Update on MSFT and INTC's request to Sun:
From Wall St. Journal Interactive
Sun Microsystems Intends To Retain Control of Java
An INTERACTIVE EDITIONNews Roundup
Sun Microsystems Inc. apparently has no intention of handing over ownership of its Java Internet programming language to an international standards body, a move requested by Sun's biggest rivals in a letter made public early Thursday.
In much the same way that Microsoft Corp. holds onto its Windows brand, Sun is interested in hanging onto Java, said George Paolini, director of corporate marketing for Sun's JavaSoft unit. Sun believes continued ownership of the brand will maintain the "unity of the platform," he said.
Microsoft, joined by Intel Corp., Digital Equipment Corp. and Compaq Computer Corp., sent a letter to Sun asking it turn over ownership of Java to an international standards body, marking an escalation of the two sides' high-profile debate over the Internet programming language.
Sun is preparing to resubmit a proposal to the International Standards Organization to become a steward of the language and make it an international open standard, as opposed to a closed, proprietary one. Earlier this year, the standards committee rejected a proposal from Sun on the same issue.
In turning down the earlier request, the ISO group cited concerns about the Mountain View, Calif., company's interest in controlling the Java trademark and about future development of the technology. Mr. Paolini said Sun will address these concerns when it files again with the ISO. That may lead to another ISO vote on the issue before October.
Mr. Paolini also said he was surprised by the release of the letter to the public because the issue had been discussed repeatedly by the ISO in past months. The ISO is meeting this week in Ottawa, but Java isn't on its agenda. The letter's release seems to be timed for media play, he said.
Although the letter could be seen as a threat from some of technology's biggest names, it actually is a way for Sun to gracefully bow out of a messy situation, one analyst said. "Since March, when Sun first started this, they've gotten a lot of needless negative publicity," said David Smith, an analyst at Gartner Group. "This letter from Intel is a face-saving way out."
The firms argued in the letter that "all interested parties should be free to use the Java name ... without oversight by Sun." Other demands involve compatibility testing and "maintenance and evolution" of Java. The letter said Sun shouldn't ask the international committee for "veto power" over an international standard.
A number of reports have surfaced in recent weeks to suggest that many software developers have taken a temporary middle ground as Sun and Microsoft duke it out in the press and at trade shows.
Microsoft executives have played down -- and in some cases even dismissed -- Sun's "100% Pure Java" effort, which is essentially a stamp of approval that means no matter who writes a program, it is completely compatible with everyone else's version of Java.
The "100% Pure Java" campaign is aimed squarely at Microsoft, which has created its own Java technology that in some cases works best on its Windows-based systems. Microsoft views that as only common sense, but Sun's allies have charged that it violates the spirit of Java -- and some Java partisans charge that the Redmond, Wash., software giant intends to co-opt Java and use it to extend Windows' dominance.
A key issue is whether Sun can hold developers' interest in the "100% Pure" campaign with technology that provides adequate performance on Windows platforms, or whether developers will go for better performance in the near term with Windows-friendly versions of the language.
Microsoft's new technology for using Java with Windows, called J/Direct, will be included in the next version of Internet Explorer 4.0, Microsoft's software for browsing the Web. And because of the recent pact with Apple Computer Inc., Microsoft's flavor of Java will eventually be shipped with all Macintosh models.
Many of the companies opposing Sun's efforts fear that it won't relinquish enough control of the language to an independent group. Sun has indicated its desire to keep dibs on the valuable Java trademark, which has raised the hackles of various countries and companies like Microsoft.
Sun has applied to become, in standards jargon, a "publicly available submitter," an unusual distinction for a single company and one that would leave Sun with a large measure of control over the direction of Java.
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