Registrations Map Frequently Asked Questions

Index of Questions

  1. What is a Sun Connection Registration Map?
  2. What does the color of a dot indicate?
  3. What does the color of a balloon indicate?
  4. Why are the clickable balloons only available at high zoom levels?
  5. Why are't the values in the "Registrations in Visible Area" adding up to what I see by clicking on all visible balloons?
  6. Do you plan to include Solaris 8 and 9 registrations as well?
  7. Is Sun violating users' privacy by sharing this information?
  8. Where can I learn more about how this works?


Answers

What is a Sun Connection Registration Map?

This is an early access Google Maps mashup of Solaris 10 and Open Solaris instances that activated Sun Connection to receive automatic software updates. We hope that you will find this information interesting and useful, but ask that you keep in mind its early access nature.

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What does the color of a dot indicate?

Brighter (more pinkish) dots represent densely populated Sun Connection registrations. Duller (more purplish) dots indicate less densely populated Sun Connection registrations.

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What does the color of a balloon indicate?

Red balloons are used for locations that exclusively contain registrations of Solaris on SPARC machines. Yellow balloons are used for locations that exclusively contain registrations of Solaris on x86 or x64 machines. Orange balloons are used for locations that have at least one of each.

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Why are the clickable balloons only available at high zoom levels?

The performance and usability of the map would be significantly harmed if these balloons were shown at low zoom levels. The display would be cluttered with hundreds or thousands of balloons, making it difficult to see the underlying map. Further, your browser's performance would be slowed by the JavaScript actions required to managed the display of so many balloons.

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Why are't the values in the "Registrations in Visible Area" adding up to what I see by clicking on all visible balloons?

The numbers labeled "Registrations in Visible Area" in the side bar are based on adding up registrations from any tiles that the Google Maps implementation is using in the current display. In some cases, only a small portion of a tile is actually visible, but all of its registrations will still be included in this side bar summary. This trade-off has been made to keep the "Registrations in Visible Area" feature running as fast as possible.

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Do you plan to include Solaris 8 and 9 registrations as well?

Yes. The current map displays Solaris 10 and Open Solaris systems registered via Sun Connection. We are actively investigating adding Solaris 8 and 9 registrations as well, and will explore adding other Sun product registrations down the road.

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Is Sun violating users' privacy by sharing this information?

No. The information shown in these maps never shows locations by anything more specific than a city name or zip/postal code.

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Where can I learn more about how this works?

Stay tuned--the creators will soon be sharing information about this system in a blog. If you want to learn more about the Sun Connection products and services please go to http://www.sun.com/service/sunupdate/.

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