The updated Solaris Express Developer Edition features open source-based OS distribution and support for Java development Sun is sprucing up Solaris Express Developer Edition, which features the Solaris OS bundled with tools, by supporting enhanced application development for multicore processors.The company is unveiling on Tuesday the 5/07 edition of the package, which features also includes Sun Studio 12, for parallelizing C, C++, and Fortran applications. Sun Studio 12, Sun said, features a distribution of Solaris based on OpenSolaris, the open-source variant of Solaris. Also included in the package is support for building multicore SPARC and x86-based processors. Solaris Express also supports Java development, which features its own multi-threaded development model.“The main intent [of Solaris Express Developer Edition] is to make it very easy for developers to get started building applications for Solaris,” through provision of a single install, drivers, and tools, said Dan Roberts, director of Solaris and OpenSolaris marketing. Also in this version, Sun is offering a Gnome-based desktop, including Mozilla Firefox 2.0 and an update to the StarOffice 8 office application suite. The NetBeans 5.5 IDE is featured for developing desktop, Web, and Java applications.The version of Solaris featured in the package is based on the Nevada 64a build, which purports to look like the next major release of Solaris, referred to as Solaris 11. Included are desktop enhancements, bug fixes, upgrades, and updates. Gnome is the desktop manager in the build. Also included is automatic network configuration, in which the OS makes default choices.Wireless drivers in the new version of Solaris Express Developer Edition support wireless networking when installing this version of Solaris on laptops, Sun said. Solaris Express Developer Edition is available free for download here. Sun sells support services with per-incident costs starting at $49. Software DevelopmentTechnology IndustrySmall and Medium Business