Older blog entries for burtonator (starting at number 5)

Just sent this to Simpson Garfinkel in response to:

Java: Slow, ugly and irrelevant

Simson.

Just read your Salon article at:

http://www.salon.com/tech/col/garf/2001/01/08/bad_java/index.html

First.. I agree with you.. but this isn't Java's fault. This is SUN Microsystem's fault. They have systematically lied to the developer community, used their influence to pull the wool over the eyes the press, and basically do everything possible to ensure that Java *will* fail. This despite years of historical evidence from the Computer Industry that Closed Systems fail. SUN made it hard, it not impossibe for people to take Java and do innovative things with it.

SUN thought that interpreted X-platfrom applications would destroy Microsoft. The only problem was they were trying to replace the Microsoft Empire with another Empire just as Evil.

SUN would not license Java to companies (such as TowerJ) that wanted to build ahead-of-time optimizing compilers (this would make Java just as fast as C.. give or take a few implementation specific percentage points).

They insisted on making Java bytecode interpreted only. The GNU Compiler Collection 3.0 (with GNU Java Compiler) should fix this as it will be the first Open compiler with support for Java. This should remove the last barrier to Java's success! Java will no longer be under the thumb of an ignorant industry giant!

WORA:

It doesn't matter. This has never been Java strength. The problem with JVMs is that they are closed source and impossible to port to other Operating Systems. With an Open Compiler, GJC. This will be no longer an issue because Java will run on every OS where GCC is ported (I think this is basically ever OS in existence).

Personally, I think the creators of Java did an amazing job. The problem is that their implementation was terrible. The Java Language Specification is still an awesome exercise in language design. This work will live on in GJC.

I look forward to the time when developers can work on Free Software in any language they choose regardless politics.

Kevin

Silicon Valley is disgusting. What is wrong with the tech industry? Why is everything about money?

When the industry was first getting started it was about changing the world. Now if you mention you are a Software Engineer people automatically thing IPO, Stock Options, $$, Porshes, and screwing other people over. Gates, Ellison, McNeally.... etc. etc.

What is a guy to do? I am not going to call myself a Software Engineer any more. Software Renegade? Artist? Software Artist... hm.

One thing is for sure. I don't want to categorize myself with unethical snakes that work for the Evil Empire.

........................

11 Jan 2001 (updated 12 Jan 2001 at 05:03 UTC) »

Not a very productive day.

Spent some time thinking about the recent Mac announcements from MacWorld (I'm going tomorrow... I LOVE SAN FRANCISCO!!!) and how they apply to Free Software.

The numbers break out to about 7.5% UNIX 7.5% Mac... the rest Windoze. When OSX ships (of BSD with some proprietary crap on top) this should bring a UNIX market of 15% (if you don't consider the other... boring... non Free Unixes). This should be a Good Thing. (don't have to explain why... I am sure you will see :)..

It just bothers me that Apple is SOOO close to getting a clue but they still don't see the light. I can't decide if they decided to base on BSD because they are smart... or too stupid to build their own OS. I think it is a safe bet to assume they are stupid and choose BSD because they couldn't figure out how to write a decent OS themselves.

This leads to why the CHROME (or Crystal... or whatever) stuff is still proprietary. BSD/Darwin allows this. If they based on Linux most of this stuff would also have to be GPL. This 15% I mentioned before might not help us if application developers don't code to Free APIs. Might be a good idea to write an abstraction layer for all of this.

- Why do they charge users $30 for the MacOSX beta... can't you just download it? dumb.

- Why do they only ship MacOSX for their own hardware? Didn't they learn this mistake 10 years ago? stupid.

So again... are they just another stupid/evil company (like Microsoft, SUN or Oracle) or are they actually *smart* but haven't reached the point where they realize that *everything* should be OSS :)

Good Zen quote:

"The best way to control your sheep is to let them roam free."

Kevin

OK.. more SUN rants... Lovely way to patent an obvious technology. This should seriously conflict with XPointer.

Just finished documentation for JavaCore. I have been working on this for ~1 hour every week for a while now (no time). I needed it for Sierra so I cleaned up a lot of things. Works like a charm. :)

It would be nice to implement JPDA support so that Thread stack information, etc, could be provided. It is amazing how clueless SUN is WRT Java. They have such an awesome language but the licensing makes it impossible to use. If they would just pull their heads out of the sand (they still think it is 1994) they would realize they are destroying an awesome technology. (GNU Java Compiler will be a big slap in their face when it ships with GCC 3.0).

Of course I go to look at the source for JPDA (or at least the JavaDoc) and this is only provided under the SUN Community Source License. Yuk. Should actually be called the SUN *DESTROYING* Their Community License.

.. starting to hate this HTML diary interface. Time to write an Advogato posting mechanism for Emacs.

6 Nov 2000 (updated 10 Jan 2001 at 09:32 UTC) »

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