Sun Microsystems is holding its breath pending a decision on its bid for control of the Java language. So far, the odds are looking favorable.
"As of yesterday, we have confirmed 10 'yes,' one 'no,' and two 'abstain' votes," Sun spokeswoman Lisa Polson said today.
Twenty-seven member countries of the International Standards Organization are voting on the standards bid. A simple majority is needed, and Sun needs just four more "yes" votes to win approval.
Though the official tally won't be announced until Monday, Sun says it's hearing of individual votes through informal channels.
If Sun's bid to become a publicly available specification submitter is successful, Java will become an international standard, but one that the company will retain control over and make changes to as it sees fit. Sun sees this stewardship as critical to managing the evolution of the language and platform.
The ISO does not normally approve such arrangements.
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NC compatibility confab date set: IBM and the usual network-computer suspects have set a date to establish common standards that would allow NCs to operate with multiple vendors' servers.
With a variety of proprietary server, interface, and administration designs for NCs, this newest initiative is meant to consolidate the efforts and develop a technical specification to submit to the Open Group, which oversees NC standards.
NCs, which are designed to offload the majority of application-processing and data storage to a central server, will compete with Microsoft's Windows-based terminals, which are even further stripped-down client machines. A third iteration, called Net PCs, will also vie in this up-and-coming market.
The NC meeting will take place in Cupertino, California, on 14 and 15 January. Netscape, Sun, Corel, and Oracle, among others, will attend. (13.Nov.97)
