[pca] No more free patches

[Martin Paul]

Hi,

Get ready for some bad news: According to my sources there will be no
more free access to any Solaris patch, be it security or not. A support
contract will be required for every patch download, no matter whether
it's done interactively through the website or hands-off with wget/pca.
I've been told that this policy change won't by publically announced by
Oracle, but it's described in this SunSolve document:

   #203648: Software Update Entitlement Policy for Solaris
   http://sunsolve.sun.com/search/document.do?assetkey=1-61-203648-1

It already seems to be in effect. I tried to download various recent 
security patches and access is denied to any of them.

Sooner or later access to patchdiag.xref and all other content currently
on SunSolve will be limited to paying customers as well.

No opinion, but a few thoughts:

Using an operating system where the only way to fix security problems is
waiting for the next version is a no-go, so the minimum cost for running
Solaris on a real-world system is now that of a basic service plan (324$
and up per year).

Sun didn't make enough money, so it's obvious that Oracle handles things
differently. Whether this is a wise decision is left to the future. The
fact that there's no public announcement reveals a lot.

There should be a much simpler way to get basic patch support (think
about a PayPal button at the end of the OS installation to get the
idea). And it definitely should cost less than the service plans.
Personally, I'd prefer a one-time fee for the OS (which should be
included in the price of a server when bought from Sun).

Martin.