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.

Sun Microsystems on Monday will launch a supported version of OpenSolaris at the CommunityOne conference in San Francisco. After working on OpenSolaris for three years, Sun now has a supported distribution, called 2008.5, available.

OpenSolaris is essentially GNU-Solaris. When talking about the user experience, one could say that since the GNOME desktop is used, running OpenSolaris is no different from running Linux.

So, what does a Linux company like Oracle wants to do with its newly purchased Sun's open-source operating system, OpenSolaris? The answer appears to be: "Nothing."

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.

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.

If Oracle's recent Solaris licensing changes have you singing the blues, OpenSolaris might provide you with a fresh tune to whistle while you work.

The OpenSolaris community is concerned by the silence from Oracle over its future plans for the open source operating system. In a blog posting, OpenSolaris developer Peter Tribble complained that Oracle has not mentioned OpenSolaris.

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.