Last week, I've been invited by Sun Luxembourg to a presentation of their so called "Java Destop System", who actually is a new Linux distribution, based on Suse Linux but with some integrated tools from Sun, such as StarOffice. Sun strongly commits to Linux trend and guarantees support and upgrades to this new distro, and this can help convincing small to large businesses that Linux is now a reality and that major names are behind it: IBM, Oracle, HP-Compaq, SAP, ... and now even Sun.

The "plus" compared with other distros is that this is supported by a major company, and that enterprise network management tools allowing automatic tuning, re-installation, remote management, and so on is planned to be available soon on both Solaris and Linux. We all know the needs of a corporate IT team, we all know that Linux is easiest to maintain and tune even remotely than other closed solutions, but a tool provided by such a company is promising and is certainly a good new for the Linux community (even if I'm not sure it will be provided under FOSS compliant licences).

I'm in close contact with Sun's people, so if you have questions or remarks, please let me know. I will forward it.

Here is the public information:

Sun to launch a Sun Linux distribution.

Sun Java Desktop System
http://wwws.sun.com/software/javadesktopsystem/

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Join the Desktop Revolution !

With the Sun Java Desktop System, Sun has delivered the first viable Microsoft Windows alternative. The Java Desktop System is a more affordable, secure desktop that is designed to thrive in a Windows-centric world. It's also the only environment with fully integrated Java technology, making this "out-of-the-box" desktop ready to run thousands of Java technology-based applications with a consistent look and feel.

The Java Desktop System is a comprehensive, secure, highly-affordable enterprise desktop solution that consists of a fully integrated client environment based on open source components and industry standards, including a GNOME desktop environment, StarOffice Office Productivity Suite, Mozilla browser, Evolution mail and calendar, Java 2 Platform, Standard Edition (J2SE platform) and a Linux operating system

Business Benefits

Lower business costs: Savings of 80% over Microsoft Windows/ Office XP upgrade (90% less than full versions).
Reduced complexity: Fully integrated system in a single package means less downtime and easier installation, management, and use.
Better security: Linux/UNIX strict security system root access control prevents viruses from modifying files. Java sandbox security infrastructure prevents viruses from infecting the system environment.
Interoperability: Files and documents can be shared and printed across Windows and UNIX environments; existing back-end systems can be leverage

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