|
|
Article: The free range: idealists or realists? Some big guns are taking a shot at open-source product development.(Sun Microsystems product introduction)(company management)(product development)
- Article from:
- Mechanical Engineering-CIME
- Article date:
- March 1, 2006
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2006 American Society of Mechanical Engineers. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
|
Sometime around now, Sun Microsystems will release the designs of its latest microprocessor in the Sparc family, the Ultrasparc T1. A product of billions of dollars of R&D spending, it will be available to the public free of charge. It's probably one of the largest investments in engineered hardware that has been released as open source--that is, free to use, without licensing fees, as long as you play by the rules.
For Sun, the goal is to enhance the "development ecosystem"--that is, to get more programmers, consultants, clients, and engineers using its technology. Wide acceptance would increase the desirability of the platform as a standard for the future. ...