OpenSolaris 2008.5, the new distribution based on the OpenSolaris operating system, has been released into the wild. This release follows the conventions set by many of the popular Linux distributions, such as being based on a single live CD with installer, but also adds a load of OpenSolaris-specific features such as ZFS, DTrace, Containers, and a new package management system, IPS.

Since Oracle acquired Sun Microsystems last year, the future of the Solaris and OpenSolaris operating systems have been called into question especially as the OpenSolaris 2010.1H release was missing and has been that way for months now with no official communication from Oracle. A new OpenSolaris release hasn't come in more than a year and we still are left wondering if or when it will arrive.

While Sun Microsystems puts their weight behind the GNOME desktop environment for Solaris and OpenSolaris, there are developers that do work on providing a quality experience for KDE on OpenSolaris. However, getting KDE to run on a clean OpenSolaris installation can require building KDE from source and taking various other steps.

Bordeaux 1.6 is now running on current Solaris and OpenSolaris systems.

I have been working with a couple friends over the past two weeks to get Bordeaux running on Solaris and OpenSolaris 2008.11. We now have everything compiling and running but like always more testing needs to be done before it's ready for final release.

I decided to finally check out OpenSolaris 2008.11. While this release came out back in November of 2008 (hence the 2008.11 naming convention), it has taken me this long to finally give it a chance. Maybe it is because I am still somewhat skeptical with the whole OpenSolaris Project.

OpenSolaris came out with its third release last week and within a year there seems to have been some pretty good progress. The biggest question hanging over OpenSolaris is whether Oracle will decide to continue the project.

At work they were asking us to get familiar with openSolaris for a potential future project. I’d played with it a few years ago, so I decided to check out the latest version I had. On of my LXF discs had openSolaris 2008.11 and I figured that while I was checking it out I’d review it as well.

It's been nearly three years since Sun Microsystems kicked off its OpenSolaris project by releasing most of the code that comprises its Solaris operating system under an open-source license. And yet, it's only just now, with the release of the first official distribution of OpenSolaris, that the project begins in earnest.

Opensolaris 2010.05 would be the next release after being postponed to release on March this year. Again, Opensolaris lovers around the world might be disappointed because after waiting for it until the end of May there is no official release of Opensolaris. A bad news.