Some young whippersnappers may not remember but, at one time, Sun's Java was going to take over the world by becoming the standard programming language for all applications on all operating systems, thus rendering Windows obsolete at a stroke. (This was before reality kicked in: just mention Javagator to any former Netscape programmers.) But one of the things that held it back was the perception that Java wasn't really open, and Sun is finally solving that problem, albeit a decade late.
As Ed Burnette blogs at ZD Net:
After months of speculation, Sun has officially announced it is releasing its implementations of Java technology as free software under the GNU General Public License. Richard Stallman, creator of the GPL and founder of the Free Software Foundation, will endorse the move by video at a press conference Monday morning.
Well done Sun! This should lead to the ubiquitous bundling of Java with Linux.
Enthusiasts and masochists can watch a webcast of the event here (requires RealPlayer 10 or higher).
