The Bloor Perspective: Mac OS X, virtual justice and MS C# versus Java

In 1999, Apple decided to re-engineer its operating system using the open source philosophy, a popular technique predominantly used by the Linux development community. Mac OS X is now set for release in the next few months. How will the market respond?

MacOS 'ten' is already loved by many. Engineers and management at Microsoft's Mac software development division have been reported to like it. While Windows forms Microsoft's primary income, MS Office is the second biggest revenue stream for the company and includes a Mac version. For many years MS Windows marketing out performed Mac and related hardware was always cheaper. That may have changed now. A more level playing field could be developing.

Apple claims OS X is superior in ease of use to its predecessor and supports the old "classic" environment for existing software applications. It is delivered with a Darwin kernel - a FreeBSD - which offers stability, scalability and reliability. Graphically, OS X is supplied with Aqua, an interface that takes the 2D Quartz graphical system to an extra level of depth, colour, translucence and fluid motion.

When released, it should prove the ability of the open source culture to demonstrate that contributions can be made to the commercial world, and how large projects can be successfully completed openly and quickly. Based on a Linux style of Unix desktops, it confirms an alternative to MS Windows is achievable. The whole Mac strategy may be fostering Linux closer to the desktop market, and will nourish the availability of Linux compatible applications. It is a technology seed that is starting to germinate commercially.

Apple has earned a loyal following over several decades with a product giving specific strengths. Many of Apple's devotees will not consider upgrading their hardware for the sake of another OS release, especially one that is radically different and slower.

However, Mac OS X is a shining example of development that has been a truly remarkable achievement and in a short space of time. Perhaps Microsoft should consider re-engineering Windows. Perhaps they could call it WinLinux. Sorry MS, that name has been used already!

*Cyber-courts*
The UK Government is trying to eliminate the stigma of a 'Victorian', dated court system in an attempt to allow litigation over the internet with judges dealing with small claims by email. Is this the first step towards internet judges, or Judge Dread in cyberspace?

From 5 February this year, 220 courts will be refitted. Details can be found in the Modernising the Civil Courts report, available at courtservice.gov.uk. The intent is clearly to build a virtual court, one that offers value for money and uses internet, email or WebTV for small claims and transactions. The 24-hour information service gives details of cases and proceedings, so there is no excuse to miss court, or payments of court related bills.

Virtual courts have been budgeted £43m and are part of the government's re-launched ambition to promote the UK as the leading ecommerce centre of the world. A pledge has been made to inject £1bn into getting government services online. Despite the fact that some of this has been achieved already, there is debate concerning what exactly a large sum of money is going to be used for as only £10m has been set aside for helping companies exploit opportunities in ecommerce.

Virtual court is one initiative. Also announced in the campaign are 600 internet access centres planned for poorer sections of the community. This is only part of 6,000 others scheduled to be built.

The re-launch of these initiatives is supported by the BBC, BT and Microsoft and is supposed to pacify the business community constantly frustrated by government not doing enough for ecommerce.

A billion is a massive investment for any government into ecommerce, even taking into consideration the cost of building infrastructure. Information services and tax collection are the other main services included within the budget.

It would be nice to see these services improve, but for the benefit of society not the government, and for the benefit of business not the regulator. Let's hope the government doesn't make the mistakes of the past but implements solutions with open standards.

*Symphony in C#*

So Microsoft and Sun have agreed to disagree on the use of Java. For $20m, Microsoft gets to use an old version of Java (but not in .NET) - sounds like a pretty poor deal. How long before Visual Studio developers get fed up with using out-of-date products? And how will Microsoft react when the time comes? It just might choose to go head-to-head with Sun by setting up its own language, C# (c-sharp), in direct competition.

Of course, Sun and Microsoft competing in this way wouldn't be a new thing but anybody trying to set up a standard (as Sun is with Java) will find life very difficult if Microsoft is not pulling for the same team.

The problems started three years ago when Sun sued Microsoft for $35m, claiming Microsoft had breached its licence agreement by extending Java to work better in a Windows environment. In developing its own Java version, Microsoft probably was in breach of its contract and so the outcome of the lawsuit is not surprising. However, neither can it be surprising that it wanted to make improvements that would make it run better on Windows. Surely, it would have been better for the two to get their heads together and to find a common way forward that would accommodate both sets of requirements.

Sun thinks it has done well because it stopped Microsoft developing its own Java variant and pulling the rug from under its own version. In the interim period Sun's Java has become established and so the problem is solved.

However, the response from Microsoft is a little ambiguous. Vice president of Platform Strategy, Sanjay Parthasarathy has said "it means we can focus all our resources to help enable the next generation of software with web services".

It is not clear what this means but with the .NET initiative unable to make use of the latest Java, it is likely that Microsoft will start to promote the C# language. C# offers a combination of Microsoft's C++ and Visual Basic languages in a familiar graphical development environment. For many, it will be the development environment of choice and will become the main alternative to Java.

Sun has protected itself for a short period by allowing the old Java version to continue but one cannot help feeling that, ultimately, it may have shot itself in the foot and end up losing to Microsoft and C#.