Channel Weary Of Sun/Microsoft Flap Over Java

Sun's attorneys, who are here seeking a preliminary injunction that would require Microsoft to include a Java Virtual Machine (JVM) compatible with the latest edition of Java in Windows XP, sought to prove to U.S. District Judge J. Frederick Motz that irreparable damage to both Java and Sun is imminent as interest around .Net builds.

Without the injunction, "the harm to Sun would be very significant," said Richard Green, vice president of developer tools at Sun, on the witness stand.

While Sun blames Microsoft's anticompetitive acts for curtailing Java's acceptance by developers, Microsoft retorted that even Sun has acknowledged internally that Java has problems, including a large footprint that makes JVM downloads time-consuming.

The hearing's biggest bombshell came when Microsoft attorneys displayed a May 13, 2002, e-mail to Green from Sun Vice President and Java inventor James Gosling regarding those alleged problems with Java, which also include overly complex installation and poor support for graphics.

"We're really [messing up on the client side, mostly through neglect," he wrote.

For their part, solution providers said they would prefer constructive dialogue between the companies instead of finger-pointing.

Tom Derosier, co-owner of The CPU Guys, a solution provider in Hanson, Mass., said Microsoft and Sun should resolve their dispute so that Java compatibility is assured for companies installing Windows XP.

"They can dislike each other until the end of the world, but they should sit down and work together to help customers solve problems," Derosier said.

Robert Johnson, president of Cimcor, a Merrillville, Ind.-based solution provider and ISV, said there is likely room in the market for both Java and .Net.

"Sun's original JVM was very slow, and the [original Microsoft JVM was extremely fast," Johnson said. "[Microsoft helped get around some of the [Java client problems."

STEVEN BURKE contributed to this story.