Not sure if this has been mentioned before, but SUN released Solaris 10 for free.

Download Solaris 10

great, now all i need is a S.P.A.R.C system.

I saw a couple of (most likely very old) SPARC systems at an old warehouse about a week ago. I could probably get them for a fair price...

[quote author=effect link=topic=10607.msg100322#msg100322 date=1108701237]
great, now all i need is a S.P.A.R.C system.
[/quote]

In case you're not joking, it runs on x86.

[quote author=Grok link=topic=10607.msg100357#msg100357 date=1108729415]
[quote author=effect link=topic=10607.msg100322#msg100322 date=1108701237]
great, now all i need is a S.P.A.R.C system.
[/quote]

In case you're not joking, it runs on x86.
[/quote] It runs like crap on x86 though from what I have seen / heard. Solaris is best when used on SPARC.

You've always been able to get solaris binaries for free as long as I've known. And yes x86 is actually now as ideal of platform for it as SPARC.

[quote author=quasi-modo link=topic=10607.msg100452#msg100452 date=1108768824]
[quote author=Grok link=topic=10607.msg100357#msg100357 date=1108729415]
[quote author=effect link=topic=10607.msg100322#msg100322 date=1108701237]
great, now all i need is a S.P.A.R.C system.
[/quote]

In case you're not joking, it runs on x86.
[/quote] It runs like crap on x86 though from what I have seen / heard. Solaris is best when used on SPARC.
[/quote]

I had a copy of Solaris 7 which ran fairly well on x86.

what I meant was in Solaris 10 they added alot of various support features to x86 processors, including support for new processor features like multithreading and x86-64 processors.

Who manufactors SPARC processors?  I've never seen any before; then again, I'm not much of a hardware person...

I'm not sure who designs the SPARC processors, but there's a number of SPARC processors that are manufactured at the Texas Instruments building near here.

[quote author=tA-Kane link=topic=10607.msg101003#msg101003 date=1109072138]
I'm not sure who designs the SPARC processors, but there's a number of SPARC processors that are manufactured at the Texas Instruments building near here.
[/quote]

Are they comparable to Intel or AMD processors in terms of speed and performance?

IIRC, they're server or embedded systems chips...I've heard they're good, but costly.

Solaris on SPARC kicks all ass.

[quote author=Thing link=topic=10607.msg101042#msg101042 date=1109101128]
Solaris on SPARC kicks all ass.
[/quote] From posts in here it looks like sun has been working to improve x86 performance. But to me it just seems like solaris has been historically used only when you order a sparc box right from sun....
[quote author=SoR-Mephisto link=topic=10607.msg101019#msg101019 date=1109084881]
[quote author=tA-Kane link=topic=10607.msg101003#msg101003 date=1109072138]
I'm not sure who designs the SPARC processors, but there's a number of SPARC processors that are manufactured at the Texas Instruments building near here.
[/quote]

Are they comparable to Intel or AMD processors in terms of speed and performance?
[/quote] It is kind of like apples to oranges. Sparc is a different creature. It is easier to compare something like EPIC to x86 because EPIC was designed to be similar to x86 but better (and it did not really turn out according to plan).

[quote author=Banana fanna fo fanna link=topic=10607.msg101025#msg101025 date=1109086031]
IIRC, they're server or embedded systems chips...I've heard they're good, but costly.
[/quote]Server chips at $10,000 per chip for the latest ones. Yeah... that's costly.

SPARC is made by Sun, as far as I know.

SPARC's assembly is nice, it's actually a lot nicer than x86. I really enjoyed learning it.

Agreed. SPARC chips, though you won't find with nearly as many frills or high numbers as your latest intel or AMD have been historically noted for their reliability and good performance. They were also the first really popularized 64 bit systems... but yeah intel and amd obviously made much more affordable solutions now and with alot higher clock rates the a SPARC system. You're still not going to run a system as smooth as one of those though. :p

what about MIPS?

[quote author=Hostile link=topic=10607.msg101164#msg101164 date=1109141613]
Agreed. SPARC chips, though you won't find with nearly as many frills or high numbers as your latest intel or AMD have been historically noted for their reliability and good performance. They were also the first really popularized 64 bit systems... but yeah intel and amd obviously made much more affordable solutions now and with alot higher clock rates the a SPARC system. You're still not going to run a system as smooth as one of those though. :p
[/quote]Arguably, you don't need fast clock speeds to get a fast computer.

Hola.

I signed up for some contest or something, and apparently I was given a free x86-64 copy of Solaris 10.  I need to give them my mailing info, though.  Heh.

There's some quiz or something on their website asking what you think of Sol10 vs other solaris versions.

And if you win, you win a 40gb iPod.  But if you enter, you get a free copy of x86-64 amd64 Solaris 10.

I'll let you know if they actually mail it....

They are quizing you on your opinion, or is it a contest?

[quote author=Blaze - (S-1-0-0) link=topic=10607.msg101875#msg101875 date=1109537970]
They are quizing you on your opinion, or is it a contest?
[/quote] I would think it is something like a "give us your thoughts and you will be entered to win!!1!"