According to the following article, Corel will announce a new Java strategy this week.
Inter@ctive Week - Desktop Office Suites Draw A Crowd
www4.zdnet.com
Some excerpts:
Corel Corp. botched its first attempt to produce a functional desktop office suite in Java, but this week it is set to announce a revamped Java product and a more cohesive marketing strategy.
The new Java suite is expected to be a major enhancement, putting the company in a position to compete with Lotus Development Corp. - which is readying a Java-based office suite code-named Kona - and to a lesser extent Applix Inc., whose Anyware Office for Java suite is already installed in several large Unix sites. It will also put Corel in position to fend off any moves on the market by Microsoft Corp.
While offering few details, the company says it will outline its suite strategy during this week's formal unveiling of Office for Java.
Brian Anderson, senior product manager for Lotus Kona, says he expects Microsoft to enter the thin-client suite space, but whether or not it will deliver Java applets is not certain. In any case, Lotus' advantage will be in writing applications that run cross-platform, he says.
While Microsoft hasn't announced any plans in the Java suite arena, in June it purchased a small company called Cooper & Peters, which developed a Java desktop suite called EyeOpener. Microsoft says it has no plans to incorporate EyeOpener technology into its Application Foundation Classes, a set of interface classes for creating Java applications.
"I don't expect Microsoft to admit to developing anything in the network terminal arena. They don't have to pre-empt Corel; they'll wait until the millionth version ships before they ship Microsoft Office for Java," Pinckney says.
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