OpenSolaris
Until now I worked exclusively with Linux, although I tried different distributions like SuSE Linux, Debian and Red Hat, I had no experience with other UNIX operating systems. At the weekend I had a bit of time and I decided to make a little experiment - install Open Solaris on my desktop computer. My desktop computer is no longer my main system. I use my laptop for this, that’s why I could format hard disc without any inhibitions.
The first view is deceptive:
The installation was very easy, as I would wish it from a modern operating systems. The appearance of the system is very similar to linux because of GNOME-Desktop. But if you look closer, you will find conceptual differences. This applies, for example, to the file structure. The home directory is situated not under /home/user, but at /export/home. The directory /home, is not writable. Why it is so, I don’t know. A positive fact is that all programs of a third-party will be installed in one directory /opt. Under Linux, it is not the case.
The administration of the system is fundamentally different. The main command for this are svcs and svcadm. These two commands in connection with a lot of parameters, allow a fine tuning. You can find even a graphical user interface that allows starting and stopping of certain services, but it has only a basic functionality.
The system is ready for the daily work immediately after installation. The ony a problem that I was not able to solve at this time is my sound card. Unfortunately, the system does not recognize it and I don’t know any solution yet. That is a pity, because Open SuSE or Debian, doesn’t habe those problems. Maybe I get this problem solved in future.