Microsoft to Stop Developing New Java Products

As a result of a lawsuit settlement earlier in the year, Microsoft agreed to stop further development of its own implementations of Sun Microsystems' Java technology. While Microsoft is now barred from using the JAVA COMPATIBLE trademark, according to the terms of the settlement, Sun licensed Microsoft to continue to distribute its existing versions of Java for the foreseeable future.

Sun heralded the settlement as a victory for preserving Java's integrity and consistency, while Microsoft expressed renewed dedication to develop the next generation of its own web software. The impact on the consumer is yet to be determined, but it's likely that Sun's court victory may result in a change in Java's overall deployment pattern.

More details are available from Microsoft's and Sun's websites:

http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/java/
http://www.sun.com/smi/Press/sunflash/2001-01/sunflash.20010123.1.html