First of all, Office doesn't have any compatibility problems, the users do and the distinction is an imporant one: Microsoft had deliberately done this based on their virtual monopoly position and it's only public backlash which has changed their tune. Microsoft is now operating on three fronts: develop as much Java technology as they can, try to undermine Java as much as they can, try to push their proprietary answer to distributed computing.
Problem one: Microsoft's component technology is a monument to a lack of software design, failed execution and near total ignorance about real computing environments. In well over a decade, their utterly non-object-oriented bloatware has undergone surgery after surgery and the frankenstein-esque technology is still in trouble.
Problem two: The alternative technologies, though far from perfect, represent a coherent, extensible, portable, purely object-oriented design which is compatible with everything, including Windows stuff. Naturally I am talking about Java and CORBA. Java the language, the virtual machine, the myriad services, the state-of-the-art. Microsoft's answer to that technology can only be described as an offensive, bush-league effort.
However, none of that is a guarantee that Corel isn't generating more garbage, because Java can't save poor design or execution. It takes highly skilled developers who understand the patterns, idioms, algorithms and tactics of object-oriented software design. Do they have that sort of team? I don't know, that's the wild card. The Java suite could be D. O. A. and only time will tell. Still debating whether or not to bet big-time on Corel's being able to execute, not yet convinced. |
