Open Source is out of the Java process

Yogidabear writes: "According to the Apache group, Open Source has been officially locked out of the Java process with JSR 99 (Java Specification Participation Agreement). The article on the Jakarta site notes that IBM in particular voted against this JSR and many others noted that they were not happy with the stance Sun was taking against Open Source. What does this mean for the Open Source community as it relates to Java? And, better yet, what does this mean for Java?"

Comments

If Sun owns stock in a telco, it charges for J2SDK

[yerricde]

Sure Sun isn't being nice to open source, but I highly doubt they would charge for the jdk or implement costly licensing.

If Sun Microsystems owns stock in at least one European telephone company, then Sun is (indirectly) charging for access to the J2SDK. The license for the J2SDK does not permit redistribution outside an organization. The J2SDK is available free of charge over the Internet, but it takes an hour and a half to download over a 56K connection, and many European telcos bill local telephone calls (e.g. to ISPs) by the minute at rates approaching $2/hour in some areas. If the telco turns a profit, and Sun owns part of the telco, then Sun gets part of the dividends.

Anti-trollbait disclaimer: Yes, trolls, I know that such charges are a drop in the bucket, but parent stated that Sun is probably not charging at all. No, trolls, I don't know whether or not Sun has any European telco holdings.