Java

By open sourcing Java Sun probably thought it had earned 'brownie points' with the open-source community. Instead, as a recent vote over Java Enterprise Edition 6.0 suggests, the community may be intent on teaching Sun that there's more to 'open' than source code, with the Apache Software Foundation (voted against) and SpringSource (abstained) siding against the pending Java specification, as reported by Gavin Clarke in The Register.

Apache is the only member of the 16-member Java Community Process to vote against the 6.0 specification, arguing that Sun "has breached the terms of the JCP's Java … Read more

Google's latest version of Chrome has claimed the lead in my JavaScript speed tests, but Apple's new Safari 4 beta is the first browser to challenge it on Google's own performance benchmark.

JavaScript is a programming language that powers not just innumerable ordinary Web sites, but also many Web-based applications such as Google Docs. With the computing industry's major push to cloud computing, Web application performance is increasingly important, and there's a race on to see who's got the best JavaScript engine. JavaScript engines even have become a named feature, with Chrome's V8, Firefox's TraceMonkey, Opera's Futhark and upcoming Carakan, and now the Safari's newly branded Nitro, which is Apple's version of WebKit's Squirrelfish. … Read more

With Safari 3, I admired Apple's chutzpah for bringing its browser to Windows. With the new Safari 4 beta, I'm actually starting to admire the browser, too.

A big user interface overhaul makes Safari look polished rather than clunky on Windows, builds in better search abilities, and makes good use of the fact that people often visit the same sites over and over.

However, the lack of something like the extensions architecture that Firefox pioneered still means Safari 4 (download for Windows and Mac OS X) is better only than Safari 3, not the competition. … Read more

Sun Microsystems plans to launch JavaFX Mobile on Thursday, the second of a three-stage debut of technology it hopes will ease software design while modernizing its Java technology

JavaFX Mobile is a software layer that handles user interface elements such as graphics and animations on mobile phones. It's closely related to the JavaFX for desktops and laptops introduced in December and the JavaFX version for TVs that's still not released.

Sun is also announcing a few partners it's lined up to endorse the technology: mobile phone makers Sony Ericsson and LG Electronics, mobile phone network operators Sprint … Read more

There was a time when Java was the darling of the technology industry. It had everything going for it--technically advanced, relatively easy to use, and it held the magical promise of "write-once, run-anywhere."

But, over the last two years or so (seemingly ever since Sun changed it's stock ticker to JAVA), the language has become boring and moribund. Not that programming languages are such a thrill ride, but Java had a level of panache well beyond the norm.

Somehow Java has become really boring. People don't even argue about it anymore. Once thriving sites like TheServerSide don't have the excitement or vitriol that they did in the past. Based on some quick interviews I did, Java guys are all over the map as to why the excitement is gone, running the gamut from JSR bureaucracy, to the focus on things like JavaFX, to the changes in Java EE 6 that most developers didn't ask for and do nothing to support new paradigms like Web apps or cloud computing.

Sun has effectively lost the battle for the cloud to virtualization, which boggles the mind considering the enormous arsenal of servers, storage, and software that Sun has at its disposal to create a differentiated cloud offering for all of the enterprise Java shops. I remain of the opinion that Java should be the dominant platform for the cloud. … Read more

Last month we took a look at Vringo Mobile Application 2.0, a downloadable application that lets you choose your own signature video ringtone for other Vringo users to see when you call them. Back then, it was severely limited to Sony Ericsson phones. On Tuesday, Vringo let it be known that Vringo 2.0 will also now also available for Java-enabled handsets, and for a wider variety of Symbian phones.

Among the most significant changes to Vringo's made-over mobile application are thumbnail images that let you see a tiny still of a video you might be interested in … Read more

Chrome programmers have switched out a third-party software package in favor of their own as part of Google's attempt to speed its open-source browser up more.

The change came with a key component for processing JavaScript text called regular expressions. "As we've improved other parts of the language, regexps started to stand out as being slower than the rest. We felt it should be possible to improve performance by integrating with our existing infrastructure rather than using an external library," according to a Chromium blog post by programmers Erik Corry, Christian Plesner Hansen, and Lasse Reichstein … Read more

With Web applications imposing new demands on Web browsers, a previously behind-the-scenes programming technology called JavaScript is getting new visibility, and Opera is the latest case in point.

The Norwegian browser maker announced on Wednesday a new JavaScript engine project called Carakan.

Carakan runs JavaScript code about 2.5 times as fast as the Futhark engine in the alpha version of Opera 10, programmer Lars Erik Bolstad said in an Opera blog post.

Opera's main business is browsers for mobile phones, and its current JavaScript engine is optimized for minimum memory demands, but now performance is the priority, Bolstad … Read more

In case you missed our news yesterday about the release of Vringo 2.0 Mobile Application, we created a little video to show you the app in action.

Vringo's free video-ringtone service lets you customize what your other Vringo-registered friends see on their screens when you call.

Although it's only available right now for Sony Ericsson handsets, all you other Java- and Symbian-phone owners will want to pay attention, because version 2.0 is said to be headed your way by the end of January.