@eiZen My memories about the xv situation are hazy... I think it was shareware, but the source was available nevertheless?
The problem was more that almost no one had access to an compiler, so binary distribution was required (also, binaries were a smaller download). This only changed when gcc showed up, and I think it became possible at some point to bootstrap gcc from the cc fragment that Sun shipped in order to recompile customized SunOS kernels. Not sure about the timeline?
@th Well, the image is like, from decades ago 😉
Probably couldn't figure out how to take a screenshot without using xv back then.
Since OpenStep/Solaris ran on top of X (actually taking the role of a window manager, I assume?), it was kind of cool you could just have all the usual programs inside... Also I don't think anyone ever ported any OpenStep applications other than those that came with the initial distribution.
I should probably try to recreate that setup one day...