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Interview: 'Java and Jini will be in everything'
Sun Chief Strategy Officer Bill Raduchel talks to IDG about the future of Java and Jini -- and Y2K
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Java has been criticized for being too big and for its performance. We're getting better on performance, with performance enhancements this year we'll largely eliminate the performance issue, then we have to work on removing the perception about Java's performance, that may take longer.
IDGNS: Given that Java partner Sony Corp. plans to make 100 million [M] of its next-generation PlayStations, is there a future for Java in games?
Raduchel: I think it will happen. Games are very graphics dependent and so have opted for optimal performance. With standalone games, companies have traded off the cost of development for performance. Networked games will drive Java [adoption].
IDGNS: What do you see happening to the PC model over the next few years?
Raduchel: The most important Net access device in 2005 will be cell phones, PCs will the fourth, fifth or sixth most common device. Personal computing will be alive and well, but PCs won't be doing so well. In Japan already, you can sell cell phones as e-mail terminals because people are standing in lines in trains for one-and-a-half hours.
Our Web tone idea is no different from the phone network -- you have mobile phones, home phones, fax machines, and modems: they all use the same network. With Web tone, there will be lots of devices interacting with the Net. Perhaps, you'll use one to get e-mail notification, then go to another device to read your e-mail. We have to find a way to make lot technology easier to use. It's just too expensive now. Windows support is too expensive, people are stymied by it. Dedicated devices are simpler and you'll be able to afford many of them for e-mail, Web surfing and so on.
The Net is the ultimate communications medium. The big thing will be device-to-device communication over the Net. Think about repairs. It costs a lot of money anywhere in the world to have someone drive out to your house to repair your machines. Most machines know when they're wearing out and could send a "please schedule a replacement part message" to their makers. It would be US0 to 0 versus 00 to 00 now spent on repairs.
IDGNS: How about Jini? Where does it fit in?
Raduchel: The true description of Jini is a spontaneous network with sets of Java programs. People will understand the beauty of Jini in Bluetooth [a wireless communications protocol] and HAVi [the home audio video interoperability specification].
Consumers will never know about Jini, all they'll see will be the logo. It's all about making it easy to create local networks. For example, your cell phone belongs to 50 networks, it changes as you're moving along, when you're in a taxi, or if you're walking by your bank and want to do some banking. Jini eliminates the need for device drivers in the PC. Jini networks are self-healing, they never establish a permanent connection. According to the manufacturers at the Jini launch in January, Jini devices should be available by the end of next year.
IDGNS: What was your involvement in the Sun, AOL, Netscape deal?
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