Microsoft Will Modify Java Code (11/19/98, 2:22 p.m. ET) By Paula Rooney, Computer Retail Week Following a court ruling in Sun Microsystems' favor Tuesday, Microsoft will ship to the channel updated Java code for Windows 98 and its Visual J and Visual Studio Internet development tools, company sources said. To comply with the court injunction, which forces Microsoft to modify all of its Java-based products to conform to Sun's standards, Microsoft will add the Java Native Interface (JNI) to several products, including Windows 98, said Jim Cullinan, a Microsoft spokesman. It will "slipstream," or add code, to products as they ship within the next 90 days. The changes will have no material effect on channel partners, the spokesman said. Windows 98 incorporates Microsoft's Internet Explorer 4.0 browser, which uses an implementation of Java not approved by Sun, which developed the Internet programming language. "It doesn't impact any retail product on the shelves," Cullinan said. "We don't have to remove our technologies. We just need to add this technology [JNI] to make sure we're compatible. It won't have any impact on our delivery to consumers." The Microsoft Tools Group on Wednesday was expected to announce future plans for Microsoft's Java implementation. Sun filed a lawsuit against Microsoft in October 1997, charging Microsoft with trademark infringement, false advertising, breach of contract, and unfair competition related to Microsoft's unorthodox implementations of Java. In March, the court ordered Microsoft to remove all the coffee mug Java-compatible logos from products on shelves. At that time, Microsoft was required to pull about 20,000 Internet Explorer Plus boxes bearing the Java-compatible logo from shelves and "refresh" them with new boxes sans the logo. Windows 98 had not yet shipped at that time. Although the court ruling is deemed a major loss for Microsoft, analysts don't expect the software giant to hand over its standard-setting rights to Sun. "Sun won the battle here, but it's not clear they can force Microsoft to adopt the Java platform," said Eric Brown, an analyst with Forrester Research, in Cambridge, Mass. "There's no way Sun can put the collar on [Microsoft] and drag them across the dunes to accept Java." He noted Microsoft could develop a "clean room" version of Java on its own or refuse to endorse Sun's forthcoming Java 1.2 specification. The lawsuit focused exclusively on Microsoft's implementation of Java 1.1. From MAILER-DAEMON@cs.depaul.edu Mon Nov 23 09:26:48 1998