Tuesday June 29, 2004 JavaOne: Want an Opteron for a penny? LG under GPL?
Sitting in Scott McNealy's keynote this morning - he just announced that Allied Irish Bank are replacing Windows on 7,500 desktops with JDS, and he also announced that there's a premium Java developer subscription and an Opteron workstation on eBay with a reserve of a penny. Scott also just announced that the 3D desktop, Project Looking Glass, is now available under GPL.
Posted by webmink
( Jun 29 2004, 09:30:37 AM PDT )
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Bloggers @ JavaOne
Well, we had a great gathering last night at the Thirsty Bear - too many folk to even begin to name, we had the staff quite worried with the number of people trying to cram into a tiny space. One guest I will name though is Jonathan Schwartz, Sun's new President, who came over to share a beer with the Java Bloggers and to celebrate the launch of his new blog.
Posted by webmink
( Jun 29 2004, 08:48:22 AM PDT )
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Monday June 28, 2004 JavaOne: Java 3D Open Source, Project Looking Glass Next
Just announced in the keynote: Java 3D is now open source, and the all-Java Project Looking Glass 3D desktop system will be open source as soon as it's ready to be put on java.net - great news. Posted by webmink
( Jun 28 2004, 09:55:51 AM PDT )
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JavaOne: Not just an iPod in that car...
Really cool demos are of course expected at a conference, but I loved the demo from BMW, given live from a BMW 6 series on stage. Future BMWs will have a Java-powered command and control centre in the vehicle (written by Siemens), offering navigation, entertainment and full vehicle feature control. Looked very cool indeed. I'll try to take a look at it on the show floor. Posted by webmink
( Jun 28 2004, 09:53:14 AM PDT )
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Sunday June 27, 2004 JavaOne: Hidden Gem
I have been to ever JavaOne, and each year the first event for me has been the Fireside Chat for JavaOne Alumni. This is involves a group of Sun's foremost Java professionals, and audience and an open microphone. Today it's James Gosling, Rob Gingell, Graham Hamilton and Tim Lindholm, and both the questions and the answers are deep and insightful.
What's notable is the relaxation that the absence of journalists brings. The four laugh together, are willing to express their doubts about things. One questioner, a university professor, asks why a Java language was implemented in a way inconsistent with good OO practice and Gosling declines to answer, making clear he totally agrees but was outvoted by others when the spec was written. In reply to a question about SWT Hamilton clearly expresses his scepticism (should be a hot panel on Wednesday)
Chatting later with Amy Fowler (tech lead on the wonderful JDNC) it's clear that the Fireside Chat is not widely recognised for the gem it is. I, like the rest of the audience, felt privileged to be able to be included in such a lucid and intimate discussion; it was worth rushing my connection at LAX to be there!
Posted by webmink
( Jun 27 2004, 10:54:48 PM PDT )
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Thursday June 24, 2004 Why 'Java Desktop System' Is A Great Name
One of the questions I am frequently asked is why the Java Desktop System is so named. After all, very little of it is written in the Java Language. The answer I always give is that the name reflects its intended use, not its heritage (I get plenty of sneers to that right now - that will change). The direction over time is going to be to make JDS the perfect place for the corporate developer to deploy Java client software, whether that's as free-standing applications, applications dynamically loaded by Java WebStart (which is a brilliant tool by the way) or applets delivered by Java Plugin. Hence the name - it's called Java Desktop System because it's a Desktop System designed for Java programs.
Consequently, I'm delighted to see that vision come a few steps closer with the release of the JDesktop Network Components (JDNC), which join the JDesktop Integration Components (JDIC) in helping programmers create rich client software. JDNC lets you build a high-function GUI with data bindings just by creating an XML description of the application. That description can then be deployed in any of the three ways I mentioned (static installed, dynamic installed or browser delivered) depending on your infrastructure and requirements. JDIC offers Java programmers the ability to write system utilities like screen-savers and tray icons that will work on multiple platforms.
What particularly strikes me is that the vision of rich client software does not imply that you have to have a heavyweight client desktop. People are too quick to assume that creating client-side function immediately implies the use of a highly stateful system on the desktop. Creating client applications with JDNC leaves the options open for what sort of desktop systems you give people, leaving you free to create powerful rich-client software and to control costs using thin client desktop systems without losing the ability to give power-users more costly heavy client desktop systems where necessary. Before long, JDS will be available as both thin and heavy clients.
This was my true vision of the Java platform back in 1995 (at IBM!) - to be able to write applications without having to decide in advance how they would be delivered to their users. This still seems the key step in releasing companies from desktop slavery. JDNC brings it a little closer. And it's LGPL.
Posted by webmink
( Jun 24 2004, 02:59:34 PM PDT )
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Tuesday June 22, 2004 JavaOne blogger meet-up
A whole group of us had a great JavaOne blogger meet-up last year. I was planning a re-run and so were others in the Java blogging community so we have decided to join forces - 6:30pm Monday. Visit the Atlassian site for details and updates. If you're coming, link to that URL and trackback or at least click and we'll watch the numbers to get an idea of whether the Thirsty Bear will cope! Posted by webmink
( Jun 22 2004, 06:20:24 PM PDT )
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Looking Glass Community Meeting at JavaOne
This just showed up in my mail.
The idea of a 3D Desktop community is interesting and promising...You are invited to the Project Looking Glass Community Meeting Wednesday June 30, 2004 4:30pm to 6:00pm The Argent Hotel, City Room San Francisco, California, USA http://www.argenthotel.com/location.htm 4:00-4:30 Registration 4:30-4:45 Welcome, Introductions, and 3D Desktop Project Demo 4:45-5:30 Technology Overview, Possible Sub Projects, How to Get Started 5:30-6:00 Q&A and Networking Please join the conversation with the 3D desktop project developers from Sun Microsystems. This meeting will be technically focused introducing developers to the project and letting them know how to get involved. You can meet the team from "Project Looking Glass" and other developers while enjoying food and refreshments. There is open admission. You do not need a JavaOne Conference Pass to attend. We're having the Community Meeting at the same time as the JavaOne conference in San Francisco since our developers and many more in the community will be there. We will be sending out an information via email on how everyone in the developer community to get involved with this project. We will have several presentations and events around the 3D desktop project at JavaOne, and we'll post as many as we can on the web for others to see. Sun's 3D Desktop Project Team
Posted by webmink
( Jun 22 2004, 12:00:20 PM PDT )
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Friday June 18, 2004 Neutrality and Abstraction
I've just been chatting with Scoble on IM (yes, it happens). He'd not noticed Rome, but thinks it's cool and I agree. This is the path forward in the Great Syndication War, in my view - neutrality and abstraction. Rome lets you use XML-based computer-to-computer syndication in your Java programs regardless of the underlying format.
What I think is changing the world is loosely-coupled, XML-based syndication. I respect its history and the minds that made it and the technologies it leverages, but going forward all I want is stuff that works and is open. Arguing how to do that is for other minds. As for me, I don't want to be co-opted by any faction. The terms we use to talk of things do matter. To avoid co-option while supporting the technology I talk neutrally of 'syndication feeds' and I suggest you do too.
Posted by webmink
( Jun 18 2004, 06:53:47 PM PDT )
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Wednesday June 16, 2004 Rome wasn't built in a day
... but there's a new Rome release after just a week. 0.2 is out, ending syndication feed confusion by supporting all of 'em. Kudos to Alejandro and Patrick, great work. Posted by webmink
( Jun 16 2004, 04:39:26 PM PDT )
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Saturday June 12, 2004 Intermingled Arguments
You may not be aware of this, but the European Commission recently issued a statement explaining its desires concerning the document format standard to be used by office productivity tools in EU governments. The statement is very carefully worded and leaves plenty of room for the two market leaders to continue to compete, as Joe Wilcox hints. I'm told by EU-watchers that the message between the lines is (a) that the EU now considers the OASIS Open Office XML Format crucial and (b) that the 'advice' to Microsoft to stop acting superior and join the standards effort is a strong warning.
The consequence has been a discussion between some of the participants. Tim Bray describes the points he made when he gave evidence and Jean Paoli of Microsoft (or his PR ghostwriter) has published an official response.
I've been fascinated by this discussion for quite some time - back in 2002 I participated in a discussion on Sam's site. Being a non-expert of the topic I tend to get trashed by some of the combatants when I fail to grasp all the minutuae, but it seems to me that the argument made by the OpenOffice.org community and the argument made by Microsoft are actually different discussions, analagous to the old distinction of XML users as being either document-headed or data-headed.
The OO.o people argue that users of office productivity tools deserve freedom of choice for the tools they use and longevity for the documents they create, and on this basis argue that what's needed is a standardised XML dialect for creating documents. Tim Bray writes:
It’s your intellectual capital and you worked hard to produce it for your citizens. Sun doesn’t own it, Microsoft doesn’t own it, you own it, and that means it should be living in a nice, long-lived, non-proprietary data format that isn’t anyone’s competitive weapon.
The Microsoft people argue that the freedom to create a business-specific XML schema is key and are (justly) proud of the theoretical ability to read any XML format. Dare Obasanjo writes:
Office 2003 is a great step forward in enabling businesses and end users harness the power of XML in typical document interchange scenarios. Arguments about whether you should use Sun's XML format or Microsoft's XML format aren't the point. The point is which tools allow you to use your XML format with the most ease.
Both are valid freedoms to encourage for their context; it's just that the latter freedom is of no use to me or to the millions of ordinary office productivity suite users who just want to be productive now and still be able to use their documents in 3, 5, 10 years time when they have their new 3D-holographic-tablet-mobile-communicator-device thing. Intermingling the two arguments may make for great marketing but it doesn't help. To paraphrase Dare, the point is which tools allow you to use a standard XML format with the most ease.
Robert thinks end-users don't want standards but I know plenty of people who worry about not being able to exchange word-processing files with each other, and I have spoken to several countries national librarians who worry greatly that using arbitrary data formats (even published ones) is guaranteed Alzheimers for the national memory. As Danny O'Brien comments, without any better standard we all just use plain-text files.
Posted by webmink
( Jun 12 2004, 01:15:56 PM PDT )
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The Blogging Experience
As well as being amused and stung by UserFriendly this week, I've been enjoying the comments John Clingan has been making about the blogging experience. His concern, which I share, is that speaking with an authentic voice means taking the risk of one's comments being used elsewhere unwisely or even maliciously. More than once I have posted things which are my view and seen them cited as "the view of Sun's Chief Evangelist" and thereafter with the words "Sun says..." - circumstances under which, sadly, non-authentic marketing cuts in. John says:
I think being paranoid about these things defeats the value of blogging and can quickly become an inhibiter. I will, while blogging, do my best to get things right and leave it at that. Let common sense rule. Just keep in mind that, while I work for Sun Microsystems, my blogs are my own and represent my opinions, and that, well, I am only human.
John also writes on a topic I've been considering recently, the subject of anonymous postings. He's right on the nail in his discussion but I can hear in my memory the arguments of those who say that anonymous posting is essential to allow free discussion. That may be true, but I agree with John when he says:
Anonymity unfortunately encourages posts that are so chock full of opinion with baseless claims that you wonder if the poster was really a computer program that generated random words.
and that's why on my webmink blog I have set house rules requesting people posting anonymously to advise me of their identity or risk removal of their remarks.
But the problem is deeper than that. Pseudonymous posting is much more sinister. The recent debacle on TheServerSide was caused not by anonymous posting by by pseudonymous posting, with assumed identities being filled out over time and used to rubbish the critics of those controlling them in a way that would not be respected if the true identities were known. While we can invent ways to mitigate the problem, ultimately all blogging - in fact, all reportage - should be taken with a pinch of salt and trust only placed in it to the extent one's relationship with the speaker permits and the authenticity of the voice supports. To be otherwise is to be a techno-utopian.
Posted by webmink
( Jun 12 2004, 10:43:36 AM PDT )
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Sunday June 06, 2004 Another MinkBlog?
Yep. Kudos to Will Snow and the rest of the team for getting this site together so effortlessly. I'm not sure I'll be using it that often myself as I try to keep everything over on Webmink and already struggle to cross-post to java.net but we'll see. Why are we doing this? Well, it's partly as a public service to the 32,000+ Sun employees out there, partly as a learning exercise for the CTO Office and others in the Sun software division where I work, partly a sign of the times for sun.com and partly something I'd expect any large employer to offer once they grok Cluetrain. Still plenty of things to do but I am really proud to work for a company where this is possible. Posted by webmink
( Jun 06 2004, 11:39:59 AM PDT )
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