This post originated from an RSS feed registered with Java Buzz
by Russell Beattie.
Original Post: Azureus And Sun's Big Mistake.
Feed Title: Russell Beattie Notebook
Feed URL: http://www.russellbeattie.com/notebook/rss.jsp?q=java,code,mobile
Feed Description: My online notebook with thoughts, comments, links and more.
Erik turned me on the other day to the Azureus BitTorrent client and I'm using it right now to grab the latest Knoppix. It's a really impressive!
Why? Well it's written in Java which is near and dear to my heart, so it shouldn't be surprising that it's good at managing networked data. Think about the fact the OrionServer running this website is 100% java and it shipped 80GB of data around the world last year. But the surprising bit is the interface! It's writtn in SWT so it doesn't suck as a user app!
Why in god's name doesn't Sun support this technology? It's a slick app that doesn't *feel* like a Java app at all. Remember what LimeWire felt like? That was probably the best Swing app I ever saw, and it still sucked. This little app is not even that user-friendly or anything. It's just that it's responsive and clear and uses standard Windows widgets. That's it. Not much to ask really.
It's a common theory that the reason that Apple isn't where Microsoft is today is because of their refusal to license the MacOS during the mid 80s. Have you heard this? Though I'm sure there may be mitigating circumstances and 20/20 hindsight going on, I personally subscribe to this notion. Well, here's my thoughts for the 90s/2000s: Sun's refusal to embrace native client side widgets is what allowed Microsoft to catch up to where Java is now with .Net and if Linux doesn't come to its rescue, could make Java an increasingly niche language, only used for lightweight mobile apps, or backend servers and little else.
There was some hope a month or so ago when Sun looked like it was going to join the Eclipse coalition, but that's since been trashed. WHY? Are the guys at Sun really that dumb? Are they all using Swing Apps for everything on their internal network and *love* it? Or is it just a Not Created Here syndrome? God knows, but it's amzing to be on this side of the fence using great technology and watching the guys who are supposed to be sheparding and profiting from Java completely ignore it.
Okay. End rant. Go try Azureus, it's great for Simpson's episodes as well, which you can then use Nokia's Media Converter to play on your phone. :-)
Previous Topic
