“Java is both a programming language and a cross-platform
environment. It was supposed to make operating systems like Windows
irrelevant by adding an extra layer on top. It wouldn’t matter what
was underneath, as long as the computer could run a Java virtual
machine.”
“But Sun overpromised and underdelivered. Java virtual
machines are too slow. And they don’t work the same on all
platforms, so developers can’t “write once and run anywhere.”
To make matters worse, Sun mismanaged the upgrade process, so
improvements were slow to come….”
“Sun could revive the Java dream by making it an open source
product. Unhappily, asking Sun CEO Scott McNealy to take that route
is like asking Saddam Hussein to fix Serbia. Doing the right thing
just won’t occur to the man.”