Sun’s chief executive, though, dismissed concerns over Sun’s ability to profit from Java’s ubiquity, as certain products lag those of competitors in a handful of key markets.

McNealy, closing JavaOne 2003 in San Francisco, California, told conference delegates Java is now synonymous with web services and pervasive, on mobile phones, servers and smart cards.

The future of desktop Java is also secure, he claimed, following last week’s announcement Dell Computer Corp and Hewlett Packard Co would ship Sun’s Java Runtime Environment (JRE) on their PCs.

The desktop was where we [originally] targeted this [Java]. Well I think we are there. The HP and Dell announcements are a real stunner, and it’s creating a real domino effect with the rest of the PC manufacturers, McNealy said.

The proliferation, especially, of mobile devices means developers are now constructing downloadable applications and services written to Java, capable of going running on different platforms, instead of programming to the operating underlying system.

We have merged Java with web services, so Java and web services are kind of one word… you don’t write to the operating system. It’s so the last millennium to write to the operating system, McNealy said.

I look at the fact I bought this cell phone, McNealy said holding a handset, and don’t have to buy the operating system. It’s not Sun Microsoft it’s Sun Microsystems, it’s nice when it comes with the software and the hardware.

The pervasiveness of Java appears to have come despite some poor marketing by Sun. In a rare moment of humility, McNealy said Sun’s marketing would improve – the company last week announced a new Java brand and planned advertising campaign.

With Java gaining popularity, McNealy said that much of the industry’s focus on open source development was mistaken. Application development, McNealy said, should be left to programmers as end-users were not interested in concepts like open source.

Most attention is on the open source model. That should be the domain of the service provider. Most end users should leave the zeros and ones to the suppliers. Unwrapped software is something that ought to be left to the professionals, McNealy said.

Sun has used its annual JavaOne event to promote the community, supporting both competitors and partners in the fields of tools, application servers and middleware.

The company’s decision to champion Java’s community-based development while at the same time attempting to differentiate itself from rivals using the same underlying technology has raised questions.

Unanswered is how the company hopes to beat rivals such as BEA Systems Inc, Borland Software Corp and IBM Corp in markets where its products are lagging.

A defensive McNealy told journalists at a post keynote press conference that Sun would be successful. We don’t do anything we don’t think won’t pay off financially. It may look like we are charitable and altruistic, but this is a strategy that’s good for the planet and for our shareholders, he said.

He claimed that Sun makes money from implementing Java in products rather than owning the language, and charging vendors to use it. We think we provide a wonderful return. Our 5, 10 and 15 year returns to shareholders are exceptional by using open interfaces, McNealy said.

Source: Computerwire