CNET News.com: Java standard vote opens door for Microsoft

Jun 29, 1999, 16:35 (5 Talkback[s])
(Other stories by Stephen Shankland)

"Sun's control over the effort to standardize Java has slipped, and Microsoft is waiting in the wings with a list of enhancements.

Last week in Kyoto, Japan, a standards body called ECMA (formerly the European Computer Manufacturers Association) voted overwhelmingly to set up a technical committee called TC41 to elucidate the standardize 'write once, run anywhere' Java technology Sun invented.

The shift of responsibility to the committee has more than a procedural effect. ... ECMA has effectively dropped the [Sun-controlled] guidelines for the committee. As a result, the door has opened for Microsoft to make some suggestions of its own. ...The committee promised to make sure Java programs are compatible across computer systems."

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