Compare and contrast:-

IBM --

finds some nifty open source IDE, adds a bit of wizardry to support IBM products, renames it(originally VVSAD but now ARSE^H^H^H^HRSA) and SELLS it to thousands of satisfied puinters.

SUN -

Writes C/C++ dev environment (really a compiler and colourful editor) nobody buys it..

Buys succesfull IDE called Forte then fails to sell it.

Rebrands IDE spends zillions on the next release still fails to sell it.

Another bit of Sun writes a completely differnet IDE in java -- and fails to sell any.

Then GIVES away java IDE therefore destroying what little market Forte and its succesors had.

Suns inability to sell software is just wierd. Some of thier software is very good, and, other companies manage to sell software which is complete c**p. Maybe they need counselling or some heavy duty phsycoanalysis.

Glad I am not a shreholder.

NetBeans is a measured success, coming from a point of nothing to some respectability, and with the increased relevance of the Java app server at Sun, should be considered an option for Sun hardware deployments...getting on to other vendors' hardware or OS is going to be difficult, but not impossible...

Hitting out at Sun for not making revenue on software is a tried-and-true practice, but is not really relevant, even considering that Wall St. conventional wisdom in '03 that had Sun making "a majority of profits from software", they need to sell multi-core systems with bundled software, as has been in the cards since the Sun-Netscape Alliance...

Removing barriers to NetBeans adoption consistency is not a failure in software strategy but an upgrade, and I would invest more in Java deployment patterns that is the only way out of the morass of a marketplace that is moving beyond Solaris...there is an opportunity for Sun software success, but it is going to be in middleware implementations, on hardware that appeals to specialized Java requirements: that is the only thing that is a competitive advantage, and as soon as the Sun sales force implements it universally through best practices, pre-built solutions, and consistent messaging, there will be a recovery...

until then, we have to hear ab/ the great ineptitude of one of the last vestiges of IT innovation...

A very long time ago (in IT years) when we were investigating this comparatively recent Java thing for web applications that were (gasp!) interactive as well as applications that could be deployed throughout our diverse Solaris/MacOS/Windows/Netware environment. Bursting with keen'ness we started plugging away with Sun Java Workshop only to find this whole Java thing one long drama. Speaking with friends (droning away in the Sun hive) hoping to get some hints on cracking this Java thing, we were duly pointed in the right direction. Apparently our mistake was to use JWS. They wouldnt touch it with a 10 foot pole. A quick pointer to Symantec Visual Cafe and we were off.

I appreciate Sun for co-opting and "re-distributing" Forte for Java and Netbeans in the same way I appreciate them pointing us to Visual Cafe - not because they made the world a better place, but because they declined an opportunity to make it a much worse place and sometimes the best you can ask from a corporate nowadays is "do no evil" ..

InterNetwork if you are and/or wannabe and/or want AI Quantum Computer. Works with ITs Magic and let the Sun Shine In and On ......... Tune IT in and Turn IT On to FlowurPower2 and make IT Different for to make the Difference Lead the Way rather than Follow the Pack with its Rules. There are no Rules other than those which Others would Apply to Maintain and Retain their Control Position. The Rule of Force is a Loss of that Control Position.

As you would no doubt realise, Sun products are the only products universally available for alien use as their reach stretches light years in all directions........ InterNetworking its Powerful Radiation across All Systems dDependent and Reliant upon ITs Control of Darkness Source ..... "and sometimes the best you can ask from a corporate nowadays is "do no evil" .."

That would be sometimes always, AC?

What we appear to be presently lacking is a Schwartz Op to make AI Stealthy Beta Use of their Rocking Code XXXX.

amfM Registering ITs HyperRadioProActive Support to such Core Kernel Issues.......Light Fantastic Missions in Virtually Real Magical Mystery Turing with Control of the Virtualisation Cloud ........a Right Royal GIG with QuITe Radical Escape Strategies for Pemanent Flight Spaces.

And yes that may very well be an Allied Alliance Babel Fish Phish on the Intellectual Resources of a Master in Radial Velocities in the Zodiacal Dust Cloud ....... A Sterling Fellow and Star Performer in Semantic EMPathy with the Universe Realms Meme.

And Paris Hilton because "Fat bottomed girls,

You make the rockin' world go round."