M'soft, Sun duel hits new turf -- Microsoft tries to bottle Sun's Java-based Jini for distributed computing
Alexander Wolfe
Redmond, Wash. - Microsoft Corp. will mount a challenge to Sun Microsystems' Jini distributed-computing technology, EE Times has learned. Microsoft is already proceeding quietly with development efforts, and a company executive said it expects to detail its plans publicly in April at its WinHEC conference in Los Angeles.
The move could spark intense competition for control of the technology required to enable the coming generation of Web-based services. For Sun, Jini is a bold bid to create a completely new software infrastructure built upon its Java language to allow such devices as smart phones and PDAs to identify each other automatically on the network, communicate and share services (see July 20, page 6). In contrast, Microsoft appears intent on leveraging its huge installed base by folding the necessary additional capabilities into its existing operating systems.
"We think the trend of TCP/IP-capable devices that can identify each other and communicate is an attractive one," said Carl Stork, general manager of Windows hardware strategy at Microsoft. "There are some protocols that need to be nailed down. However, I don't think [Jini] is the direction that makes the most sense, because you don't need that much processing power for a device to identify itself."
"All that's needed is a small amount of software in a PC to identify devices. We're working on it."
Sun officials said they are not cowed by the potential of competition from Microsoft on the Jini front. "We have a pretty good jump on anybody who would even think along the lines of Jini, which is very small and very portable," said Theresa Lanawitz, product manager for Jini technology at Sun.
Sun also sees as a negative any Microsoft technology that's closely tied to Windows. "In the case of Jini, we're not really reliant upon the operating system," Lanawitz said.
Word of the Microsoft gambit comes in the wake of a preliminary injunction handed down last week in Federal District Court in San Jose, Calif. Within 90 days, Microsoft must cease shipping an altered version of Java now used in its products. Microsoft said it would comply with the court order and suggested it would support both Sun's original and its own Java implementations.
The decision, by Judge Ronald M. Whyte, was an initial ruling in a suit brought by Sun alleging that Microsoft violated licensing agreements by altering Java.
Non-Java approach
As for distributed computing, Microsoft won't be relying on Java. In that competition, one analyst right now gives the edge to Sun. "Microsoft claims to have some technology, but I haven't seen anything that's as rich as Jini," said Van Baker, director of consumer research at market-analysis firm Dataquest Inc. (San Jose).
Nonetheless, Baker noted that the road to Jini won't be without stumbling blocks."Whether Jini succeeds or not is going to hinge on Sun's ability to convince people to support it. It's basically a job of evangelism," he said.
Indeed, the paradoxical challenge both Sun and Microsoft face in building momentum for their respective approaches is their diametrically opposed sets of strengths and weaknesses.
Sun has established a strong buzz as a technology leader in the brave new world of digital convergence. However, the company is not a major player in Microsoft's stronghold of PC operating systems. Sun said it is in the process of lining up OEMs and independent software vendors in the PC world to support Jini, but it declined to provide specifics.
Of course, Microsoft rules the roost in the desktop world. But in providing the embedded software that's needed to power the coming generation of Web-aware smart phones and their cousins, Microsoft is essentially in the early stages of building momentum for its Windows CE operating system.
Dataquest's Baker also sees Microsoft as being hamstrung by its ongoing antitrust fight. "The problem that Microsoft faces is that with their current legal battle they can't do anything that appears too aggressive; they have to behave themselves," Baker said. "So this is a perfect time for somebody else to try to rally support for a new technology."
A broader issue is that the whole arena of Web-connected devices is still so new that no single systems-software pro-vider has established a dominant position. Indeed, many small vendors of real-time operating systems are expected to play significant roles in setting the industry's technological direction.
Mutual sniping
Accordingly, Sun and Microsoft are each trying to poke holes in the other's tactics.
"Sun is essentially trying to do an operating system with Jini," said Microsoft's Stork. "You don't really need that."
For its part, Sun emphasized the tightly wound 48-kbyte footprint of the basic Jini code package. "If Microsoft tried to attach [similar] services to the operating system, it would be very large, and you'd still be bound to Windows," said Sun's Lanawitz. "This means that you'd have to go to something with Windows CE in it, to allow smaller devices to work with a PC.
"The monolithic [Windows] operating system- plus the fact that it's getting to be a pretty brittle code base-doesn't really make for the type of services that we can offer with a technology like Jini," she said.
The next technological event of note will occur later this fall, when Sun will post the Jini source code on its Web site. But the crucial battle in the coming months may revolve more around marketing than technology.
Sun is offering Jini to all comers at no charge, and it emphasized that source-code licenses will remain free moving forward. However, Sun has yet to detail its business plan for Jini That plan will be revealed in the first quarter of 1999, Sun officials said. Sun hinted that the scenario would involve royalty charges for the use of Jini.
Copyright ® 1998 CMP Media Inc.
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