Read Eric Raymond's Open Letter to Scott McNealy: "Let Java Go"
Read "Letting Java Go" - James Gosling in 2003 on Open-Sourcing Java
As if driven by the cycles of the moon, it seems like the Java community gets
a monthly visit from that special topic that divides and angers us more than
any other: the question of whether Sun should "open source" Java? Most
recently a top open source advocate named Eric Raymond (author of The
Cathedral And The Bazaar) published an open letter to Sun urging them to "Let
Java Go." I have huge respect for the achievements of the open source
community, but I tend to stay away from the pissing contests that these
discussions about open sourcing Java often devolve into.
I think the issue is something of a bugaboo, anyway. The source code for Java
is readily available to anyone who accepts the Sun Community Source License
(SCSL.) You can fix p... (more)
I'm sure you've often seen articles citing market research reports from
high-powered industry analyst groups. Market research is a
multibillion-dollar industry in its own right, and major economic and
political decisions are often based on the information gleaned from these
reports. I'm also sure there have been numerous high-quality reports produced
to examine every aspect of Java I've been fortunate enough to have seen a
few. The problem is that these reports are usually distributed only to the
few decision makers who have the budget to afford the hefty price tags they
inva... (more)
I don't need a California court to tell me that Microsoft has breached their
commitment to Java. Their attacks on Java portability, its very heart and
soul, are blatant and painfully obvious. It's time to move on, and I think
the solution to the Microsoft problem is simple.
Let's just make Microsoft irrelevant. In fact, let's watch while Microsoft
makes itself irrelevant to the entire Java developer community. They have no
intention of supporting us, so let's not waste any more precious time and
energy trying to persuade them to. Microsoft walked away from their
partnership with... (more)
There's one form of power that is almost universally recognized in our
society, the power of consumer spending. This is at the heart of all
commerce, and anybody who tries to tell you otherwise must have something to
sell you. I read today that more than 45 million American homes now have
computers, and I'm sure that the number of computers used in businesses far
exceeds that. I doubt that anyone will argue the fact that a lot of
technology-driven consumer spending power is at work in our economy.
As a software developer you probably have significant influence over where
some of... (more)
What I want most for Java developers is opportunity! I don't mean just the
opportunity for a steady job in the corporate world that any competent Java
developer should enjoy with confidence. Rather, I mean the awe-inspiring
opportunities that come from the sense that Java developers can potentially
change the world of technology, and quite possibly the world as a whole.
In truth, it just wasn't that long ago that two guys named Steve started
Apple Computer in a California garage and helped spark a furious explosion of
innovation and economic growth. In fact, it wasn't even so long ... (more)
Rick Ross is the founder of Javalobby (www.javalobby.org). He is a frequent speaker at Java-related events and a well-known advocate for Java developer interests.
Darryl S. Brown
Eric Z. Maass
Jeff Barnes
Frank Greco
Peter Lubbers
Vineet Tyagi
Merlin Francis
