PicoJava cores are dedicated processors operating under RTOS for the embedded limited intelligence applications needed in consumer smart electronics market. Why should someone tell these firms that their applications of such cores are inappropriate? PicoJava cores are certainly inappropriate for PCs. So how do you justify the claim that picoJava is constructive for AOL?
I think we are talking apples (no pun) and oranges, and I probably did not make myself clear. Java will continue to be used to enhance browsers, AOL's and eveyone else's. Yeah it's slow, but it's faster than the World Wide Wait until bandwidth becomes a consideration for the masses, which is still several years away. But AOL does not need any agreement with SUNW to make this come about.
Now, you mentioned picoJava, and if you are arguing that Java, picoJava, microJava, or XYZJava is not constructive for the AOL browser, I agree with you. As you said, it operates in an embedded VM environment, with the right I/O interfaces in place. Sun reports a ten-fold increase in performance in their chip implementation over a pure s/w implementation, which begins getting us in the ballpark for a RTOS.
So what does this have to do with AOL, ATHM, or any other ISP/portal? I don't think e-mail, chat, or any of the other canonical apps are going to carry any of these companies through the next decade. What we will see, IMHO, is a totally integrated home environment, in which every family member has a (cheap) PC operating at very high speeds, networked together and to other devices, be they VCR's, TV's, microwave ovens, auto security devices, christmas tree lights, and ... oh yeah... telephones. There is certainly nothing new in this concept, but what has been missing is that single integrator who exerts such weight on marketplace standards, and has the right products, that they can actually bring this about. MSFT was, and maybe still is, in the driver's seat to bring this about, but with the recent focus on who did what to who's browser, this has been placed on the back burner. So AOL, the unlikeliest candidate, might be making a move here with their SUNW alliance. I think this is what Case thinks about when he makes strategic alliances with SUNW, brings on Netscape programmers, and talks about AOL Anywhere.
So that also answers your question about what I meant by a strategic alliance between AOL and SUNW. But I do agree, that it is hard to make gravy with water, and it is a long shot. But then, AOL's forte is in sneaking up on people. |
