In fact, apart from IBM or HP, there were very few complaints about the new JCP either from developers at the show or from smaller Java vendors. A representative of the developers of the open source webserver Apache, present at the JCP birds of a feather session, told us he thought Sun had gone as far as it possibly could while retaining the control it needed to avoid fragmentation. Developers were far more concerned with bugs-by-stealth - where implementations don't match the specifications - than by royalty issues
I don't think you guys really understand the issues with Sun and java.
The real issue is that Sun is trying to pull a Microsoft and hoard control of the java standard so it can control the computer world. In a sense, leaving java standards up to Sun is like not breaking up Microsoft. If java takes off and becomes big, Sun will be in control of every single platform which would be even more dangerous than the Microsoft monopoly.
Aside from the big players not wanting to create another Microsoft, there are the issues with Sun's dirty tactics over the past few years. All along they have lead people to believe that they would adopt a set of open standards or turn java over to a standards organization. This is a big part of why companies like IBM committed to java. IBM doesn't want to take java from Sun, they just want Sun to have a standards group do it or have Sun put in more than its current half-hearted effort. Sun has mislead many companies about their java plans, then when it becomes big they are trying to tell the industry it's our way or the highway, much like Microsoft. (IE, recently backing down to the ISO and ECMA)
Another problem many have with Sun is the issue of whether or not Sun even has any intellectual capital rights to java. In J2EE, over 80 percent of the API's come from IBM. Of course this would make any company upset when Sun turns around and plays these games. IBM isn't the only company that has contributed to J2EE, many others have also. They all don't think it's fair for Sun to charge royalties when there's no intellectual property.
I can't see IBM giving in to Sun's tactics. If all parties involved can't come to terms soon, the industry is going to go through another UNIX war which will be terrible.
chic |
