Marc, PMFJI and I can't either, and here's why........................
I dunno. For a company that is betting the farm
on JAVA and JAVA apps on the Netware Server, well
...... I dunno ..... What do anyone think?
Couple of interesting current "perspectives" IMHO....
(This is a Novell relevent post - it's in the articles (one in name, and the other in priciple, I.E. --- Dr.'s JAVA strategy...
=========================================================
For an enhanced HTML version of the Money Daily,
visit moneydaily.com.
Thursday, February 5, 1998 8:15 p.m EST
SOFTWARE STRUGGLE (PART ONE).... The closest thing to
a big story Thursday was the report that Netscape is
in talks to be acquired by fellow Microsoft rivals
like Oracle (ORCL) and Sun Microsystems (SUNW). Well,
the jet-flying, romance-making CEO of Oracle, Larry
Ellison, sure has a serious case of Gates-envy and has
more than enough green to buy NSCP. On the other hand,
Oracle has its hands full with a slowdown in its core
biz. SUNW's somewhat blander Scott McNealy is
furiously battling Gates as well, so NSCP would be a
useful addition to his anti-Redmond arsenal. IBM and
AOL are also said to be interested. The rumors lifted
NSCP's long-suffering shares 2 11/16 to 21 15/16 but
you've got to wonder why anyone would really want to
buy it. The software is great (I use it) but who
really wants to go up against Gates?
SOFTWARE STRUGGLE (PART TWO).... And that brings us to
the next point. If NSCP eventually ends up as another
pelt on the wall of Gates' mega-mansion, it should
convince investors of the futility of betting against
Billy the Kid. My advice -- don't ever do it. In fact,
I'd rather dance on hot coals than go up against MSFT.
Don't believe me? Talk to shareholders of past
Microsoft mincemeat, such as Corel, Novell, and Apple.
If you own these dogs, sell them now and buy
Microsoft. The pain is only going to get worse.
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
And from TechWeb 2/5/98
=== The Scoop ===============================
By, Fred Langa
I've been somewhat of a Java skeptic since the beginning. Although I
fully understand the attraction of Java as a development tool -- sort
of a higher-level C++ -- I've never believed it would or could be all
the things its supporters said it was.
Java, the True Believers said, would be a great cross-platform tool. It
was the "great leveler" that might let developers support non-Windows
platforms more easily, allowing non-Microsoft choices to flourish.
As the hype built, we heard it was more than just a tool: It was in
itself a platform. You could code whole office suites in it. You could
code whole operating systems in it. Java could eventually replace
Windows, usher in an era of thin-client computing, seriously weaken
Microsoft, and change the face of computing forever.
The way the hype built, I was waiting for someone to say Java would end
world hunger and cure cancer.
Come on: It's a language. And a very young one at that. That's what
companies such as Corel and Netscape have found.
Corel tried mightily to produce a Java-based, thin-client suite of
office tools, and it did crank out a technical tour-de-force demo in an
amazingly short time. But Corel eventually gave up. Java couldn't
handle fonts, couldn't print, couldn't run fast enough -- the
burgeoning "couldn't" list was a killer.
What's more, by the time the suite even began to approach acceptable
levels of functionality, it had ballooned to a size where thin-client
downloading was impractical on a LAN and next to impossible on dial-up.
Now it's Netscape's turn to pull back from Java support. Although
Netscape was very early to commit to Java, the company found it a sink
hole for development costs. Write once, port everywhere became the
joke. At one point, Netscape had produced about 17 different versions
of its Java virtual machine so the supposedly write once language could
actually work on different platforms.
About a week ago, Netscape threw in the Java towel. It's laying off an
unspecified -- but probably significant -- number of its Java
developers. Instead of developing more VMs, Netscape will offer a set
of APIs; it'll be up to system vendors to build their own VMs and hook
them to Netscape's APIs.
Ironically, this means Microsoft's VM will probably become the de facto
industry standard for Java.
The San Jose Mercury News had a story on Netscape's Java moves. The
story didn't get much play, but I think it's major news: Netscape's
support of Java is what gave Java its highest early visibility and
credibility. That early boosterism now has been replaced by the cold
reality of the bottom line. Netscape, like Corel, has had to separate
Java hype from Java reality.
Java won't and shouldn't go away, but I think the Java Wars will soon
wind down. In the future, I think DHTML and XML will end up doing a lot
of what Java was once thought to do, and Java itself will go back to
being what it really is -- a very nice, very powerful development
language.
And I, for one, will be glad when the hype goes away.
Are you tired of the hype, too? Or have I missed something crucial
about Java's strengths? With Microsoft's VM now about to become the
dominant variety, what does this mean for competition? Is Netscape's
move really a sign Java's limitations -- or of Netscape's? Speak up in
the LangaLetter threads:
cmp-pub1.web.cerf.net@^1408@.ee6b4ec
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
MSFT just puts up with it,
Next Corel is ditching it,
Now Netscape is ditching it,
is I.. gonna ditch it?
What then Dr.? (oh yeah, and our fav's the BOD! what then?)
What "apps" are gonna run on Moab? Or do we still just have
"file and print" services? Where is the "revenue" going to come from?
2/24 this month they report earnings folks. Watch what happens..... |
