Ron Hitchens's Blog

February 2004 Archives

ESR to McNealy: Let Java Go

Eric S. Raymond has posted an open letter to Sun on the topic of open source and Java. With typical ESR directness, he tells Sun that they need to choose between ubiquity or control. They can't have it both ways.

I'm generally in agreement with Eric on this one. I think Java needs to be open sourced to survive. James Gosling has even made favorable statements about open-sourcing Java. The current situation, where Java is buffetted about by Sun's corporate concerns, seems not to be good for Java (or Sun, for that matter).

Sun Wants Middleware To Go Away?

Java Developer Journal is running a press release, er, article about Sun's latest marcom that "Middleware is History". I suppose this phrase is in reaction to IBM's "Middleware is Everywhere" (witness the dueling billboards on Highway 101), but I don't think they're sending a positive message. The followups posted to this article are near universally negative.

I realize that Sun is going through some tough times and are trying to reposition themselves, but I'm afraid they're hurting Java more than helping it as they go through these various jyrations.

We need less confusion in the market about the future of Java and J2EE, not more. Redmond must just love this stuff.

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