Sun releases UltraSparc T1 processor design under GPL

As announced by Sun at the end of last year, the company will release the design of the UltraSparc T1 processor under an open source license. At a conference in the Middle East, Sun announced that it would do this under the well-known GPL license. This makes it possible for people to build their own version of the UltraSparc T1 which must then also fall under the GPL license. Sun hopes that releasing the processor design will eventually lead to more market share. While it’s unlikely anyone will seriously attempt to build their own version of the UltraSparc T1, there is much to learn about the architecture that may spark more interest in the technology. At the moment, the UltraSparc T1 only works with the Solaris 10 operating system, which is also available under a GPL license. When the UltraSparc T1’s source code is OpenSparc.com will be placed is not yet known.