# EDITORIAL PAGE

IS JAVA REALLY A HOUSE OF CARDS?

On November 25th, IBM released OS/2 Developers Kit for Java version 1.1.7. I dutifully downloaded the product and installed it on three totally different configurations without any problems. While this was going on, I've also been following the press releases coming out of the Java Business Expo held December 8-10th in New York which included reports on some major product announcements from Sun, IBM, and others. All of this caused me to reflect on the status of Java. We all know that companies like Sun and IBM are deeply committed to Java and it is obvious that Java is the right thing to do for computing (e.g., "Write Once, Run Anywhere"). However, it occurred to me that Java only exists by the grace of Microsoft and no one else.

Microsoft was none too happy with the court order forcing them to install pure Java in their Internet Explorer browser. So much so, they may even dig in their heals and refuse to include Java in future versions of their operating systems. If this happens, Java will surely perish. As OS/2 users, we have all felt the effect Microsoft has had on applications developed for the Windows world and not for OS/2. The same phenomenon would surely happen in the Java world. If Microsoft flexes its muscles and turns its back on Java, application developers will desert Java faster than they did OS/2 and Java will crumble like a house of cards.

There is only one force that can keep Microsoft in the Java fold, and it is not the consumer (Microsoft already controls the consumer); rather, it is the U.S. Department of Justice's (DOJ) monopoly lawsuit against Microsoft. Gates' company is quick to point at America Online's recent acquisition of Netscape as proof that MS doesn't have a stranglehold on the industry and that innovation and fair play still exists. Some people are being suckered by this, such as the State of South Carolina who consequently withdrew from the DOJ lawsuit. But the reality is, if the DOJ drops its charges, Microsoft will surely drop Java and their domination will be greater than before.

AU REVOIR TBOUG

On another subject and something close to home, the Tampa Bay OS/2 Users' Group (TBOUG) finally closed its doors after five years of operation. This is particularly troubling to me since I was the founder of the group. At its height, TBOUG had as many as 150 corporate and individual members, but as IBM began to back away from marketing the product our numbers plummeted. Fortunately, the Executive Board over the years was able to maintain sufficient funds in the bank to revise the group and re-start it as the Tampa Bay Java Users' Group (TBJUG) effective January 1, 1999. As I've discussed in past issues, this type of shift to Java is somewhat inevitable for OS/2 user groups in order to survive. Will TBJUG abandon OS/2? Absolutely not, although discussion will be relegated to its Operating Systems Committee.

If you have a web link or bookmark to TBOUG's old web page, you may want to update it to reflect its new web address:

http://www.os2ss.com/connect/tbjug/welcome.htm

Best wishes for the holidays!

- Tim Bryce
Editor, OS/2 CONNECT

Copyright © M&JB 1999