Jini got a public airing in Sun’s booth at this week’s Java Business Expo, but it wasn’t the much-anticipated full-blown product roll-out the company had at one time suggested. Instead, Jini gets its day on January 25th. Judging by the countless keynote demos we’ve seen, there’s going to be an interesting emphasis on creating what are essentially home networks using Jini, in addition to touting its corporate benefits. Sun’s Java pal Dallas Semiconductor Corp – responsible for the fabled Java ring – has created an Ethernet card that plugs into any power socket and turns the household power circuit into a network. Devices fitted with a $10 Dallas controller card that includes on-board Jini and web server can, by attaching to the power circuit using the card, be made available to any user on the network. Sun rigged up one of its Diba Inc set-top designs, plus printers, cameras, even fans to run on Jini networks at the show, controlling them all from an interface on a laptop. Its point is that Jini networked devices can be controlled remotely from any web site, given the right authorization (which is where Java Card comes in). Though as Scott McNealy observed, an $8 fan fitted with a $10 card doesn’t make much sense. Dallas is expected to get the cards down to a buck or two over time. Meantime, thin server outfit Axis Communications is offering a Jini network interface card that will get legacy devices recognized on Jini networks.
