The General Bills #2

Gates has caught Joy fast asleep.

Jxta is a late entrant that Sun only started thinking about in late summer of 2000. .NET was obviously on the burner at least a year before that. Jxta is far from shippable, even as a beta. .NET will be shipping soon. Jxta's business plan is utterly obscure. .NET's business plan is painfully clear.

Sun has no plausible counter-threat against Microsoft at present, and I don't believe that they will in the near future. According to CNET, iPlanet -- the enterprise software alliance between Sun and AOL property Netscape -- does have products or product plans that involve AIM. That leaves AOL on the line of fire in Sun's place.

The score for now: Gates inflicts major damage in the first conflict, with credit going to (1) creativity and (2) a head start made possible by (3) absolute stealth.

Other players are likely to create a credible threat before Sun.

Does Sun have more than I realize? Is Jxta anywhere near a threat?