Write Once Use Nowhere, WinJava & Japanese Charity PCs
(06/16/97) Last Week's News News Archives

Microsoft VP Steve Ballmer, The man behind Bill's throne, claimed that Windows' many types of clients will surpass Java as a 'write-once use anywhere' platform. Apparently the 30% of computers NOT running Windows 95/NT/CE don't count as anywhere. He also announced a new technology called Windows on Windows that will make old Win 3.x systems even slower in an attempt to make them run new software.

Microsoft has effectively thrashed the coffee-enhanced dreams of millions. They have taken the Java code licensed from Sun and made a new version that "communicates with Windows ports and hardware faster & easier." The Java run-anywhere possibilities will disappear once Java programmers (using the next version of Ms J++) are writing it Windows-Only. This event was predicted last December by MSBC columnist Jim McGregeor in our first column.

IBM will likely ship the next version of OS/2 Warp, codenamed Blue Bird, by the 4th quarter of this year. Previous estimates were for late 1998. This, of course, doesn't mean anything to Microsoft and their stock will probably rise 12 3/4 on the day it ships. Maybe people would want to buy it if IBM shipped three years late..

While in Japan, Ms President & Co-Founder Bill Gates announced that Microsoft's main goal is to reduce the cost of PCs, allowing people to get more value from their computers. Apparently his way of acheiving this goal is charging $100 for an OS upgrade every 4 years and adding $1200 to the cost of every computer sold due to standards and licensing fees. Gates also announced that the Japanese version of ZAW will be available by the end of July. This is Bill's revenge for Pearl Harbor..

Also while in Japan, Gates and several Japanese companies donated over $400,000 to a fund so Japan schools can buy more computers. Thanks to this donation, Japanese schools will spend over half a million extra dollars this year on computer equipment, most of which will go for Microsoft products and end up back in Gates' pocket.

Saturday, 16-Nov-2002 17:22:42 EST