] This is a bizarre comparison because x86 is a CPU
] architecture, and Unix is an operating system family:
] they are not the same things! All the Unix flavors run
] perfectly well on x86. Yes: Linux is a Unix flavor. Where
] this relates to Java and Sun is that because such a huge
] fraction of customer applications that run on Sun
] hardware is written in Java, we can treat CPUs (and even
] operating systems) as commodities, in the same way we
] treat disk drives. We can use whatever underlying CPU
] technology (x86/x86-64/Sparc/...) or OS technology
] (Solaris/Linux/...) is most suitable for the situation at
] hand. We aren't constrained by the instruction set or OS
] interface that is baked into our customers' applications.
] This is hugely liberating for hardware design.

Gosling on defending the Microsoft payout, without saying anything
other than "you people have it all wrong, that's not how it is"... and lets slip why Sun no longer has a real business plan. If hardware is a commodity, and their customers software is in Java, does he really believe that Sun will remain powerful because it thinks it "controlls" Java?

NewsForge | Gosling defends Sun's new partnership with Microsoft