised her eyebrows then smiled and told me that she had given up on men after two failed marriages and was a lesbian.
The atmosphere changed, as we looked at each other in a new light. Sue was in her mid-thirties, still trim but starting to soften slightly. She has long, dark brown hair that I had only ever seen tied up at that time, a round face with a hint of a double chin, dark brown eyes and full lips. She was taller than me at 5' 7" and her boobs were large and full. Her stomach was fairly trim but her hips were quite wide. Her legs were her best feature. Long and well shaped, they had been the first thing I had noticed when I was introduced to her as she was wearing a long wrap around skirt that had fallen off her legs as she sat down in front of me, giving me a glimpse of her stocking top.
We looked at each other for a moment, appraising each other. I broke the silence by asking if she was seeing anyone. She laughed and said she had several girlfriends who came and went at her beck and call. I assumed she was joking and laughed saying she was the first Mistress I had met. She looked me in the eye and said that she did not consider herself to be a Mistress as she wasn't into domination full time but went on to tell me about her roll playing games. I listened as she described how she liked to relieve the stress of work by getting her girlfriends to dress up as secretaries and come to the house as if it was a place of work. She would then punish or seduce them depending on her mood and the events of the previous week at work. She admitted that when she did this she often fantasized that it was Debbie or I being punished. I was a little shocked at the revelation and a little flattered too.
We talked about the kind of things she liked to do and how she had discovered herself after her last husband had left her for a younger woman. I was intrigued and finally asked if she would let me play one of her games since she had already included me in her mind. She thought for a moment and said that she would love to but I had to be discrete at work. I said I would tell the agency to find me another job if it made her feel more easily about the situation. I had built myself up for this... it was something new that I hadn't tried before and I wanted it so badly.
Finally, Sue agreed that she would trust me. I asked her how she wanted to play it and she said she was too tired to get into it now. We made a date for the following evening and I left. Sue quickly wrote out what she wanted me to wear and what my role would be when I got to her flat. I read the piece of paper five times in the taxi on the way home and had to masturbate twice before I could sleep.
The next day I busied myself around the house, interviewing a new lodger for the downstairs bedroom. My mind was not on what I was saying, especially as the girl who had come about the room was wearing a business suit having popped round from the estate agents where she worked. At 7pm, I was dressed in a short, pin stripe skirt, black tights, strappy heels and a silk blouse. I contemplated wearing some nice underwear but Sue's letter had warned me that I was to wear underwear that I would normally wear at the office. The drive round to Sue's didn't take long and before I knew it I was ringing her doorbell. I was Lucy the secretary and I had been summoned to the boss's office to discuss my future with the company.
Sue answered the door in a dark, tailored power suit. I followed her through the flat and into one of the bedrooms. The bedroom had been set up as an office, similar to Sue's office at work. A large desk had a computer on it and a leather swivel chair behind it. To the right of the door was a couple of filling cabinets. Sue took her jacket off and motioned me to sit on the chair in front of the desk. As I sat down, demurely pulling my short skirt down, crossing my ankles and putting my hands in my lap, Sue took her place opposite me.
'Lucy, You have worked here for three months and I must say that your work is very good. However, you're dress leaves a lot to be desired. The men in the office are not working as hard as they once did before they spend all day gazing at your legs and trying to look down your loose blouse.' she began.
I instinctively looked at my loose blouse and saw how much cleavage I was showing. I tried to cover my self up but Sue got to her feet and moved to the front of the desk.
'You might try to cover yourself up young lady but it's too late now. The damage has been done.' she snapped then continued in a more menacing tone, 'I also have reports that someone is rumored to be having an affair with our Sales Manager, Roger. The rumors speak of illicit sex in the photocopying room after working hours. The rumors have been linked with your name Lucy. What do you have to say for yourself?'
I looked into her eyes, saw a lustful gleam and decided I was going to play a defiant, cocky roll.
'Some might say that Roger is fucking a younger woman because a certain manager in our office is too frigid to allow herself a little pleasure' I answered back.
Sue looked shocked at my retort. Or acted shocked. She told me to get to my feet, which I grudgingly did. Sue walked to her desk and picked up a piece of paper.
'This is your employment contract. You signed this when you first started with us. It says that a senior manager is entitled to punish a junior member of staff if the junior member of staff breaks any of the company's rules. You have broken one of those rules... no fraternizing between members of staff on work premises.' she said in an official sounding voice, ' your punishment is to be spanked by a senior member of staff, the amount of strokes and method are defined in the company handbook. In your case, you may choose between 50 smacks with the hand, 20 strokes with a strap or 12 strokes with a cane. Which do you choose?'
I looked at her and wondered what to go for. Previous partners had smacked me in fun; I even got Vince to smack me harder and harder until I told him to stop to see how much I could take. I knew I had enjoyed being spanked and thought I could take a fairly hard smack without too much worry. The strap and cane were something different and unknown so I decided to leave them for another time.
'I'll take the 50 with the hand' I mumbled.
Sue said that was fine with her. She moved the chair I had been sitting on out of the way and told to bend over the desk. I moved over and leant over so that my upper body was on the desk with my bum stuck in the air. I was highly aware of how submissive the pose was and how horny I was getting. Sue stood to one side then pulled my skirt up.
'What are you doing?' I yelped
'The rules say that for a first offence the spanking must be made on underwear. A second offence will result in the punishment being administered to your bare bottom. Didn't you read the rules before you signed them? Well, it doesn't matter. You can't be punished for stupidity yet.'
She continued pulling at my skirt until it was pushed up to my waist. My bottom felt cold sticking out behind me even though my panties and tights covered it. Sue stood to one side of me and I braced myself. The first smack landing in the middle of my right cheek, stinging but not that painful. The second followed it on my left cheek, a little harder than before. A tingle started between my legs as Sue continued to spank my bottom, alternating between cheeks, always hitting the fleshy part of my buttocks. By the time she had done 25 strokes, I could feel a warm glow on my bum and between my legs.
I was dying to put my hand between my legs and touch myself but couldn't. Sue continued spanking me, her slaps getting harder until the last 10 when she really let go, five of the smacks landed on the tops of my thighs which hurt but sent a massive shudder through me. I shouted aloud as each landed.
When she had finished to tell me to stand up but to leave my skirt where it was. We were both breathing heavily but for different reasons. I stood looking at the floor as she stared at me. She walked to the desk and picked up the phone, pretending to dial a number. I heard her having a pretend conversation with someone else in the 'office', her responses getting more and more terse as she went on. I looked up and saw her looking at me with anger and a little contempt. I wondered what was going on at first then figured that the role-playing was far from over. I was glad about that because I had just started getting into it and, looking at Sue's flushed face, so had she. I admired her heavy tits as they moved up and down with her breathing. I figured she wasn't wearing anything more supportive than a camisole top and hoped to find out for myself later.
Sue put the phone down firmly and turned to look at me.
'I'm afraid we're not finished yet young lady. I have just been informed that not only did you have sex with Roger in the photocopying room; you were also seen having sex with one of our most important clients in the public toilets in reception. As this is your second offence the spanking will be on your bare bottom and this time you will receive another 50 smacks on with my hand and 6 lashes with the strap'
I swallowed hard and looked into her eyes. I could almost feel my wetness running down my legs. This was so hot and I so wanted to rip my clothes off and throw myself on Sue's mercy. I leaped on this and decided to role-play it.
'Isn't there anything I can do for you that will limit my punishment?' I asked, almost in a whisper.
'And what do you think I could want from a slut like you?' was my only answer.
'Please, I'll do anything you want. Anything. Those men just led me astray. I thought I was doing my best' I sniffed, pretending to cry.
'OK, I'm not the heartless bitch everyone thinks I am. I have to punish you, it's the company rules, but I can reduce your punishment if you do something for me. I will think of something to do while I finish the rest of your punishment. 25 smacks with my hand and 4 strokes with the strap'
Sue led me through the familiarity of her living room and into her bedroom. It was tastefully decorated and dominated by a large iron framed double bed that sat quite low to the ground. I briefly wondered how many women had been tied to it since she moved into the flat. Sue sat on the edge of the bed, her skirt riding up her legs a little.
'Come here Lucy.' She said, slightly more gently than before.
I stood to her right, my skirt still up around my waist and my pussy moist. My bum was still warm and I was almost weak with anticipation. Sue turned to me and pulled at my tights and knickers until they were down around my thighs. She briefly examined by blonde pubic hair then bent me over her knees, moving my position until she had my bum where she wanted it. All I could do was grip her lower legs or her low-heeled shoes. My legs dangled slightly behind me. My naked bum and pussy felt cold and exposed. I felt Sue's hands moving over my bottom, pulling and pushing the cheeks, then a hard smack on my right cheek. This was as hard as the last 10 I had received over my covered bum and stung. I yelped and asked her to be gentle. The next smack hurt as much as the first. Sue's left hand went to my back and pushed me down.
'Grip my legs Lucy' she ordered.
I wrapped my hands around her stocking calves, my hands automatically caressing them just before the third smack landed across my bum. My cunt felt like it was on fire and my bum was stinging like crazy. I gripped Sue's legs, feeling the nylon move under my fingers and tried to brace myself. The next seven slaps landed in quick succession and I cried out again. Sue rubbed my bum again, her fingers delving into my crevice, rubbing my anus then down over my pussy.
'So, you are a horny little slut then Lucy' she said then smacked each cheek and the tops of each thigh.
Again, I screamed and got the same thing again for my troubles. I had lost count. I didn't know how many more. The rest of my spanking was a blur of stinging pain and jittery feelings up and down my legs and spine. When Sue had finished, she caressed my bum until my breathing returned to a more normal pace. I realized that the sensations I had got from the punishment were very similar to an orgasm. I had been reading about piercing and endorphin rushes and realized that was what I must have experienced. Sue's fingers started between my legs and I naturally moved my legs apart for her.
'Oh no, no pleasure for you little slut. Not just yet' she laughed.
She made me stand up and bend over the end of the bed, telling me to grip the iron bedstead. She said she would try to make the strapping as easy as possible. I looked behind me to see Sue pulling her skirt off. She was wearing black stockings and a pair of ivory, silk French knickers. As I watched her, she removed her blouse to reveal a matching ivory, silk camisole top. She folded her blouse and placed it on a chair then picked up a leather strap from the floor. I braced myself, trying to judge when the blow was coming so I could move my bum forward but she was too good at anticipating my movements and all four lashes landed squarely on my arse. The strap stung a lot more than her hand but it was still a good hurt.
When she had finished, she told me to stand up. I stood before her, my sex on show for her eyes. She told me to take my skirt and blouse off, pull my knickers and tights back up. When I had done that she slowly walked over to me, walking around me while looking at my body, occasionally running her fingers over part of me. She reached for my bra strap when she was behind me and deftly unfastened it. I let it fall to the ground without moving. She moved around me so that she was facing me again and reached out for my right nipple. She pinched it hard between her thumb and forefinger, pulling me to her. I moaned and moved towards her. She continued moving backwards, pulling me with her by the tit and then letting me go when we reached the bed. She reached down and pulled her knickers down, then sat on the edge of the bed.
'Have you ever licked a woman's pussy Lucy?' she asked.
'No, never' I said, the note had said I was purely hetro.
Sue opened her legs to show me her pussy. Her dark pubic hair was thick above her sex but her clit and lips were shaved clean.
'Kneel before me Slut' she said, 'you are going to eat me and you are going to make me cum or you will be caned. Is that understood?'
I meekly replied that it was and knelt in front of her, moving between her legs until my mouth was hovering over her plump cunt. Sue pulled her legs up and rested them on my shoulder kicking her shoes off in the process. Her right leg bent around my head and pulled me into her sex. I began to lap at her, running my tongue over her wet lips and up to her clit. I soon figured out what she liked and went to work. Her right leg remained hooked around my neck; keeping me working at her while her stockinged left foot rubbed my shoulders and back. It took me around five minutes to make her cum; when she did she almost suffocated me with her pussy as her leg pulled me into her in spasm. I extracted myself and stood at the side of the bed looking down at her heaving body. She smiled up at me and said I had done very well and earned my reward.
She got off the bed and told to strip naked and lay on my stomach on the bed. I complied with her wishes, trying to look at her when I heard her rummage around in a drawer behind me.
'Lucy, look at me' she whispered softly.
She was naked except for her stockings and a seven-inch dildo strapped to her groin. Her big, soft tits were rising up and down with her excitement. Her nipples were rock solid.
'You may play with your clit while I fuck you little slut.' she said. I pushed my hand underneath my body until my fingers were around my clitoris.
She moved over me, sitting astride my thighs. The black cock resting between my buttocks, She lifted off me and pushed the dildo between my legs, impaling me on the black rubber and sliding it all the way into me in one push. I gasped as she immediately pulled out and slammed it back into me again. I could feel her tits swinging, her nipples brushing against my back. She continued fucking me like this for a minute then slowly changed her position so she was lying on top of me, her upper body weight resting on her elbows. I spread my legs behind me and felt her move her legs together inside mine. Her heavy breasts pushed into my back. She started fucking me slowly, kissing the back of my neck and my shoulders. I played with my clit and pushed back against her with my bum, trying to rub my legs against hers. She increased the tempo of her hip thrusts until she was slamming the dildo in and out of my pussy, her weight bearing down on me. I could hear her heavy breathing in my ear and started to match her breaths with mine. She started whispering in my ear, calling me a slut and a whore. Telling me how much she enjoyed fucking little office sluts with her black cock. I came, the orgasm building up slowly. She groaned in my ear and I felt her body convulse on top of me... It sounded like she had made herself cum with me.
I felt her weight lifting off me, her hands rubbing my back and bum. I slowly rolled around to look at her. She was undoing the dildo from her body. I watched as she pulled the strapping off then slowly pulled the second part of the dildo out of her body. The strapon was designed so that a fat round cock was inside the wearer and rubber nodules tormented the clit as the strapon was used to fuck someone. Sue collapsed next to me and we hugged each other, our hands gently caressing each other.
'Did you enjoy that little Slut' she asked.
I replied that I had and that I wouldn't be shagging anymore men. We kissed for the first time, our tongues finding each others then we moved under the bedclothes and slept.
The next morning I woke to find her standing at the end of the bed looking at me. She was dressed in jogging bottoms and a tee shirt. I could see from the way she was moving that she didn't have a bra on. I smiled at her and asked her if she was OK. She replied that she was but she was horny and was about to wake me for sex. I laughed and said that she didn't pull any punches. Sue climbed on the bed and said that she wanted me to do all the work as she had worked so hard the night before. She got on her knees and gripped the end of the bedstead. I moved behind her, running my hands over her legs and bum, then over her back to her hair. I pushed my hands inside her tee shirt; cupping her tits and feeling her nipples harden in my palms. I stood over her from behind and pulled her mouth to mine. We kissed for a minute or two, and then I dropped to my knees behind her.
'Are you staying in that position then?' I asked.
'Yes, I feel like being on my knees this morning' she replied, resting her head on her arms.
I reached for the waistband of her jogging bottoms and pulled them down off her bum. When they were down to her knees, I reached underneath her to feel her pussy. She was moist but not ready for penetration. I dropped down behind her, pulling her thighs as far apart as the jogging bottoms would allow then started to tongue her slit, running my tongue down between her labia to her clit then back as far as her anus, licking this gently then making another circuit of her sex. I continued doing this gently, teasing her for a couple of minutes, then gently inserted a finger into her cunt. She moaned with pleasure as I gently moved my finger inside her, playing with her clit with my other hand and running my tongue around her buttocks and over her arse hole. Slowly I pushed another finger in, then another and finally a fourth, spreading them out inside her, trying to stroke her in as many different places at once. My finger worked harder on her clit, my tongue slowly pushing it's way into her anus.
She shouted aloud as I folded my hand and pushed my fist into her fat cunt. I stopped playing with her clit and told her to pull her tee shirt off. She quickly did this and bent over for me again. I grabbed one of her tits and started pinching the nipple between my thumb and forefinger, moving my fist in and out of her.
'Where did you put the strap on Sue?' I asked her, a new idea forming in my mind.
'Second drawer down, over there', she replied, pointing to a chest of drawers in the corner.
I pulled my fist from her cunt, licking my fingers as I walked over to the chest of drawers. Sue watched me and smiled as I looked back at her to confirm the correct drawer. I opened it up and saw various sex toys. The leather strap that had stung my bum the night before, the strapon dildo, a double-ended dildo that was designed for simultaneous vaginal and anal penetration, plus assorted sizes and shapes of vibrators and dildos. I picked up the strapon; a long thin vibrator and some lube then closed the drawer.
Sue had removed her jogging bottoms and was lying on her stomach on the bed, watching me examine the toys. I was just stepping into the harness of the strapon when Sue said:
'Lucy please put your tights on first then put it on. I love the feeling against my skin as I'm fucked' she said dreamily.
I found my tights and pulled them on, making sure Sue watched me. I pulled a hole in the crutch so the dildo could go inside me. I pulled the harness on, pushing the fat, rubber cock inside myself. It was only five inches long but very thick and felt wonderful as I strapped it in place. As I walked across to the bed, I could feel the cock moving inside me, the rubber petals inside the harness rubbing my clit. Sue resumed her position on the bed, this time gripping the bottom of the frame. I grabbed a stocking from the chair as I passed and leant down to tie her wrists to the frame.
'Now you can't get away from me and I can have my wicked way with you' I said, slapping her arse with my hand.
I knelt behind her again and put my hand to her pussy. She was still dripping wet. I began to massage her cunt with one hand and her anus with the other, rubbing lubricating jelly deep inside her arsehole with a finger. Her cunt needed no lubrication. I moved behind her so that the dildo was pushing against her cunt, the end slid inside her easily. I stopped when the first inch was inside, teasing her with it.
'Lucy, fuck me. Please fuck me hard' she gasped.
I slapped at her buttocks telling her I would fuck her when I was ready. I switched the long thin vibrator on, feeling the intensity of it by pushing it against my nipples. The vibes made my nipples harden and I felt a familiar warm feeling in my groin. I slowly pushed the vibrating toy into Sue's arse, asking her if she liked having her arse penetrated. She moaned and thrashed around, trying to get the larger cock into her cunt but I held back, slapping at her arse if she got too frisky. Slowly the vibrator disappeared into her anus, smoothly running in until it was buried in her. I pulled it out so the tip was just resting on her puckered anus and pushed it all the way in again, pushing my hips forward and impaling her on the strapon cock. She screamed and I began slowly fucking her cunt, rubbing my nylon-clad thighs against the backs of her legs. She pushed her bum against me, fucking me back as I pushed into her. I was slowly fucking her cunt and slamming the vibrator in and out of her arse as fast as I could. The rubber petals on the harness were just in the right spot and I was really getting off.
My knees began to cramp so I pulled out of Sue, leaving the vibrator stuck in her arse, and stood above her. Squatting down over her, I reinserted the dildo and began to fuck her harder, again moving the vibrator in and out of her arse. She moaned, bucked and shouted aloud as the first orgasm hit her. I pulled the vibrator out of her arse and lay on her back, pushing my hands in front of her and squeezing her tits hard, occasionally slapping the sides so they wobbled underneath her. I slammed the rubber cock into her, pushing the inner cock hard into me and rubbing my clit with the harness. I was breathless by the time I came and Sue was almost hysterical. I slowed down, leaving the cock in her and kissed her shoulders and back. Slowly I pulled out of her and pulled the harness of me. I untied Sue and we lay in each other's arms, gently kissing each other. We thanked each other for a wonderful weekend and I left around 2pm with another of Sue's role-playing notes. This one dictated another meeting in a week's time. I could hardly wait.
Maybe 10 years ago your statement would have been true...
But go on e-bay and you will find a ton of old sun boxes, i've seen IPC's for 5 dollars, 5 fucking dollars for a system that was not engineered to be a "Genereal Purpose" box.
Here's a few links randomly grabbed from e-bay. (Note this is better stuff than IPX/IPC's..)
Sun
Ultra Enterprise 2 200 MHz 256 MB Server $61.00
Sun
Ultra Enterprise 2,1024MB,2x300MHz,9GB $405.00
Sun
Ultra 10 Workstation w/ 21in Monitor $575
Yeah, 10 years ago, I would have totally agreed with you. But today, sun hardware is easy to get, and why fuck yourself with hardware that isn't going to retain it's resale value or less than server class construction? Why even bother with desktop 3 layer process motherboards that needs heatsinks up the ass for overclocked, overworked IO glue chips when you could have something that was built right the first time for the same price?
You must buy a lotta crack with that Solaris cert you got, cause your reasoning makes me think you're crack smokin.
Great, I get a bunch of software packages on disc that are like six months old.
Why can't Sun just release a ports collection ala Free/OpenBSD?
And don't knock knowing Solaris resume-wise.
you should read everything on the internet as if it had "but I'm probably talking out of my ass" appended to it.
The interface configuration files are named /etc/hostname.interface (eg. /etc/hostname.eri0) and the interfaces are brought up by /etc/rcS.d/S30rootusr.sh.
-Damian
What goes "Hahahaahahahha... "?
Someone laughing his head off.
Solaris does not particularly target the desktop user any longer, and hasn't seriously for a long time. So bitching about Solaris being "clunky" in that kind of usage (which is what it appears you're talking about, ditching Solaris on the desktop), is ludicrous.
Tell that to Sun Marketing.
Solaris desktop isn't the only area where solaris is clunky. It is also clunky in a number of server configurations (e.g. database server, etc.) where Linux, FreeBSD, and others shine.
You may not like the fact that your favorite operating system isn't terribly well suited for a number of applications, applications for which it is often marketed by its seller, but that does little to change the fact that it remains less well suited than others, or that the areas where it does shine are areas that only a few specialized applications have any real use for.
You may also not like the fact that businesses and companies, including the one I work for, have found it in their strategic interest to deploy open and free(dom) operating systems and products wherever feasable, or that the turnaround on fixing problems is typically faster than Sun (who is BTW a great deal better than Microsoft in that respect), so much so that it, more than anything else, became a deciding factor when my bosses chose which direction to go, and which operating system to deploy.
Indeed, you may not much care for anything I've said on the subject (your rather trite post certainly seems to indicate that), and certainly Sun probably doesn't like to hear it (and when it has been brought up to their sales representatives, you could almost see their hands go over the ears and their lips begin to move in the "I can't hear you, I can't hear you" refrain), but that does absolutely nothing to negate the fact that, for the vast majority of common tasks to which computers are used in many, many corporate and small business settings, Solaris ins't nearly as well suited as other alternatives such as FreeBSD and Linux, nor does it negate the fact that Sun's unwillingness to listen to its customers on this subject has played no small role in their shrinking marketshare.
Of course, your contention that 2-cpu unix configurations isn't relevant to the discussion shows an immense ignornace of the hardware offerings Sun itself markets, many of which are precisely the clunky, slow, and ineffecient architecture you yourself dismiss in lauding their 64 and 128 cpu solutions, which the vast majority of us have no use for.
Finally, I recommend you look up the word 'attack', then look up the word 'criticize.' There is a difference that your idealogical adherance to Sun appears to have blinded you to, much as Sun's sales representatives have been blinded as they've watched their accounts dwindle toward zero. Hint: I was criticizing Solaris, and rightly so based on my not inconsiderable experience with the product (indeed, I work with it every day). Your interpretation of that as an attack says a great deal more about your bias than it does about mine.
The Future of Human Evolution: Autonomy
Security Patches have been available for free at sun's homepage, I hope this is still true.
;-)
However, I'd be even more interested in a Trusted Solaris 9 Release for x86. TS 8 was available for x86, at a price of about $ 2500,- (this is for a 2-way machine, there is no single-cpu license for TS; thanx god i've wasted my money for an smp machine, so i don't have to waste money for an 'oversized' license
IMHO, Trusted Solaris is the ultimate combination of scalability and security on x86 - at least I did not find anything comparable on the x86..
(ok, maybe except Solaris with Pitbull, which is pretty similar to Trusted Solaris anyway...)
Sun's 32-bit unix costs as much as 32-bit dos(winshit cripple edition) while my 64-bit unix (Debian/PPC) was free.
Actually, the above is innacurate. Let me rephrase:
M$'s 32-bit DOS costs as much 3 copies of Sun's 32-bit unix. Sun's unix has an inifinite lifespan whereas M$ will do everything in their power to force an upgrade upon you within 1-2 years.
So M$'s "solution" costs $300/2 or $150 a year while Sun's "dealy" costs $100/infinity or $1/infinity. Making Sun's "dealy" a lot better than M$'s "solution".
GNU's "Not UNIX (only respective to licensing)" costs $0. We all know that 0
Not to mention that 64-bit PeeCee(Linux/DOS/Solaris) hardware costs much more than 64-bit Mac(Linux/OSX) or 64-bit Sun(Linux/Solaris).
In all seriousness, continue to buy PeeCees with winshit installed so that Intel and M$ don't accuse me of being an "anti-capitalist" terrorist.
(I am in no way a "damn commie". I hate totalitarianism in all forms, whether by the government(true democracy), the people(communism/socialism), or the corporations(Earth).)
You can't judge a book by the way it wears its hair.
1. Good Solaris/HP admins can make serious $$$$. If you can add Veritas software and Oracle to that, it goes up substantially from there.
2. Solaris (SPARC version only, of course) will scale almost linearly when moved above 8-CPU's. It was designed to comfortably run on systems of 100 CPU's and above. If I remember right, x86 doesn't really scale well past 4 processors.
3. If it wasn't for linux, there'd be no way that I could've even touched Solaris. Without Solaris x86, there's no way I would have been able to learn it without going out and purchasing a sparc machine. I will help support the Sun x86 community in this and will purchase a production release copy for $99 when it comes out.
I use linux for just about everything I have at home (PA-Risc linux, familiar linux on my ipaq, yellow dog on my mac, linux for mips on my Playstation 2), but I also use Solaris x86 as my primary server at home.
If I didn't like it, I wouldn't complain - I just wouldn't buy it.
Ain't variety wonderful? It's all pretty much unix, people - can't we all just get along?
give credit where it's due, this is originally a microsoft policy.
Since when was solaris free for any type of production environment?
Sure, you could get a personal copy and play with it.. but that's useless to the business world.
You've almost gotta wonder if they sat around in some board room somewhere and said:
bonehead1:"What we really need todo is drive more unix users into the arms of linux!"
bonehead2:"I know, we'll charge an obsurd price for our x86 version of solaris!"
bonehead1:"Yeah! In fact we'll even charge for the crippled only one user can login, disables the ethernet after 24 hours beta to discourage people from even testing it!" (*note: I'm not sure that's true, it just sounds funny so I made it up...*)
bonehead2:"I am in awe of you!"
bonehead1:"What can I say, I am god.."
Yes Francis, the world has gone crazy.
As I said in my other post, We can buy PCs for CPU power that Blow away even new suns..
Secondly you could buy a brand new 2ghz machine that'll have IDE but still beat a dual ultra 2 machine for 425.00 (what the auction ended at)...
BTW, Ultra 10 has IDE pal, so no scsi defense on that one...
Also what happens if sun goes out of business tomorrow (yeah, small chance but still) Or they decide to stop supporting the equipment... (IPX's are no longer supported on solaris 8 even)
Also what happens if something breaks on it? Have to wait to go on ebay and buy a new part and wait for the auction to end...
And finally if you're a large coportation and worried that much about resale value you could always lease equipment, whether you lease PCs or Sun's it doesnt matter...
For the small time user, as long as you don't buy bleeding edge you don't loose much on your investment.. and I really don't think an Ultra 2 is bleeding edge either...
We still use ultra 2's where I work, but typically they aren't purchasing any new ones... Most of our farm equipment is all newer, faster stuff such as Blade 1000's and Sunfire 280R's
Also, Please stay away from the Sunblade 100's.. that was Sun's attempt to "save YOU money".. hah...
I simply meant that Solaris is a relatively dead OS. I don't understand why anyone would want to use x86 Solaris even if given away. There are so many other solutions available like linux or BSD for x86. Even the logic behind paying for Solaris on a Sparc platform escapes me. Again because there are so many other viable solutions such as Aurora linux. It runs great on my Ultra 1, and has better support from within the comunity than from SUN. Please tell me why this was considered "Offtopic" and "Flamebait."
0xfeedface
The $99 for Solaris x86 isn't new. Solaris 8 x86 was also $99; I know because I bought it to upgrade my Solaris 7 x86 box (which was free because Sun was trying to get everyone to develop in Java, so they set out boxes of Solaris 7 x86 and a bunch of software like Java IDEs). And there also wasn't _any_ people-support for this unless you paid for it, as is being advertised now for Solaris 9 x86. You got free support from the web site and support sites, but not phone tech support. (Updates are no doubt free for download.) So, doesn't look like anything is new now, unless the monthly support cost has changed.
Oh, and in case people are wondering why someone might want Solaris x86, the answer was very easy for me: it's a reference platform. If your socket code works on Solaris it's pretty much going to work anywhere else just fine. If you want the real sh in an environment that actually expects sh (instead of bash, for example) then you go with Solaris. This is extremely handy for writing OS independent sh scripts. I can't afford a SparcStation, but I can afford Solaris x86, and it means I can do Solaris development and testing (okay, not really low-level stuff that is endian-important) at home.
I have played with Solaris for some time now. First was when they had the free Solaris 7 x86 promotion back in 98. I payed some 19 dollars for my media kit and installed it on a Compaq Deskpro 4000. Years later I aquired a SPARCserver5, a Ultra 1 and tried it for real. With the Ultra 1 I was impressed how fast Solaris ran in 64 bit mode. Now I am in the process of getting a Ultra 80 and can't wait to try it on some real hardware. Since then, my preference for cheap comsumer grade x86 hardware has deminished greatly.
Be lucky that Sun has decided to bow to it's consumers and released a x86 port of Solaris 9. If all you are going to do is complain then go buy Sun hardware and do it right the first time... Besides, it stimulates the economy and dosen't contribute to the Microsoft tax.
"Mere mortals, I laugh at your 32 bit clunkers"
"I bow to no man" - Riddick
Hint: If you need it, xfree86 2d driver support runs exactly the same on solaris as it does on linux/bsd/xyz
I've been using Solaris for about a decade, and I STILL forget that you need to edit 2 files to change the IP. (/etc/ifconfig and /etc/nsswitch).
Err.... you mean one file (/etc/hosts), right?
You've been using Solaris for how long?
- A.P. (it's 2 files to change the system name...)
"Remember when the U.S. had a drug problem, and then we declared a War On Drugs, and now you can't buy drugs anymore?"
"...overly-broad (and therefor not so accurate)."
Therefore . Just a typo? Fair enough.
"Most people's exposure to solaris..."
"...from most people's perspective..."
Most peoples' (plural + possessive.)
"...particularly the 'hypocracy' bit."
"...it isn't hypocracy, it is practicality."
Hypocrisy.
"...there is a corrallary..."
Corollary.
"...many less people working on it..."
"...far less communal contributions."
Fewer. Less water; fewer people. Less sand, fewer communal contributions. If you can't count it (water), use "less;" if you can count it (people, communal contributions), use "fewer."
...it is equally ignorant to assume people who have worked with both..."
Correct: "...it is equally ignorant to assume that people who have worked with both..." You don't assume the people; you assume something about the people.
"...dislike Solaris solely out of philisophical grounds..."
Correct: "...dislike Solaris solely on philosophical grounds..." or "...for philosophical reasons..." The phrase "out of grounds" makes no sense unless you're trying to make coffee.
"...when the Operating System (and Sun) provide ample reasons to dislike it..."
Correct: "...the Operating System (and Sun) provides ample reasons..." The verb must agree with its antecedent, in this case "System," a singular noun: "the system provides."
These are just a few of the errors in your post; there are several more. In future, please proofread your posts; grammatical, typographical, spelling and punctuation errors serve only to make you seem illiterate, which in turn affects your credibility. The implication is that if you haven't spent the time considering your language, you probably haven't spent much time thinking through your argument, either, and are actually merely running off at the mouth.
How many of you actually payed a support contract for x86 ?
/. has turned into.
Not many did, this is why if the public really wants it they should pay for it. People cried and complained saying they would be willing to pay for it if Sun would release x86 Solaris 9 again. So SUN actually listened to its customer base and brought it back out and are charging a very reasonable fee ( so is MS, but you all complain about anybody that you actually give money to...even your parents for rent even though your 35 now ).
Bunch of freakin whiners is what
SUN hardware has much more bandwith than most x86 systems out their. Your not going to get an equivelant x86 system for less that 50 to 100k that has good bandwith.
I want you to hook at 2 GigE network pipes and 6 DLT8000 or LTO drives to an x86 box. I doubt you will be able to max out the drives, even though you should be able to. On a 480 or a v880 I can and still have room for processing and other jobs. X86 still don't have large scale apps down. Tandem does though.
Bitch-ass moderators.
OK normally I don't bite on stupidities committed by the editors, but...
originally, rumor had it that Sun was not going to be supporting, in a major way, Solaris 9 on x86 at all -- that decision has now been reversed.
First you say "rumor had it..." and then you say, "that decision has now been reversed."
There was no rumour involved here. Sun had press releases, and a FAQ about the damned thing! Then they changed their mind. That's not a bloody rumour.
OK, rant off.
"People who do stupid things with hazardous materials often die." -- Jim Davidson on alt.folklore.urban
OK, I'll rise to the bait...
First of all, consider Solaris in the generic (i.e. Sparc, x86 versions both).
Solaris is simply a better OS than Linux. Stability, reliability, scalability, and a track record that Linux can't yet touch. Solaris and Linux are both far more _advanced_ OSes than *BSD. Consider that FreeBSD isn't that much beyond SunOS 4.1. Given a choice, I'd use all three of them in different situations.
Now Solaris on Sparc? You have a hardware-specific OS running on...that hardware! There is nothing that runs on a Sparc as well as Solaris, if you count 'better' as meaning predictable, fast, managable, standardised, solid, reliable, non-tweaky, well established, and supported.
Finally, you don't have to pay for Solaris Sparc! When S8 was the current version, it was a free download and free to use on anything up to (and including) eight processor machines. Solaris 9 is now a free download, and free to use on single processor machines. (And in fact will work fine on any number of processors, but if you're in a production environment, don't count on support if you don't have it licensed).
And while community support is oftentimes invaluable, it's also unpredictable and unreliable. When you have a problem at 3:00am that HAS TO BE FIXED RIGHT NOW!!!, who would you rather turn to for help: The informal community of Aurora Linux hackers, or professional trained engineers, specialising in your particular combination of hardware and software?
"People who do stupid things with hazardous materials often die." -- Jim Davidson on alt.folklore.urban
Not only is Solaris a very kickass server OS, but the perceived problems you mention can be addressed by changing the time scheduling class of the process. There is a specific class of task scheduling designed for, say, sitting in front of the machine and doing interactive stuff. There's another for real-time scheduling, but I don't think anything uses that by default out of the box.
You cannot apply a technological solution to a sociological problem. (Edwards' Law)
The Blade 100 is a fine machine for what it is intended for, a light workstation. I am posting this from mine. Do you have experience with it or are you part of the FUD?
I sure didn't.
Sometime in the past few months, Sun had a form on its website offering a free copy of Solaris for x86. The form was featured on Slashdot and everywhere else on the net. I don't know anyone who ever got the media.
Yes, no fud here... We received them directly from sun and started a pilot program (I'm talking about 1 hundred (100+) SunBlade 100's.. the first revision had alot of problems with the motherboards and also the memory.. They would lock up at random times.. It got to the point where I HAD to enable logging by default because of all the lock ups... The EU's (in this cause CAD/Layout people) would be stuck with a down machine costing company alot of money..
I guess the newer revisions are better, but overall I can honestly say the 100's still lock up the most out of all of our Sun's in general..
Yes and I understand that the SunBlade were supposed to fill the light desktop void that Sun never filled.. And yes I understand it was supposed to be the cheaper solution.. but I think they initially cut a little too much out...
Patching and enabling logging helped, but overall I wouldn't recommend a Sunblade.. In this case I would buy an ultra 2 off of ebay.. heck, even a descent dual Ultra 60 would cost about the same and I would buy one of those over a SunBlade 100...
It was a minor nuisance to install the RAID driver for a Compaq DL-380, but once I found the Solaris drivers (yes, they existed!), it was just like installing on a sparc machine.
It was even easier to take a discarded workstation and turn it into a temporary DNS server. No real cross-platform issues - additional software came from sunfreeware or was compiled from source.
It was also funny seeing people trying to run i386 binaries on sparc servers or vice versa - you do need to make sure that you keep compiled code in a distinct place.
Unless I need to compile code, I generally don't notice the difference - which I would have if I had installed a BSD or Linux on them.
Evolution is as much a fact as the earth turning on its axis and going around
the sun. At one time this was called the Copernican theory; but, when
evidence for a theory becomes so overwhelming that no informed person can
doubt it, it is customary for scientists to call it a fact. That all present
life descended from earlier forms, over vast stretches of geologic time, is
as firmly established as Copernican cosmology. Biologists differ only with
respect to theories about how the process operates.
-- Martin Gardner, "Irving Kristol and the Facts of Life".
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