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SCO's Other Investor: Sun Microsystems
Vicegrip writes "Apparently Sun not only bought extra licenses from SCO, but also obtained the option to buy a nice stake in the company: 'The pact, signed earlier this year, expanded the rights Sun acquired in 1994 to use Unix in its Solaris operating system. But there's more to the relationship: SCO also granted Sun a warrant to buy as many as 210,000 shares of SCO stock at $1.83 per share as part of the licensing deal, according to a regulatory document filed Tuesday.'" A reader points out Ransom Love's 2000 Linuxworld keynote speech.
Although Sun has broader rights than do other Unix licensees such as IBM and Hewlett-Packard, it doesn't have the right to release Unix source code or Sun modifications to it as open-source software, SCO spokesman Blake Stowell said.
... so *you* did, and, apparently well, you *did*. Therefore, you should just shut up now. M'kay?
Yeah...but...*flashback to Linuxworld 2000*
But clearly we are going to add components back to the Linux kernel on both IA-32 and IA-64 platforms. We'll work with Linus and everyone in order to make that available.
Thank you.
My journal has hot
I had a letter from Sun the other day trying to convince us to drop AIX and buy Solaris, on the assumption that we're 'concerned', and are scared we'd 'lose' our license to AIX....
Sun has been facing a dilemma for some time now. Originally a high-tier supplier, they're getting pushed down the chain. Once upon a time, they were an excellent choice for network infrastructure and servers. But now?
Even the largest companies who need big iron systems rarely go to Sun anymore. Google has shown that even using thousands of 'white boxes' works, and Apple, Microsoft, and even IBM have been muscling in on Sun's traditional market. The dot com days were great for Sun, but now they're left as a giant church without any congregation.
So Sun needs a way to exercise its muscle once again, and with its recent tie up with Oracle, it's starting to do this (albeit with help). If Sun can carve out a significant role in the SCO case, it could certainly cash in from the exposure, and any potential win for SCO.
Of course, I don't think SCO stands a chance, and that we're going to see traditional UNIX crash down around itself. Sun has always been a company that intrigues me in the amazing way it runs 'behind the scenes' (the 'Sun Library' is amazing! and their usability work is delightful).. but on the front end, they're sucking big time, IMHO, and I think they could be one of the next big technology fallers.
Um...
SCO price as of this moment: $11.16.
Warrant price: $1.86.
Current profit: $9.3/share x 210,000 shares = $1,953,000.
Obviously it depends on the specific terms of the trade, such as when they are allowed to actually purchase the shares, any limitations on selling, etc. Still, a couple million in profit doesn't sound bad to me, and probably doesn't sound bad to Sun either.
If Sun was smart, they'd buy then sell as quickly as possible. Who knows how long SCO can keep the FUD train rolling?
The enemies of Democracy are
1. SCO could be picked up by Sun, since the latter has a better image in the market. That could give a boost to the battered image of SCO.
2. More and more, there seems to be some Coke-Pepsi posturing, with MS and Windows pitted against Sun& Unix. Linux is too well entrenched for such a thing to work.
3. All the firms who've picked up a stake so far in the Unix code patent have been American firms. This could be the beginning of some polarisation, where all important IP is within the US. This could have serious repercussions for firms like Fujitsu, Siemens etc. who aren't based in the US.
The saving grace: Any number of firms (SCO, Sun etc.) haven't managed to achieve a small fraction of the success which Linux has done - on the Intel platform. It appears too late now for anyone to rollback on the spectacular progress made by Linux.
If Sun does indeed pick up stakes in SCO, they'd be hated more than Microsoft - if ever that would be possible.
If you keep throwing chairs, one day you'll break windows....
Yeah because that much money (210,000 shares * $2 share = $384,300) is really going to make or break Sun. Uh-huh.
... if SCO wins then their stock will go up though not near 1,000x what it is now ... and if they lose Sun doesn't have to buy the shares).
Look, even if shares of SCO went up by -one thousand times- their current value, Sun would only make $384,300,000. That is 2.3% of Sun's current market capitalization. As it is now, even if they buy and lose that money it is barely a dent in their quarterly operating budget.
Yes, I work for Sun. Yes, I think this stock deal is a tiny bit of a black mark in terms of supporting the Linux community (but not in a financial sense
But seriously, the math is simple and available to anyone looking at it. This should not be a big deal. If Sun has options to buy 12,900,000 more shares of SCOX (the total outstanding), -then- I would worry about Sun's intent here.
It is more productive to voice thoughtful opinions (reply) than to judge (moderate) others.
I'd really like to know how SCO continues to distribute the kernel source GPL and all, and claim that code isn't covered by the GPL.
Wow, I feel like any loyalty and good will I had toward Sun just went out the window!
I don't care if its for their shitty Intel version of Solaris, which just doesn't perform -- and doesn't have the widespread driver support -- the earlier post was correct : They could have obtained it from linux
After graduating I insisted on Sun hardware in the newco I started.
After this, I can assure you when our Enterprise Server dies, it will be replaced with an army of FreeBSD boxes (which we already run for other servers)
Good job sun -- you've soiled yourselves with the stink of the new pariah
The enemy of your enemy in this case was not your friend
I hope IBM buys your sorry assets out, because we're done with you
Old age and treachery almost always overcome youth and skill.
According to Sun, the revenue for the third quarter was 2.79 BILLION, and, as business have been tough lately, their net income was "only" 4 million. 2 million is a lot for you and me, but not for a company like Sun, as they would get in return the animosity of all open source developers. Remember: Sun was almost forced to become a partner of the Slashdot readers, and have adopted Gnome as their desktop enviroment.
I used to work for Sun. Loved the company, loved what they stood for, felt like I should have been paying them for the privilege of coming to work every day. Truly my dream job. I'm a major Linux bigot, but that didn't stop me from loving Solaris and loving Sun.
5 years later, the bloom pretty much faded from the rose. Sun made a lot of stupid decisions and strictly in my *opinion* started behaving unethically. They began to reap what they sowed, and the current sad state of affairs at SUNW is a reflection of their abandonment of core Sun ideals. I don't think it's wrong to use ethics as a measuring stick for your business decisions, but I seemed to be in the minority.
I think this SCO deal is a reflection of the 'new Sun' and an example of everything that is wrong with the company currently. I mourn the loss of the old Sun, and I mourn the impending death of a giant, for I truly believe that Sun is destined for failure if they continue along the current path.
I used to respect and admire Scott McNealy for his willingness to take a stand and fight for what he thought was right, but somehow along the way Sun leadership no longer does this... they instead hedge their bets, play both sides of the fence, and refuse to stick to their guns on anything when push comes to shove.
I was one of the many thousands of engineers who got laid off from Sun in the last few years. I did well while I was there, did everything that I thought was humanly possible to ensure Sun's success despite the odds, and I'm sorry to see them fall. I still truly believe that Sun has the potential to regain their dominance in both the market and mindshare, but unfortunately they got rid of all the people who had the intestinal fortitude to make a stand for what they believe in instead of what was politically expedient.
Sun hardware kicks ass, plain and simple. Solaris is a damned good OS, but no longer the far and away market leader that it used to be. Can it be again? Who knows... I believe that it could given the right attitude and resources but again, that's just a personal opinion. I think Sun could do extremely well partnered with the Linux community (like IBM is doing) instead of being an adversary to it.
Am I bitter? I'm not bitter about losing my job to economic forces, and I'm not angry towards Sun, nor do I wish them failure. I truly enjoyed working there and would work there again if I felt that they were willing to commit to what it takes to succeed. I'd work until my fingernails bled to help them achieve that, but I don't see them even acknowledging the issues and problems they face, let alone actively striving to correct them. I don't think that makes me bitter, only honest.
I only hope that Sun some day wakes up, yanks back on the control yoke and comes out of their tailspin before it's too late. Things like this SCO business aren't helping them at all and they are too shortsighted and stubborn to admit it.
-- Gary F. (who refuses to post as an AC)