A confusing company [LWN.net]

A confusing company

Posted Feb 19, 2004 23:07 UTC (Thu) by pyellman (guest, #4997)
In reply to: A confusing company by bojan
Parent article: Let Java Go

There should be no reason for confusion regarding Sun's reasons for not open sourcing Java: they (Sun) still believe quite deeply that they will ultimately be able to monetize the significant mind share, market share, and developer share that has grown up around the Java programming language. Actually, Sun believes that it is in the position of NEEDING to monetize Java, as a littany of investment and market analysts have berated them for faiing to do so. With Sun's server business in serious jeopardy, many believe that Java is Sun's only high card.

Unfortunately, however, monetizing a programming language is a difficult if not impossible proposition. In my opinion, a language is either growing or dying, and I agree with ESR: the continued growth of the use of Java as a programming language is in jeopardy unless Sun changes course. The range of alternatives to Java continues to grow, not shrink. It would be nice if Sun could come out and state openly their recognition of the obvious: the computing industry is at an inflection point -- going forward, the recipe for success for companies like Sun will be in providing real, direct benefits to real customers (as it is in many other sectors). As much as Sun hates to recognize it, this does mean providing services. Perhaps they could find ways to apply their Java expertise there. But strangling Java in the hopes of someday cashing in big is just a pipe dream.

Peter Yellman

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A confusing company

Posted Feb 19, 2004 23:34 UTC (Thu) by rriggs (subscriber, #11598) [Link]

Sun is in an impossible position right now. They cannot win with their Java strategy. The analysts expect them to make some dough off of Java, and they know they can't do that (for reasons the parent post eloquently describes). But giving up Java to the OSS community would be admitting that to the analysts, which they are not ready to do yet either. They know what the stock charts will look like after such an admission.

The only way this will work is if the analysts all get a clue, and collectively realize that Sun can never profitably monetize Java.

Maybe that's where Eric needs to start weilding the clue-stick...

A confusing company

Posted Feb 19, 2004 23:46 UTC (Thu) by allesfresser (guest, #216) [Link]

I hereby nominate 'monetize' as a contender for the Word Most Worthy Of Being Erased From The English Language. It's just too close to 'monopolize'--too similar in usage as well as sound.

If the analysts got a real clue, certainly they would realize that if Sun released Java from its proprietary shackles, the stock would go *up*, not down. Being the benefactor gets you a lot of good will, and good will generates customers, if you don't waste it. I don't think Sun really fathoms the way Free Software works, and they don't realize how much of a Good Thing letting their baby grow up would be. They just need to look at the long term, not the quarterly myopia of the analysts.

Your could easily replace it with a shorter word

Posted Feb 20, 2004 2:34 UTC (Fri) by leonbrooks (guest, #1494) [Link]

I hereby nominate 'monetize' as a contender for the Word Most Worthy Of Being Erased From The English Language.

Agree. Just replace it with that short, pity word derived from the old German for "to strike".

A confusing company

Posted Feb 20, 2004 15:06 UTC (Fri) by ccchips (subscriber, #3222) [Link]

Right on!

As far as I'm concerned, "money" no longer means "medium of trade." I think it now means "medium of greed."

I could work my behind off for the rest of my life, and wind up barely making enough to handle one big emergency, work a reasonable day's work and wind up with barely enough to live day-to-day.

The people who are engaging in this long "litany" arrange things nicely for themselves; that is, work really hard for a couple of years, and then lord it over the rest of us for the rest of their (and their children's and grand-children's and great-grand-children's (ad nauseam) lives.

On the other hand, I don't have anything against money as a tool for trade, and if Sun wants to make money on Java, so be it. I just wish there were a way to have that happen without all this extra baloney.

I think I'll believe we've gotten somewhere when news.com actually starts writing news, instead of investment news with a technical veneer.

A confusing company

Posted Feb 26, 2004 1:03 UTC (Thu) by bignose (subscriber, #40) [Link]

> Whereas I consider they're trying to avoid MS stealing their efforts

That doesn't wash. The path to releasing as free software and preventing others from "stealing your efforts" is clear, and has vast precedent: release under a strong copyleft like the GNU GPL.

That Sun don't do this, reveals that their concern is not "avoid [someone] stealing their efforts", but something else.