"IBM on Wednesday sent an open letter to Sun Microsystems,
urging the company to make Java technology open source, CNET
News.com has learned.
"In a letter sent by Rod Smith, IBM's vice president of emerging
technology, IBM offered to work with Sun to create a project that
would shepherd development of Java through an open-source
development model. If implemented, portions of Sun's most valuable
software asset--Java--would be freely available, and contributors
ranging from volunteer programmers to large corporations would
submit changes to the Java software.
"'Sun's strong commitment to open-source Java would speed the
development of a first-class and compatible open-source Java
implementation to the benefit of our customers and our industry,'
Smith wrote to Rob Gingell, a Sun vice president. 'We are firmly
convinced the open source community would rally around this
effort...'"
