Re: MS to freeze Java in its tracks

Robert S. Thau (rst@ai.mit.edu)
Mon, 25 Nov 1996 15:17:36 -0500


As Robert Thau puts it: "FLASH! MS to leverage proprietary APIs for
developer lock-in. In related news, the sun sets in the west."

Of course, while none of this is particularly surprising, it is
nevertheless significant. However, the significant bits may not be
the flashy ones.

For instance, Microsoft can release all the flashy development tools
it wants with support for its proprietary APIs, and it does them no
good if people just use them to code to the portable interfaces. So,
the real action is probably in Microsoft's attempts to steer people
away from those interfaces, or to avoid supporting them at all ---
Java Beans, for instance, being a particularly messy can of worms.
But then again, PC Leak did a cover story a couple of months ago on
that farrago...

rst