Defining the Sun/Microsoft Deal

The Economist: Desperate Embrace

"To geeks everywhere, it was as momentous as, say, the Rabin-Arafat handshake once looked to normal people—even though the war to be ended was one of infantile barbs and legal wrangles, not human tragedies. Here, on April 2nd, was Scott McNealy, the chief executive of Sun Microsystems and a hero of Silicon Valley, jovially embracing, and swapping Detroit Red Wings hockey jerseys with, Steve Ballmer, the boss of Microsoft, the Redmond-based software giant that, in the Valley's popularity polls, runs neck-and-neck with the antichrist..."

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Yahoo!/TechWeb: Sun Exec Says Microsoft Deal Isn't Anti-Linux

"Sun's recent deal with Microsoft isn't an anti-Linux maneuver, but rather an effort to broaden 'interoperability and choice for our customers,' according to John Fowler, Sun's chief technology officer for software.

"'The agreement with Microsoft is about interoperability and choice for our customers, not about battling Linux or open source,' Fowler said Wednesday..."

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Related Stories:

• Fortune: Behind Microsoft’s Settlement with Sun? The Power of the Open-Source Movement(Apr 07, 2004)
• ZDNet UK: Sun 'Won't Abandon' Open-Source Lobby(Apr 07, 2004)
• internetnews.com: Developers Split on Sun, Microsoft Deal(Apr 06, 2004)
• Sun/Microsoft Détente Targeting IBM/Linux?(Apr 05, 2004)