Sun faces tough competition

Sun Microsystems is betting the Java software platform it developed will raise its fortunes in emerging markets, but it faces tough competition from bigger rivals familiar with Java, as well as questions about the technology's future, says Reuters.

Sun, which changed its Nasdaq ticker symbol to "JAVA" from "SUNW" to emphasise its focus, sees broad use of Java-enabled cellphones leading to increased sales of its computer hardware, the bulk of its revenue.

The company introduced Java in 1995 as a software technology platform that can sit on everything from cellphones to huge computers, uniting diverse software programmes and hardware platforms.

Sun Microsystems is expanding a project in the Philippines that trains teachers for free on its Java programming language, reports The Inquirer.

Called Java Education and Development Initiative, or JEDI, the programme aims to educate teachers on developing software applications (for the Web or mobile devices) running on Java.

The programme was created by Sun's local office and received assistance from the University of the Philippines in developing training courses.

Sun will release patches for its various Java Standard Edition (SE) versions, according to ADT Mag.

"For the first time, critical security fixes will be released simultaneously for the Java SE 6, J2SE 5.0, and J2SE 1.4.2 versions of the Java SE platform," the announcement stated. The current release of Sun's programming platform is Java SE 6.

Those looking for an update to J2SE 1.3.1 will have to wait. According to Sun, that version will be incorporated into the patch programme next year. However, Sun is making a conscious effort to extend its patch schedule to users of older versions of the platform.