WSJ Article: Java into Palm Pilot.
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Sun Microsystems, 3Com Plan To Put Java Technology In Palm Devices
By Don Clark, Staff Reporter of The Wall Street Journal
SAN FRANCISCO -- Sun Microsystems Inc. and 3Com Corp. agreed to put a new version of Sun's Java programming technology on 3Com's Palm Computing devices, a partnership that bolsters both companies' defenses against Microsoft Corp.
The announcement, one of many at a Java trade show here this week, should boost Sun's profile in pocket-size computers. Sun, a maker of big server computers and technical workstations, has had limited success with Java in PCs and smaller machines. 3Com's PalmPilot is the most popular device in the hand-held category, a fast-growing market that is a major target for Microsoft and others.
Sun has long promoted Java as a way to build software that runs on many types of devices using any operating system, not just Microsoft's Windows. Sun has already developed compact versions of Java aimed at non-PC products, such as television set-top boxes. Sun officials acknowledged that those products have had little acceptance, because they required too much software to be stored on small devices. "They were too big and they didn't exploit the value of the network," said Alan Baratz, head of Sun's Java software division.
Sun has developed a new version that includes just 100 kilobytes of
code, less than a fifth the size of its smallest version to date. The
technology is also designed to let more computing tasks be carried out on central servers, reducing demands on networks. Sun plans to adapt its own server software to help centrally deliver Java software to Palm Computing devices, including a new model that communicates by a wireless network, Mr. Baratz said.
3Com, a Santa Clara, Calif., maker of networking equipment, has been trying to court software developers to write programs for its Palm machines, competing with a rival Microsoft effort to turn an operating system called Windows CE into a standard for the smallest portable computers. Incorporating the new Micro Edition of Java into the Palm operating system should make it easier for more software developers to make programs for Palm devices, the companies said.
Sun's JavaOne conference, opening today, has become one of the largest gathering of programmers. Sun expects 20,000 to attend, up from 14,000 last year. It claims that about 1.7 million people now program in Java, double the number of a year ago.
Among other announcements at the show, Sun said that Japanese manufacturers Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., NEC Corp., Fujitsu Ltd. and Mitsubishi Electric Corp. will demonstrate prototypes of new cellular phones that can run Java software. Sun also will announce more open licensing plans for some Java-related products, including atechnology called HotSpot for accelerating Java performance, Mr. Baratz said.
Some Sun competitors also are timing product announcements for JavaOne. For example, Hewlett-Packard Co. is expected to discuss an updated version of a clone of Java that runs inside devices such as printers.
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