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Technology Stocks : How high will Microsoft fly? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: mozek who wrote (8438)	6/13/1998 5:04:00 PM
From: Bearded One	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 74651

First, the heirarchy that was claimed by Sun to be off limits was java., not sun.. Yes, you are correct. Typo on my part. Netscape has added to java.. In fact, Netscape had already set a precedent for modifying these classes when Microsoft made their changes.* Netscape's IFC all begin with 'netscape.', not 'java.' So what are you talking about? Sun said they weren't suing Netscape because Netscape said they would comply. Funny thing is, a short time later, Netscape announced that they would drop Java support in their browser. Guess they really meant it when they said they'd comply, eh? Good spin. Netscape is not dropping Java support from their browser, they simply are going to rely on Sun for the Java rather than duplicate resources with Sun and develop it on their own. So they are in compliance. Let's see-- Company A publically states an intention to comply, voluntarily removes your logo because they're not currently in compliance, then decides to rely on your version of the code. Company B pubically states an intention to NOT comply and goes ahead with their non-compliant version and doesn't voluntarily remove your logo. Who you gonna Sue? Microsoft may claim that they are allowed to add API's, but that, of course, is not Sun's position and fails the "straight face" test. Nobody believes that Sun would voluntarily give anyone else the right to arbitrarily modify the java.* heirarchy. Here's from Sun's FAQ on the subject: java.sun.com Q12: Is there a right way to add functionality to the Java platform? A12: Of course. We encourage all of our licensees to make improvements on top of the Java platform. There is a well-defined infrastructure in place for doing so. Any company who wishes to add function for Java has two options: propose the enhancement to us for incorporation into the Java APIs, or develop and deliver this new functionality OUTSIDE of the public Java API package. Suggestions for changes within the Java API may be given to Sun to be evaluated by the Java community through Sun's well-established processes. No licensee may unilaterally make changes within the Java API and deliver them into the marketplace, as Microsoft has done. ... Based on your lack of understanding of the issues, I assume you don't work for Sun, Netscape, or Microsoft. I'm getting dizzy from this spin. I understand the issues perfectly fine, thank you. From your position on the issues, I assume that you either work or worked for Microsoft, or own stock in the company. What's the point? If that's true, can I ask why you seem to be so anti-Microsoft? If I am anti-Microsoft based on my understanding of the issues, then so are quite a few Java developers. From an old Techweb article: Several independent developers with an intimate knowledge of the different releases of the Java Developers Kit said there is no question that Microsoft's 1.1 implementation diverged from Sun's standard. The developers largely supported Sun's legal action. "It was definitely justified," said Alex Chaffee, a Java consultant in New York and one of the developers of the Gamelan Web site, a collection and directory of Java applets. This week, Chaffee tested the class files of both Sun's and Microsoft's Java 1.1 implementations. His findings: Sun may have overstated the extent to which Microsoft tinkered with the class libraries, but there are still enough changes to affect compatibility and confuse developers, as Sun charges. Dave Boydston, a principal consultant at Solutions Consulting, a small company specializing in Java, found in his tests that applications written with Microsoft's latest Java tools break when run on other platforms. "Whatever is in their VM in IE 4.0, it is not even compatible with their own earlier versions," Boydston said. I have never seen a positive statement from you about Microsoft, and I honestly would be curious to hear an objective reason for your anti-Microsoft sentiment. Because the issues which we discuss here are pretty much issues in which Microsoft is in the wrong. That's all. If you want to discuss drivers and printer support then you'll hear lots of good stuff about Microsoft from me.