NEW SPECULATION?
Date: Tue, 26 Aug 1997 17:23:20 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: Sun, IBM, Netscape in Java development alliance
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By Richard Melville
NEW YORK, Aug 26 (Reuter) - Seeking to speed new Internet
business applications, IBM, Sun Microsystems Inc. and Netscape
Communications Corp. said Tuesday they would collaborate on
developing Java, a key language used for Internet software.
Under the unusual collaboration, announced at Sun's Java
Internet Business Expo, the three will contribute staff to a
center managed by Sun focused on implementing upcoming releases
of Java, Sun's widely used programming language for developing
software for the global computer network.
The deal will let International Business Machines Corp. and
Netscape work on modifications to product lines even as Java
itself undergoes changes, an arrangement that means the
companies will open their development work and technology to
each others' scrutiny.
The companies expect the pact will mean that improvements
to Java will find their way into marketable products in far
less time than at present.
"We're not just talking about an incremental improvement,"
John Thompson, senior vice president at IBM said at a news
conference. "This is a major efficiency effort."
The alliance may also aid Sun and Netscape against common
foe Microsoft Corp., the dominant force in the computer
software industry whose various products compete directly with
all three companies.
Details were sketchy, as the companies only formally
reached agreement Monday after talks over the last few days,
ironing out issues such as intellectual property rights.
An IBM spokesman said staffing at the alliance would be in
proportion to staffing levels at the three companies, meaning
IBM's contribution would be the largest.
But Sun Chairman Scott McNealy said the effort represented
a meaningful investment of resources from each company. "This
is actually a non-trivial expense, I think, for all three major
partners," McNealy said.
The deal was seen as most important for Sun because it
means highly visible partners will be working essentially
non-stop to build Java into a broad range of business
applications and help fine-tune the language for future use.
"I think we really hammered on a nail that was sticking up
here," McNealy said.
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