Sun reconsiders Linux desktop

Sun started shipping a desktop for developers earlier this week with Solaris 10

Sun Microsystems has shifted the focus of its Java Desktop System (JDS) away from Linux.

The JDS was launched in 2003 as a complete suite of desktop applications, including a word processor and browser, bundled with the SuSE Linux operating system. Sun has now quietly replaced Linux with Solaris 10.

The vendor started shipping a desktop for developers earlier this week with Solaris 10 that comes preloaded with development tools, Star Office and other applications.

The system will not be available with Linux, Sun's chief open source officer Simon Phipps told vnunet.com. 

"End users will not see any difference," said Phipps, downplaying the change. But in the meantime he acknowledged that Sun had shifted engineers away from Linux projects to work on Solaris.

Sun will keep supporting JDS on Linux and allow customers to install the software on Linux systems.

The move shows that Linux on the desktop is not getting the traction that Sun and other vendors had been hoping for, according to Gary Hein, vice president and service director for application platform strategies at analyst firm Burton Group. 

"This is Sun's way of acknowledging that Linux on the desktop is probably not a strong business for anybody at this time," Hein told vnunet.com.

But Sun's moving away from Linux decreases the appeal for JDS, because there are fewer applications available for Solaris than there are for Linux.

"Solaris 10 is never going to be on par with what you see in the Linux world, " said Hein.