Asymetrix Corp has signed up NEC Corp and Toshiba Information Systems Japan to license its SuperCede technology and expects to announce several more OEM deals in 90 days when it has a final production version. NEC will develop a localized, Japanese version of the SuperCede development tools and will bundle SuperCede VM – Asymetrix’s souped-up Java engine – with its software, hardware and so-called Internet appliance products that will be released this fall. Toshiba has licensed SuperCede VM, saying it needs the technology to handle larger Java applets that contain images or sounds and to improve execution time, but was lean on details about what products would result. The SuperCede tool set, comprised of a virtual machine and an interactive development environment, is powered by the Flash Compiler, a device that Asymetrix claims runs Java code five times faster than the fastest JIT compiler and 50 times faster than Sun Microsystems Inc interpreted Java code (CI No 2,932). Asymetrix says although its virtual machine often gets lumped in with just-in-time compilers from Symantec Corp and Borland International, SuperCede VM is different because it eliminates the need for an interpreter and compiles all code at machine level. SuperCede is the first interactive development environment with both C++ and Java and can seamlessly intermix ActiveX and Java, according to a diplomatic Jim Billmaier, president and CEO of Asymetrix, who added: We’re not sure how that battle will rage, but we think both Microsoft and Netscape will enjoy success.
