Sun has no fear of the Penguin

Sun Microsystems yesterday announced several Linux versions of its products at the LinuxWorld Expo in New York, but also took time to refute the recent Fear the Penguin report by investment bankers Goldman Sachs.

The bank's report predicted that Linux would become the dominant operating system on the higher-end servers of the enterprise data centre, where mission-critical functions are run and where most IT budget is spent.

"The idea that Linux obliterates Unix and leaves Windows unscathed is dead wrong," said Jonathan Schwartz, vice president of software at Sun. "It is not what I see in the marketplace and not what I know will be the long-term outcome."

According to Schwartz, Microsoft will be the key casuality in the uptake of Linux.

"Chief information officers are looking for cost reduction; that means moving to standards that must be programming standards and not just the operating system standards of Microsoft," he said.

Although Linux is tempting fellow Unix vendors to quit their Unix development it also means strong competition for Microsoft in the server and the desktop market, Schwartz maintained.

"What HP and IBM are doing is somehow abandoning Unix on the server while at the same time Linux is growing on the desktop," he said.

With the Linux desktop in mind, Sun announced a pact with Linux application developer Ximian, to deliver the Sun ONE Evolution Connector.

The connector enables email and calendaring information to be shared between users of Sun ONE on Linux or Solaris with those on Windows-based systems.

Sun also said that its Mad Hatter Linux desktop product will enter the beta phase this spring, and should be available in the summer.