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SCO Says No Way To a GPL Solaris, Moves Trial Back

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the the-change-of-the-times dept.

penguino writes "Looks like it didn't take long for SCO to formally respond to claims by Sun that it will open source Solaris. According to SCO 'they [Sun] still have licence restrictions that would prevent them from contributing our licensed works wholesale to the GPL'. The company has also released a statement dated June 8 that 'SCO is making a motion to move the scheduled trial date to September 2005 and split IBM's counterclaims into a separate case'. Also quoted is AUUG president and FreeBSD developer Greg Lehey who recommends 'that the best thing for IBM to do would be to print out every single version as requested and send the resultant 20 tonnes or so of paper to SCO. That would keep them quiet for a while'."

12 of 429 comments (clear)

  1. Sun will Shine at the Big Blue by stecoop · · Score: 5, Interesting

    What version of Linux is IBM using now-a-days. Whichever it is, Sun should basically drop Solaris and focus developing Linux for sparks along the same lines as IBM is doing. I like Solaris machines, they're fast and reliable but I only see a future for Sun at IBM. Sun has Java technology that IBM could really use as a synergy for the core products. IBM with SUN would be a large player in the future of computing, but currently SUN standing alone will be like SGI and other once powerful computing companines.

    1. Re:Sun will Shine at the Big Blue by pegr · · Score: 5, Interesting

      Have you any clue as to how many years more advanced than Linux Solaris is at the high end?

      Agreed, but how much of that "high-end Solaris" is under SCO license restrictions? (None, or it would be in SCO's products.) While Sun may not be able to open source Solaris due to SCO license restrictions, as soon as a judge declares that IBM enhancements to AIX are not the property of SCO, Sun can roll whatever "high-end Solaris" code they have into Linux. This would have the added benefit of destroying whatever is left of SCO.

    2. Re:Sun will Shine at the Big Blue by turgid · · Score: 5, Informative
      Agreed, but how much of that "high-end Solaris" is under SCO license restrictions?

      Like you say, it is probably none. Plain System V is ancient, and there has been a lot of development at all the big vendors since those days. It's probably a safe bet that Sun owns all of these high-end features in Solaris, since they're not in any other UNIX.

      Sun can roll whatever "high-end Solaris" code they have into Linux.

      Why bother, when it's already in Solaris? People seem to assume that because various *nixes are similar on the outside that it must be fairly straight forward to grab code from one and put it in another. Code bases have diverged so much in the last 15 years, that this is not the case. The POSIX interface to the kernels may be similar enough, but what's going on inside is radically different. Don't forget that internally Linux is nothing like a Syatem V or derivative, so any serious porting takes a lot of effort. It's a whole very large and interesting subject in itself, and one I have barely scratched the surface of...

      --
      Stick Men
  2. Hmmm by liamo · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Hmmm. I wonder if Sun expected this response from SCO, allowing them to say "Well, we offered" without actually opening anything.

    1. Re:Hmmm by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Source available is not the same as open source.

  3. Re:Reverse by danormsby · · Score: 5, Funny
    So in summary...

    Sun goes up
    Sun goes down
    Sun goes up
    Sun goes down

    Just doing what the name calls for.

    --
    Omnis amans amens
  4. Incorrect Title by Omni-Cognate · · Score: 5, Informative

    SCO haven't moved the trial back. They've requested that the trial be moved back. The judge has taken it under advisement.

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    "The Milliard Gargantubrain? A mere abacus - mention it not."

  5. 20 tonnes of paper by cynicalmoose · · Score: 5, Informative

    That's exactly what SCO did to IBM, and IBM successfully got the court to agree that the stuff must be given electronically.

    You can't have the cake and eat it.

    You would, after all, only do that if you thought that your case was so weak that you couldn't give your opponent fair access.

    --
    Exercise your right not to vote. thinkoutside.org
  6. Addendum to the Lehey's recommendation by eXtro · · Score: 5, Funny

    Greg Lehey who recommends 'that the best thing for IBM to do would be to print out every single version as requested and send the resultant 20 tonnes or so of paper to SCO. That would keep them quiet for a while'."

    I would like to add that the 20 tonnes of paper be dropped without a parachute from a C130 Hercules onto SCO and Darl McBride.
    --

    Chris Kuivenhoven is a thief, beware

  7. or are they by not_a_product_id · · Score: 5, Informative

    and SCO is absolutely within its rights to tell Sun

    Slow down there friend. There's actually quite a lot of doubt (seeGroklaw) about whether or not SCO even has any rights over the Unix code. I believe that's the basis of their current legal tussle with Novell.
    --

    ---
    We spoke for about a half an hour. I don't recall a thing we said. - Colorblind James Experience

  8. Re:and.... by cgenman · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Sorry to be so negative, but I haven't had much of a reason to think that Sun is on "our side" when it comes to open source software.

    Right. Because Sun has never contributed any useful piece of code to be OPEN. OFFICErs at the company are gnome for their lack of contribution to any real groupzilla.

    Know your roots.

    --
    The ______ Agenda
  9. Print it on rolls by hussar · · Score: 5, Funny

    They should print the source code on rolls of paper about six inches wide and four in diameter. It'll make reusing the paper after the trial much easier...

    Hmmm...squeeze-ably soft source code!

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    Bureaucracy loves company.