Sun Microsystems Inc is claiming a victory for its more flexible source licensing policies through the signing up of three companies which had previously been working on Java virtual machine clone implementations. Sun announced at JavaOne yesterday that it had signed individual agreements with the Tao Group, Insignia Solutions Inc and Japan’s Access Co Ltd, who have all said they will now work to make their respective embedded VM technologies compliant with Sun’s Java platform for embedded devices.
Sun’s president of software products and platforms, Alan Baratz, said the agreements had been possible because of the more flexible terms and easier access to the Java platform source code opened up by the Sun Community Source Code Licensing Program. The price – free – was right he said. Under the agreements, Reading UK-based Tao, Fremont, California-based Insignia and Tokyo-based Access will get access to Sun’s Java technology source code and the Java Compatibility Kit to test product compliance.
Tao is working on a JVM for digital appliances in home and mobile networks. Insignia has developed the Jeode JVM for embedded systems. Access Co, which has written its own JV-Lites virtual machine and NetFront embedded browser technology, was one of the companies behind the controversial alternative real-time extensions for Java still being pushed by Hewlett-Packard Co (CI No 3,544).
Separately, Sun also signed up Integrated Solutions Inc as a licensee of Java technologies for embedded applications. ISI’s pSOS operating system will use the Java2 Platform, Micro Edition and Jini technologies, and in return, Sun will promote and subcontract ISI’s design and development services for Java-based embedded products.
