4 ms·

I don't think that's true at all. Let's set aside all the improvements Sun made to the ()nix ecosystem, which includes dtrace and filesystems and network protoc

I don't think that's true at all. Let's set aside all the improvements Sun made to the ()nix ecosystem, which includes dtrace and filesystems and network protocols, among others. Most servers were migrated from Sun to Linux (with minor hiccups). Sun basically set the standard for security and reliability that led to the successor instead of OS/2 or MacOS or ReactOS or whatever. Microsoft HAD to change their OS to meet the needs of the users (ANY security, more interoperability between ()nix and windows, etc). The statement is either poorly phrased or wholly inaccurate, depending on your point of view.

ChuckMcM 8y ago
As a founder, Bill had a lot of Sun stock. Sun, Microsoft, and Oracle all went public in 1986 (which was the same year I joined Sun). Sun came to see Microsoft as the enemy in many ways, not the least of which that they were growing faster than Sun was and had more 'seats' in terms of people who used them to do work. Bill sold a chunk of shares, and I don't recall the exact amount but it was significant and invested them in Microsoft shares. This was a "big deal" around Sun because of the "message" it sent. Between 1988 and 1998 Sun stock increased 10x and Microsoft stock had increased 100x. By converting 15% of his Sun holdings into Microsoft stock he outperformed his Sun holdings.