Java never lived up to its promise of freeing software from Microsoft's Windows monopoly. On the other hand, Microsoft has not been able to defeat the forces of open-source software (or Java).
Converting Java to the open-source community is a big deal but it is also just one more event in a struggle with a very unclear outcome.
Sun Makes Java a Free, Open-Source Platform
Computer Maker's Shift Aims to Widen the Appeal Of Programming Language
By CHRISTOPHER LAWTON and DON CLARKNovember 13, 2006
Wall Street Journal
Sun Microsystems Inc. has decided to make its Java software available on an open-source basis, part of the company's effort to keep current with a technology trend that has changed how programs are written and distributed.
The computer maker, significantly, plans to use a licensing scheme that open-source proponents favor. The move by Sun, of Santa Clara, Calif., could make it easier for Java to be distributed along with the Linux operating system and other popular open-source products.
Java is a programming language widely used in electronics, including for smart cards and cellphones. But the software has been eclipsed for many applications by open-source products, many of which are available free. By offering similar terms, Sun hopes to broaden Java's appeal and lower the cost of using it.
"The fact that we are changing the license and making this a free and open-source technology platform really allows us to look at the current billion installed base and say how do we get to the next billion," said Jonathan Schwartz, Sun's chief executive.
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