From the ‘Conference Panel Shockers’ files:
BOSTON. Vendors and analysts alike tell me people aren’t worried about Linux litigation and that Solaris isn’t a concern for Linux vendors.
As it turns out, that’s not entirely accurate.
I was on a panel today at the Red Hat Summitt in Boston and we got a question about the risk of Linux, from a legal perspective.
Apparently it is still a (small) concern. I did the best I could to explain that SCO is now a zombie (they still exist, but does anyone take them seriously?) and of course every major enteprise Linux vendor provide indemnification. But still, simple truth is it was a concern and a question that led to some conversation.
No this isn’t a meeting I was in 10 years ago, this was today, in Boston in 2012.
Also, I made a comment at one point, that most people have likely moved off Solaris for co-location and web-tier type application hosting. Our moderator, IDC Analyst Al Gillen, then asked the audience if anyone was still using Solaris…remember this was an audience at RED HAT SUMMITT, and guess what?
At least 15 hands went up.
So, despite what others might tell you, apparently litigation and Solaris are still out there and they are Linux users (red hat conferencer goers) too.
Sean Michael Kerner is a senior editor at InternetNews.com, the news service of the IT Business Edge Network, the network for technology professionals Follow him on Twitter @TechJournalist.
