[176] in java-interest
Justifying Java
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Jayson Raymond)
Fri Jun 2 14:46:22 1995
To: java-interest@java.Eng.Sun.COM
Date: Thu, 01 Jun 95 20:54:42 -0500
From: Jayson Raymond <jraymond@connectsoft.com>
Ackk... I can only assume a most unfortunate accident caused the rest of my
previous post to not be transmitted. Most unfortunate in that it not only
illustrated a justification for my concerns, but more importantly, pointed
out my deep respect for the Java engineering teams efforts. While my tone
may have been slightly vitriolic, it was certainly degraded to an
unjustified paranoid rant when shortened. If our esteemed moderator could
see to it that the below message is broadcast in whole, I would be very
appreciative.
[Moderator: I am very sorry to have apparently lost part of your
original message. It was certainly unintended, and in fact the balance
afforded by the missing part might have cooled my defensive response!
Anyhow, we have been trying to run a completely open list modulo
subscription requests and obvious FAQs, and do not (consciously) edit
people's postings to the mailing lists.]
Please recognize that I am merely playing devils advocate before my boss
does. I am the most vocal Java proponent in this division, and possibly our
company. Major decisions will soon be made regarding building custom
browsers versus utilizing Java. I will be pushing Java, but must have my
ducks lined up first.
Whether by coincidence, or otherwise, todays release of Java for NT, in
addition to the recently announced licensing to Netscape, will cement my
case.
Incidentally, I do appreciate overworked, limited resources such as
yourselves. Also note, I personally own and am very pleased with my Sparc,
and have recommended them to many clients.
And finally a thank you to the Java team for bringing a hot concept to
reality. If Sun does keep to the separation of "church and state" (hardware
and software), then may the rewards multiply a hundred fold. I know I will
personally do my part to make that a reality.
--Jayson Raymond
jraymond@connectsoft.com
Of course, I do not represent my employer, just myself.
(Previous message in entirety (with moderator comment) follows.
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(In response to the question, is it running on SunOS4.x yet...)
Anselm Baird-Smith has it up and running on SunOS4, while internally to Sun
an NT version is running.
Yet, only the Solaris version is available currently. So what gives?
Where does Sun make the return on investment in this technology? Licensing?
Or perhaps sales of HW and OS's to customers wanting to get into the Java
game early?
Now don't get me wrong, Sun has the right to do as they please with the
technology they've developed, and in fact has a responsibility to
shareholders to seek a return on this investment.
However, when I make recommendations for standards and software solutions my
company should follow, it is my professional responsibility to be acutely
aware, especially when evaluating software solutions originating from
hardware companies. I must sense "secret agendas" built into marketing plans
[Moderator: Secret agendas? If you want to discuss marketing plans you
should talk to our people in charge of marketing (Kim Polese, polese@eng.sun
.com or Mark Scott Johnson, msj@eng.sun.com). However, as far as system
availablity is concerned, be advised that we are a small group with limited
resources and a ton of work to do. The strongest proof that we are
committed to making Java technology ubiquitous on the Internet is that
without doing so the effort will fail, or at least be stuck in niches. With
the goals we have it doesn't make any sense to play games with availability.
Neither does it make sense to release stuff that's not done.]
For instance, such marketing divisiveness can be seen when evaluating
Solaris for the PC. The last time I checked it not only significantly lagged
in capabilities behind Solaris for Sun HW, but also had hard limits to the
number of users who can use it simultaneously, an arbitrary limitation
specifically written into Solaris for the PC.
Do I smell the same marketing ploy at work again?
Perhaps a statement from Sun can quell the cries of "Free JAVA" building in
the halls here.
-- Jayson
P.S. Incidentally, my hat is off to the JAVA _Engineering_ team.
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