> By Samuel Perry
> PALO ALTO, Calif., Oct 12 (Reuters) - Sun Microsystems Inc.
>has challenged Microsoft Corp. in court over control of Sun's
>Java technology but whatever the outcome, Sun's dream to make
>Java into universal software may already be crushed.
may crushed? clever word, actually means nothing.
> Industry officials and analysts said the legal battle
>launched last week could drag on for years in a business where
>competitive advantage can be measured in weeks -- and that the
>outcome by then may be almost irrelevant.
for the time table, agreed. The evolution of the java has been so quick, for a software company, you cann't risk yourself for not following the java path.
> "Both sides are playing the chess game well, but Microsoft
>has six queens," one veteran Silicon Valley executive said last
>week, requesting anonymity. "As developers in Java, it's very
>important for us that we can 'write once, run anywhere'."
> The phrase has become a mantra for Sun, which introduced
>Java two years ago as a way to build programs on the World Wide
>Web and as a technology to allow programs to run on otherwise
>incompatible computers.
to build programs on the world wide web? do this guy really understand what java is? His understanding of java seems remaining on the stage of the fancy java Applets
> Sun's lawsuit, filed in federal court in San Jose, Calif.,
>Tuesday, charges Microsoft, a Java licensee, with breach of its
>contract for allegedly leaving out certain key elements of Java
>in recent releases of Microsoft software.
This is only a part of the picture breaching of its contract, the other part is MSFT changed java.* classes. Some people cann't believe MSFT could be so stupid, I think this is why Addi think they did it unintentional, one explaination is some junor programmers screwed things up. Whatever, you got caught, you got pay.
> At issue is whether Microsoft will let Java be used to link
>into personal computers using Microsoft's Windows operating
>system, which could cut into sales of Microsoft software,
>analysts said.
Can MSFT stop you write a pure java application and run on the Windows? there are sun's JVM, IBM's, borland's symantec's, etc.
MSFT can do nothing. java tools markert is young and high competitive markert, you can count how many RDEs are out there.
> Kimball Brown at Dataquest, a San Jose research firm, said
>Microsoft would never allow its software programs to be
>operated by other computers not running Windows.
its softwares??? how can MSFT softwares not run on windows?
> This would explain why Sun says Microsoft has left out key
>Java features from its recent Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.0
>software and a development kit for computer programmers.
> "Java's broken as of last week," said Brown, asserting that
>Java will from now on be divided into the standard version
>which Sun owns and controls, and Microsoft's version.
possible, but if they knew several recent voting indicating that 90% java developers stay behind sunw's, they probably would hava known how to place their bets.
> "There's no way on earth that they're (Microsoft and Sun)
>going to come to an agreement. The question is whether Sun has
>enough of a following to keep Java alive as a platform."
Java is a platform, unrelated whether there is an agreement.
> In addition to fighting in court, the companies are
>battling for the hearts and minds of computer programmers,
>hundreds of thousands of whom Sun claims now want Java instead
>of Microsoft's Windows platform.
early results are already very clear, sunw won. Otherwise there is no need to go the court.
> A key risk to both companies is alienating customers, many
>of whom want to cut technology costs.
This is one of the reason why you should kiss java.
> "From a customer point of view it creates a lot of
>confusion and I think it defeats the opportunity of really
>liberating the Internet as a vehicle to do things better," said
>Zack Rinat, chief executive officer of NetDynamics, Inc.
Confusion, yes. Defeat, no.
> Rinat, whose closely held company offers commercial Java
>applications to link diverse systems, says his business has
>been doubling every quarter.
> "My feeling is that the customer needs to be isolated from
>the religious wars," he said, referring to the rhetoric flowing
>from both companies. "At the end of the day IT (information
>technology) organizations need to focus on solutions to
>business problems, not technical issues."
It is not religious, java directly threats MSFT, the java war is evitable. Java is not only a language, othewise there is no need for Gates to remind you that it is again and again.
> Key to the plot is whether an alliance of companies led by
>Sun Chief Executive Scott McNealy can shake Microsoft and
>billionaire Chairman Bill Gates from their pedestal.
Oh, poor, lonely MSFT.
> Java could put a chink in Microsoft's armor, and Sun said
>it was acting on behalf of 116 other Java licensees by taking
>Microsoft to court.
> Sun executives said they were trying to lure Microsoft back
>into the fold, and they stopped short of threatening to revoke
>Microsoft's license, which could further cripple Java.
smart move by sunw.
> Microsoft says it is being singled out unfairly. Charles
>Fitzgerald, a Microsoft Java group program manager, said the
>lawsuit was an "outrageous" display of saber-rattling.
> Fitzgerald vowed that Microsoft would continue "full-speed
>ahead" with its technology development and Steve Ballmer,
>executive vice president at Microsoft, said Thursday he
>expected the lawsuit would drag on "for a long time."
> By then, several executives said, Microsoft could well have
>established its own version of Java among developers.
One concern is MSFT is working their own cleaning room JVM behind the door, this is high risk move but worth a try.
Bottom line: MSFT hates across platform, java world love it. rest you figure out.
Gordon shen
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