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Sun: We screwed up on open source

Chris Duckett Builder AU

Published: 24 Jun 2008 10:41 BST

Many open-source developers remain sceptical as regards Sun, because their memories of the company focus on its interactions with the community in 2001-02.

Sun's chief open-source officer, Simon Phipps, now concedes that was a period in which Sun "screwed up".

Speaking in a recent interview with ZDNet.co.uk sister site Builder AU, Phipps explained the situation in which Sun finds itself: "Open-source developers have been much more sceptical of Sun; a lot of open-source developers don't remember the fact that Sun was pretty much the first open-source start-up, in 1982."

"All they can remember is what happened in 2001-02 when, to be quite frank with you, we screwed up. We alienated a large group of open-source developers by the attitudes we had of the community back then," said Phipps.

In order to remedy the alienation, Phipps said Sun is "leading by changing behaviour, rather than by just saying good words".

Most of Sun's software portfolio has shown the company's commitment to open source, and begun to heal the rift, said Phipps.

"We've open sourced Java... and people see that and they say: 'Wow... you must be serious,'" Phipps said.

"That has meant that a lot of open-source developers have been willing to take a second look at Sun and give us credit for open sourcing Solaris, Java, the application server GlassFish, NetBeans and the rest of the portfolio," he added.

Credit: Sun: We screwed up on open source from Builder AU

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Its the applications and device drivers that run on windows that cement its dominance. How many people would fork out hundreds of pounds for Vista if Linux ran all the software and kit they wanted to use.