Windows Phone Thoughts: Microsoft Ordered to Bundle Java

Scott McNealy and his cronies are at it again, this time forcing Microsoft to distribute the Sun Java engine with Windows. Sheesh. :roll: I can't remember the last time I went to a site that actually required Java - I don't even have the VM installed on this computer. If a site offers something only in Java, I leave. Java on the client side is dead, though it seems to be living on in the server market if those .jsp pages I see everywhere is any indication. The market should decide if Java comes bundled with Windows - if every Web site used it, the demand for it would be enormous, and there would be merit for this case from Sun. Instead, it's just Scott McNealy whining again about how "unfair" it is that Microsoft decides which technology to promote and bundle with their own operating system.

"Microsoft must distribute Java technology from Sun Microsystems in every copy of Windows and Internet Explorer that it ships, a U.S. federal judge has ruled. U.S. District Judge Frederick Motz on Monday approved a preliminary injunction sought by Sun that forces Microsoft to upgrade its operating system and browser products with Java software that uses the latest version of the technology."

What's silly about this is that if the Java VM were as light and simple to install as the Flash 6 client, this would be a non-issue. If a site required the Sun Java VM client, it would download as an ActiveX control and the user would have instant access to it. Instead, it's a cumbersome process of going to the Sun site, downloading the software, closing your Web browser, installing it, then heading back to the site you started at that was asking for Java. It's not hard to see why this scenario isn't attractive to the market is it?