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To: Kashish King who wrote (4553)	3/23/1998 9:45:00 AM
From: cksla	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 8581

rod- speaking of Sagan, sun and hwp agree on at least one thing, there will be "billions, if not tens of billions": A key difference between the two virtual machines is that H-P's version comes without Sun's requirement that all core Java technologies are used. Further, it does not demand that all developments or improvements that an individual company makes to those technologies be shared with Sun and all the other licensees. This sharing requirement forms the cornerstone of Java's philosophy of openness and purity, but H-P felt that approach would undermine its own research and development efforts in the embedded systems market, which is expected to explode: Bell said that he agrees with Scott McNealy's prediction that there will be either billions or tens of billions of devices containing Java. "If we were to make an innovation that benefited printers, we would be reluctant to have that show up on a mandatory basis in a standard product that would be used by our competitors," said Bell. To illustrate how a device such as a printer might use embedded Java, Bell offered a case study scenario. "Suppose that you are running low on toner in your printer cartridge," Bell said. "This will create an interrupt message and pop up a browser screen on the systems administrator's PC to let that person know what is happening, that they need to install a new cartridge." Because the printer has no keyboard or screen, Bell said, embedded Java would allow the printer to link into, and use the interface, of a computer that does. "It opens things up to HTTP connections between processes," Bell said, adding that a low-toner alert could even query an inventory database, and if needed, initiate a Federal Express order of a replacement cartridge. Bell said that Sun's stringent rules about licensees using only the complete set of Java component technologies in embedded systems - designed to stay consistent with the language's portability, or "write once, run anywhere" mission - didn't make sense in the embedded device arena. "No one is going to run Lotus 123 on their microwave oven," said Bell. "Our license will allow a greater degree of freedom in terms of what subset [of the embedded Java developers] want to use," said Bell. "If we sell them a car, they get to decide where to drive. We don't demand any residual constraints." Bell said that based on today's announcement, several current JavaSoft licensees have contacted H-P, expressing interest in licensing the upstart virtual machine. "We have been contacted by some of the largest licensees from JavaSoft, wanting to initiate discussions concerning our alternative. We will later be announcing more licensees," Bell said. A Zona Research analysis of H-P's move said that the new virtual machine was part and parcel of a Java backlash that is well underway among vendors. "There comes a time when every vendor must look out for number one, and H-P has apparently reached that threshold," read the Zona statement. "We do not believe for a second that the trend to take Java into one's own hands will stop with H-P. Rather, this announcement captures the essence of the current Java climate - impatient vendors requiring competent Java solutions today. "The chaos and directionless energy in the current Java market has left an opening for a vendor - other than Sun or Microsoft - to provide Java direction devoid of religious motivation or zealotry as the guiding light," the Zona statement continued. The president of the Java Lobby, a grassroots-style Java advocacy organization, said that it was too soon to tell what impact H-P's new product would have on the future course of Java. But he was clearly concerned with the development. "I would be deeply distressed to find later on that H-P is somehow working in collusion with Microsoft, who absolutely clearly is attempting to destroy the concept of Java as a platform neutral computing," said Ross. According to the Zona Research position statement, Microsoft and H-P have in effect formed a new alliance. "We see H-P moving into the [Microsoft] keiretsu, marking the completion of a significant change of alliances during the past several years," said the Zona statement. "It cements H-P and Microsoft's relationship with a stronger bond based on Java, further distancing H-P from Sun and its partners," the statement said. Though Sun was clearly unhappy with H-P's new strategy, Bell said that relations between the companies remained strong. The decision to "clean room" - or develop from scratch, without using any JavaSoft code - its own embedded Java has no impact on the company's existing license of the full-blown version, signed in May of 1996.