To discuss Java, Sun Microsystems' hot new software language that cuts across computer platforms, the guest on Dec. 21 was Eric Schmidt, Sun's chief technology officer, along with Robert Hof of Business Week.
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OnlineHost: Good evening and welcome to Business Week Online. One of the hottest products in the computer world today is Sun Microsystems' Java, the software language that can remove barriers between platforms. It's the kind of innovation that could revolutionize the software world. And with us tonight to discuss Java is Dr. Eric Schmidt, Sun's chief technology officer.
Eric Schmidt, who is also corporate executive officer, coordinates Sun's core and emerging technologies. He has been with Sun since 1983, first as manager of software, then as director of software engineering, and as vice-president of the Software Products Div. In 1988 he was promoted to VP of the General Systems Group, and in 1991 he became president of Sun Technology Enterprises. He has been in his present job for almost two years.
With a BS from Princeton (in electrical engineering) and an MS (in electrical engineering) and a PhD (in computer science) from the University of California at Berkeley, he has also worked at Bell Labs, Zilog, and the Computer Science Lab at Xerox Palo Alto Research Center (PARC).
His screen name tonight is EESchmidt.
On stage with Eric Schmidt is Robert D. Hof (RobHof), a correspondent in Business Week's San Francisco bureau since 1988. He covers the semiconductor industry, the computer hardware and networks industries, and the Internet. Previously, he worked for various newspapers in Silicon Valley. He holds a bachelor's degree in journalism from San Jose State University.
The moderator is Jack Dierdorff (JackBW), consulting editor of BW Online and former managing editor of the magazine. And now on to our discussion of Java with Eric Schmidt of Sun Microsystems -- and answers to the questions you send us here on stage via the Interact button on the top of your AOL screen.
JackBW: Good evening to all of you on AOL. Eric Schmidt, welcome to BW Online. It's an honor! Hi, Rob Hof.
EESchmidt: Thanks very much and good evening.
RobHof: Hi, Jack, nice to be here.
JackBW: Rob, you get to lob the first question over to Eric.
RobHof: Eric, can you tell us just what Java is and what the average PC owner can do with it?
EESchmidt: It's a type of coffee -- and a programming language! Java programmers can write machine-independent programs that exploit the power of the Web.
RobHof: But it goes beyond the Web, doesn't it?
EESchmidt: We believe that Java will be used much more broadly. Its first success has been with browsers. As you know, more than 10 companies -- including Netscape, Spyglass, and Microsoft -- have agreed to include Java capabilities in their browsers. As the applications get built for Java-based browsers, many other platforms will open up.
JackBW: And now, from HojoNojo.Question: What do you think of Microsoft's strategy to support JAVA? Do you think it will be given short shrift over Microsoft's Visual Basic script language, or do you think they really mean it?
EESchmidt: Microsoft has convinced us that they are serious about Java. They told us that they intend to have a very competitive browser (called the Internet Explorer) and intend to include Java and JavaScript support in that browser. They will also be promoting VB as an Internet language. My guess is that the Internet community will prefer Java because of its unique multiplatform nature.
JackBW: CBKR1 sends this comment, which calls for some comment from Eric, I suspect.Question: Convince me why I should use a Java system.
EESchmidt: Java turns the Web to life. Static pages based on HTML are extended by Java to be more interactive. Many companies and developers are writing Java front ends to their systems in order to give more customers access to their applications. That's the first major use of Java.
JackBW: Take this one next, from Wilfis.Question: Eric, how's the progress getting Java to Mac OS and other key Internet platforms?
EESchmidt: We're farthest ahead with the Win32/Windows 95/NT platforms and the Solaris Unix platforms. The Mac platform is about two months behind those two. Stay tuned for Mac software on our Web site (today it's just Solaris and Windows 32).
JackBW: AFA Susan is up next.Question: Much emphasis is placed on the secure aspects of Java, so much that many consultants were convinced it is impervious to viruses. Is Sun doing anything now in antivirus development for Java?
EESchmidt: Although Java is more secure than other approaches, it is not completely virus-proof. Java applets are subjected to a rigorous virus scan and are run in a protected address space on the client computer. The language does not allow for aliasing of pointers to integers (etc.) and we do not know today how to write a virus in Java. During our Beta test period, we expect to find some holes. Longer term, the right answer is to add security facilities (such as signed authenticated objects), and the Java language supports these. This is next on our list.
JackBW: Eric, can you answer an investor's question about Sun, from MAN239?Question: My stockbroker has recently mentioned your company's name to me as one to watch. I have lost money on two semiconductor stocks, Micron and Intel. What could you tell me to convince me to purchase stock in your company?
EESchmidt: I'm not legally allowed to give stock advice :-). Having said that, I can tell you that Sun is benefiting from the enormous growth of the Internet, and our products are used in many Internet-related activities.
RobHof: What are the chances of taking the Java operation public?
EESchmidt: Our strategy is to use Java throughout Sun's products (hardware and software). We see Java as integral with everything we do. So it makes no sense to spin it off.
JackBW: Rollingdad has a provocative question about the industry.Question: Will Sun try to buy out Apple?
EESchmidt: Again, I can't really comment on rumors about other companies. Apple is a strong brand, and I think has an excellent position if they exploit it in the Internet.
JackBW: Back to the Internet, try this from JABOLES.Question: Will Java help make the under-$500 Internet access device a reality?
EESchmidt: Absolutely. The ability to run powerful applications on a dedicated device requires a programming language that can run on it. Java allows the device manufacturer choices they didn't have before. For example, it matters much less what chip you run, since Java runs (or will run) on most platforms. So you can pick the best chip for the device.
JackBW: BruceK166 in the Chicago area has a question many might also ask.Question: Are you looking for beta volunteers?
EESchmidt: Absolutely! You can get the beta code from java.sun.com or from the Netscape download servers (www.netscape.com), and I should mention that Symantec has just announced a Java development environment (see their Web page at www.symantec.com) for Windows/NT -- one week after we signed a Java deal with them!
JackBW: MDBrunelle is next at bat.Question: What is required for the creation of Java-based pages? How much more involved is it than conventional HTML markups?
EESchmidt: It's really quite easy. A programmer familiar with C or C++ can very quickly write Java programs. The HTML page is used to point to the "binaries" of your source. We provide a compiler that compiles from your source to this binary, which we call the Java Virtual machine. There are numerous books out now (the most recent is "Hooked on Java"), but they are hard to get at the bookstores because they are all sold out.
JackBW: AFA Susan has another question.Question: Why do you think Unicode 2.0 will embrace a variable-length character encoding scheme, and why does Java not make room for the long, long term with a four-byte 4,294,967,296 character repertoire?
JackBW: Maybe you can translate for us laymen :-).
EESchmidt: I don't know the precise answer to your question. We have committed to following the Unicode standard, so we can have full internationalization. The Java choice of byte length was made to make it easy for C and C++ programmers to translate to.
JackBW: Jon1006625 has a strategy question to get us away from the technical for the moment.Question: What is Sun's strategic vision for exploiting the Internet?
EESchmidt: Maybe I should download our latest memo on this :-)? For a short answer, we believe the Internet is the single biggest change we will see in the next 5 to 10 years for platform computing. HTTP/HTML, etc., will all become very standard ways for programs and computers to connect.
We also believe that the Internet will be a great place for innovation and that the money will be made initially on internal, or corporate, "Intranets" that are based on the Internet protocols but reside behind corporate firewalls. There are no reliable estimates about the size of these internal Intranets, but we know they are growing very, very fast.
In the Internet itself, the biggest problems we will face in 1996 have to do with security and "finding things," so we are working on products and standards in this area.
JackBW: PJ44 needs to be filled in, as perhaps other do, on Sun's deal with Microsoft.Question: I've been told that Microsoft has bought the rights to Java and HotJava, is that true?
EESchmidt: Sun is in the business of licensing the Java implementation in source form to customers who in turn embed this code into their programs and then use Java. Netscape, Oracle, Spyglass, SGI, IBM, and so on have all agreed to this relationship and have given us financial compensation. The Microsoft deal is identical with those deals (!) and includes a new provision where changes made by Microsoft to integrate Java better with Windows will come back to Sun for relicense to all the Java customers. This made sense to both companies: Microsoft gets a great system (Java) and gets it well tuned and integrated with Windows, and our other customers get access to that work done by Microsoft.
JackBW: Skream in Bloomingdale, Ga., takes us back to the issue of viruses and security.Question: Wouldn't it be easy to write a Trojan in Java? (A Trojan looks and acts O.K., but secretly does bad things to your precious computer.)
EESchmidt: It would be hard. The Java program cannot touch the file system and has no ability to screw up the memory system of the client computer. The only virus I am aware of is one that shows up on your computer and simply consumes resources -- and you would eventually kill it.
JackBW: This comes from Dsokolic, on a new subject.Question: What is your opnion of the Net as a medium for voice and video communication? I have tried the Internet Phone product from VocalTec. Is this a harbinger of the future? What does it mean for the telephone companies?
EESchmidt: I think that video is a very long way off. Although the technology is getting much better quickly, the Net is getting so slow it's very hard to see how this gets fixed in the next few years. Audio is another thing entirely. There are a number of other companies like RealAudio that broadcast over the Net, and the Internet phones are just starting. The quality is low, but getting much better. Audio will be a big deal on the Internet within a year.
RobHof: Are the delays on the Net going to get worse? How bad, and for how long?
EESchmidt: The bandwidth is getting better very fast, but the demands are getting higher faster. I think this will become like the L.A. freeway system (sorry) and will be overloaded for at least two or three years. We still don't have protocols that allow you to purchase better service.
JackBW: TRADER1234, of New York and Boca Raton, Fla., has a basic business question.Question: if all of these companies continue to give away their products for free to gain market share, how will they make any money?
EESchmidt: "You give each product away, but make it up in volume" seems to be the approach. I think the industry has figured out that it's more important to get customers with free goods and figure out later how to make money from them. Once a customer is using an Internet product, it's fairly easy to sell them upgrades and service, and I think the Internet will evolve to a "first copy free" but "updates cost" model.
JackBW: CWSchiefer has been reading Alsop.Question: What do you think of Stewart Alsop's remark about Java being too hard to use to gain widespread acceptance?
EESchmidt: Java is about as hard to use as C and easier than C++. Which means that Java is for professional programmers. So I think Stewart is right. We did a deal with Netscape for a language called JavaScript that is much simpler (a subset of Java) that we believe will be very easy to use for almost everyone.
JackBW: Here's a look at the future, if you can, with a question from CBKR1.Question: What other types of developments will we see in the next few years from Sun Microsystems?
EESchmidt: Our core business is based on workstations and servers that run our version of Unix called Solaris. We are pushing very hard for very fast RISC-based computers (based on the SPARC architecture), and we are adding a lot of network and graphics capability to them. On the software side, our customers are pushing us for mainframe-level software for their businesses, but put on Unix and in an open way. The combination of those platforms, plus Java and other networking services, are the areas we are focusing on.
JackBW: This question is from Wilfis.Question: Eric, can you tell us more about your Java OS project and explain what applications are best suited for this and not other operating systems such as Solaris, Windows 95, etc.?
EESchmidt: We have a research project (not a product -- yet) to build a system that only runs Java programs. The idea is that lots of applications will emerge, written in Java, and some customers may only need the Java applications. In this case, a JavaOS running on a PC or other type of device might make sense. The types of applications are certainly going to be network-based. Our minimum list includes a Web browser, E-mail, and some sort of office productivity suite.
JackBW: Rob has a question now.
RobHof: What can Java do for consumer electronics?
EESchmidt: Consumer electronics has been separated from the computer business. Java applications will run very well on low-price-point consumer devices (how about digital phones?) and should run well on very small memory machines. After all, the Java project began as a consumer OS.
JackBW: And, of course, bright young people are clamoring to work for Sun --like Naila2 here.Question: Hey, Eric...I applied for a job at your company, and all I got in return is a generic postcard saying that I'm cool and that Sun will keep my resume on file. Should i give up hope to ever hear from you again?
EESchmidt: Sorry about that. We've been inundated with applications and are sorting through them now. Expect to hear from us soon.
JackBW: What advice can you offer for careers in Sun and similar companies? Any pointers for the sort of education and experience to bring?
EESchmidt: Right now we are looking for people who want to write programs in the Java language. So the best applicant would have experience in something we need (like multimedia, or networking, or PC integration) and be a superb programmer.
JackBW: That's helpful, Eric, and thanks so much for being with us -- wish we had more time. And thanks, Rob Hof. That's a wrap.
EESchmidt: Thanks very much to all of you!
RobHof: Thanks, it was fun.
OnlineHost: Thanks to Eric Schmidt of Sun Microsystems, Rob Hof of Business Week, and all the BW Online team for this conference on Java. And thanks to all of you on AOL, with apologies to anyone whose questions we didn't have time for.
If you'd like to continue the discussion, we invite you to move to the BW Online Chat Room. Or you can post comments and questions on the BW Online Message Boards. Transcripts of this and all other BW Online conferences are available soon after the event (under Talk, Special Events, or Search BW, and for this one also in the Computer Room).
Because of the holidays, we will skip the regular BW Online conference on the next two Sundays, but watch BW's Conference Calendar and AOL Center Stage for other events coming up. For one thing, there's a discussion of BW's business outlook for 1996 on Wednesday, Dec. 27 (8pm ET, Coliseum). Thanks again and goodnight!
Copyright 1995 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
