Sun to Change Java License for Linux

daria42 writes "It looks like the days of downloading Java every time you re-install a Linux box may be at an end. Reports are trickling in that Sun plans to alter the Java license to make it easier to bundle the JRE with Linux. From the article: 'Sun has faced calls several times to open-source Java, which advocates say would foster innovative open-source development. The company has resisted formally open-sourcing all of the Java software, but it has dramatically changed the development process around Java and changed licenses to make it easier to see Java source code.'"

Comments

Hard..

[ZoWnX]

Because downloading the JDK or the JRE after installing linux was hard? If it wasnt for this, I wouldnt be periodically using the latest version.

Re:Hard..

[CastrTroy]

I think it has more to do with having the distro do it for you. If we want Joe User to be able to use linux for their desktop needs, then we are going to have to make it as easy as possible for them to use. Of course the people in control of the distro are the ones making the decision. If they don't want to include it because of some ideological values, then that's their business. If they feel the people using the OS has can just install it themselves, then that's their business. But if they're trying to put out an easy to use desktop distro, then they'd probably be smart thinking twice about including it.

days of downloading Java

[JoelMeow]

days of downloading Java

That's what you get for having a slow connection.

We already have open source Java

[CustomDesigned]

Sun provides an open spec (actually multiple specs). There are open source implementations of the spec. Sun and others have proprietary implementations. There are applications where the open source implementations are superior (typically small memory and embedded). If you have tons of memory, Sun's Hotspot VM is very fast.

If there are areas where the specs need improvement to get closer to the "Write Once Run Anywhere" goal, by all means complain about those areas.

We want multiple competing implementations, both open and proprietary. That said, I could see Sun open sourcing the Java libraries - at least the Java parts. The SDK comes with Sun source for the publically visible parts of libraries. However, the licence precludes using that source in an open source VM. Instead, the GNU classpath project has to rewrite them from the spec.

Keeping the Sun VM proprietary but opensourcing the libraries seems like a good compromise between maximum interoperability and competition.

Java as electricity

[aphaenogaster]

Odd analogy, but I guess it kind of makes a little sense maybe... http://www.forbes.com/2006/05/04/sun-microsystems- schwartz-cz_ec_0504schwartz.html?partner=yahootix In shwartz's words...

Forbes:

You're trying to woo customers with free hardware. How do you make them paying customers? You haven't monetized Java proportional to what's out there.
JShwartz:

That's a misnomer. Largely an American misnomer. Nearing 1 billion Java handsets.

Forbes:

So what's your Java revenue?

JS:

Close to $13 billion.

F:

That's not money in Sun's pocket, though.

JS:

It's like asking a company that produces generators how much of their demand comes from people using electricity. It's 100 percent.

F:

But it's about how many customers are paying you for the privilege of using Java.

S:

And I'll point out that a billion handsets fuels an enormous market in the telecommunications industry. Java running on Sun's Java Enterprise system, whether it's at American Express or General Electric or Vodafone, is fueling Sun's overall revenue. Asking us how much money we make on Java is like asking Verizon Communications how much money they make on handsets. The fact is that they lose a fortune on handsets, but they make a fortune in subscribers.

F:

So are you going to convert Java users to subscription service for Sun?

S:

Partially, we're already doing that. American Express runs on the Java Enterprise system. That's per employee subscription for core middleware for Sun. My broader point is that Java ensures Sun has access to an open market. Java allows us to reach out to customers who don't run on Sun hardware and ensure we can serve them wherever they may be--whether it's on a Dell box or HP box or in an IBM customer base.

Again, it's hard to explain to people. Here's an analogy. With the advent of electricity, Thomas Edison tried to patent a lightbulb so that you would have to use his lightbulbs if you used his dynamo. That strategy obviously failed. And what emerged was the standard plug. Asking Sun the value of Java is like asking GE--which is, I think, the largest manufacturer of power turbines in the world--what the value of the standard plug is. It ensures they can serve a global marketplace. So if you asked them what's the value of the plug, how would they respond?

Here are some stats on Java: There are more than 1 billion Java cards in the marketplace, securing everything from set-top boxes to handsets. There are more than a billion Java handsets, all driving demand for network infrastructure. There are nearly 1,000 members of the Java community process, who collectively contribute to the standard called "Java." It is the default standard for set-top boxes in Brazil. So what will the infrastructure opportunity be in Brazil to serve 100 million Java-enabled set-top boxes? I promise you it will be enormous, and Sun will be among many participants that can serve that demand.

I wish Java was more like CPAN

[johnnnyboy]

The more I hear calls that Java to be more open source the more I wish all these Java libraries worked like the way CPAN does.

CPAN is great and its what keeps Perl relevant and it works well for the Perl community. All these java libraries bundled with the JDK should be more modular with a lean core distro and then the rest can be organized and installed as modules.

And like everything CPAN all these modules will be peer reviewed by other Java developers in the open source and corporate worlds.

Ah, one can only dream.