The Backstory on Time-Share Computing

In chapter 4 of my Perl::PDQ book, "Linux Load Average—Take a Load Off" and Appendix B "A Short History of Buffers," I briefly refer to the history of Unix and ultimately Linux via Multics, starting with the original MIT project called CTSS (Compatible Time-sharing System). My purpose there was to point out that the load average metric is the earliest example of O/S performance instrumentation. Naturally then, the following 5-part series in the NYT on the development of time-share computers caught my attention:

• Part one
  
• Part two
  
• Part three
  
• Part four
  
• Part five
  

These accounts are noteworthy because they are written by the brother of one of the developers (of early email—depending on how you define email) and the author is a journalist, so he interviewed some of the personalities (who are now getting on a bit).

There are also lots of fascinating photos.

Is SCO Waiting for Godot?

Bankruptcy Judge Kevin Gross remarked in his recent ruling that ongoing SCO Group litigation attempts were like a bad version of Samuel Beckett's play, Waiting for Godot. The almost decade-long legal saga gained publicity in the FOSS community for targeting Linux as illegally containing licensed AT&T UNIX System V source code.

Oracle Buys Sun Microsystems (Really!?)

I just read it (7am) and ... I'm speechless.

Thinks ....

• Larry doesn't do hardware.
  
• Decimation à la PeopleSoft?
  
• Oracle still runs on IBM, and HP, et al.
  
• Wherefore MySQL? Just a cheap shoehorn for the Oracle RDBMS?
  
• Solaris (vs. Linux, which Oracle Corp has been pushing)? Ah! SMP scalability
  
• And Java? (that made sense for IBM but...) Ah ha! Larry also owns Weblogic!
  
• Can't think... Need coffee ...
  
• Wait! What about OpenOffice? Oh oh!
  

Post café noir, this EETimes article seems to hit the salient points (modulo my JVM/Weblogic/J2EE observation). Update (April 24): The Oracle @cringely weighs in on the Sunset. [ He needs to read my blog. :) But he does have the IBM memo ]

Solaris to Shine on the Mainframe (Say what!?)

Quite apart from the surprise over what passes for physics these days, PhysOrg.com recently reported on a surprise deal that will enable Sun's Solaris operating system to run on IBM servers.

Initially, the agreement will involve only IBM's (AIX) mid-range servers, which can also run the Windows and Linux operating systems, but eventually, so the report says, IBM hopes to bring Solaris to the mainframe. I assume this means it will run in a z/OS LPAR, like they do with Linux. If I take the view (and I do) that the mainframe is not a "dinosaur" but just another (excellent data processing) server on the network, one wonders where this leaves future Sun hardware platforms.

Add to this the growing emphasis by Sun to deploy Intel and AMD microprocessors for cost reasons and, as Jonathan Schwartz says, it "represents a tectonic shift in the market landscape." No kidding! I just wonder whether Schwartz will be riding the plate that stays on top or the plate that goes under.