Despite its late arrival to the Web, Microsoft still leads Sun and Netscape in the battle for the Internet
The Internet is a whole new ball game, and the season may be a short one. The league has progressed from spring training to the World Series* in just a matter of months. And while the championship series has just begun, after one inning of play it’s already Microsoft 2, SunScape (Sun and Netscape) 1. In case you hadn’t noticed, this is hardball, not softball.
The SunScape view of the world is that the browser is the new universal client that replaces Windows, at home and in the office. Similarly, the browser, Java language, the Java virtual machine, and other foundation technologies are an entirely new operating system for the Internet. Their view is that corporate developers will launch a browser when they get to the office in the morning and stay there all day writing software, reviewing email, and working with spreadsheets and other documents. The applications they write will run in a browser on any computer on a user’s desktop — or anywhere else, for that matter. The applications and their foundation technologies can be written to execute on everything from a Cray to a Macintosh, from a mainframe to a microwave oven. Browsers, large and small, will be everywhere — in personal digital assistants, Internet terminals, televisions, and cellular phones.
Just as importantly, existing personal productivity software like Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint will be replaced by applets designed to run in the browser. The new software can be written as a series of relatively small applets with minimal capabilities. Why? Most people use only a fraction of the functions of their existing word processors or spreadsheet programs and never bother to learn the rest. Power users can simply download additional applets to their PC for local execution when needed.
The SunScape Internet strategy complements SunSoft’s NEO architecture, which uses a CORBA-based distribution model to develop client/server applications that can integrate components from virtually any computer system, regardless of vendor. In the SunSoft world, applications can be designed to scale seamlessly from client/server operation to execution in a browser over the Internet. SunSoft already has a long-standing record of making software open, standard, and available on multiple platforms.
Readers who are old enough to remember the “1984” commercial for the Macintosh, in which the image of Big Brother is shattered by a hammer-wielding revolutionary, will have no trouble adapting it to the current situation. Microsoft is Big Brother and Java is a 100 MPH fastball aimed at the head of Bill Gates. But never underestimate Mr. Gates. Aside from having a lifetime batting average of about .750, he knows how to handle a bean ball.
Microsoft is attempting to provide its customers with two approaches to the Internet. One uses Java. The other uses Microsoft’s Visual Basic Script, Internet Explorer, FrontPage, and Internet Studio. Microsoft’s belief is that while some developers may want to write applications within a browser for execution solely within a browser, many more will want to take existing client/server applications written for Windows and adapt them for execution over the Net. The Microsoft strategy is to integrate its browser into the operating system so that it is just another Window on the developer’s PC. This unified interface (code-named Nashville) provides common navigation and viewing capabilities for Web pages, office documents, and local PC resources.
It also lets developers reuse the massive amount of software already written in Visual Basic and Visual C++. Moving components from a PC application to an HTML page should be as easy as drag-and-drop. Existing OLE components (via the new Active/X standard) will execute in the Internet Explorer interpreter, as will Java applets. Within the Microsoft world it will be possible to view live Excel spreadsheets or any other desktop application directly from the Microsoft browser.
While many unanswered questions remain, the Microsoft view is compelling. It provides for both evolution and revolution, and leverages the existing expertise in companies that have been building Windows applications for the last five years. The 2.5 million Visual Basic programmers don’t have to start from scratch. All the Visual C++ code written in the last few years gets a new life, and Microsoft Word works in a browser.
The questions? Safety and security are at the top of the list. A major strength of the SunScape approach is the architecture of their virtual machine. Applets or applications created for this environment can be written to have access only to memory within the virtual machine’s address space. Local memory, disk, and other resources are untouched, providing an effective barrier against viruses and other contaminants. The Microsoft environment provides only a “safe” runtime for Visual Basic and Visual Basic Script, and general-purpose signed-code support.
Another interesting issue is that Microsoft has been actively porting its Internet Explorer to other platforms. It currently runs on Windows 95, Windows 3.1, and the Macintosh. An open question is how the vast libraries of VBX and OCX components can be made to execute on other operating systems. Will they run in as part of a plug-in package included in the Microsoft browser or not run at all? Are there multiple versions of Internet Explorer or only one? The choice is Microsoft’s alone. Its strength in the old world is its strength in the new: One company owns all the software.
The SunScape view already seems somewhat Unix-like and could easily produce a new set of incompatibilities in the next decade, just like the Unix wars of the 1980s. If there is only one universal browser and one Internet operating system, who owns it? Sun? Netscape? What about HP, IBM, Digital, and the other vendors who are left behind? Will they write competing products? Will they enhance or modify the SunScape software? What about compatibility? Standards? The old saying in the Unix world is that standards are good, and the great thing about Unix standards is that there are so many to choose from. That joke may end up being revived and getting big laughs in the Internet community.
All in all, both teams have solid lineups that should make for an exciting game. Microsoft owns the existing desktop and is making significant inroads against Unix and proprietary environments at the network level with Windows NT, Microsoft BackOffice, and the Merchant Server. To win in the new world of the Internet, all Microsoft has to do is be “good enough.” The team from Redmond is already way beyond that point, and has its eyes on the fences.
Its early, but the Microsoft lead seems hard to beat
What about Java? quite simply, the most important player on the field is Java. More than just a switch hitter, Java is actually playing on both teams simultaneously. To SunScape, Java is the programming language for their new Internet operating system. Microsoft intends to be, in its own words, “the leading provider of Java products,” and if Microsoft’s new “Jakarta” development environment achieves the market dominance of Visual C++, it may be just that.
It’s a strange anomaly, but the cheer you hear from fans of both teams is, “Java’s on our side.”
Words of warning to the victorious team, however: Don’t celebrate too long. When the cheering (or groaning) stops, the only sound remaining will be the rustle of a thousand business plans outlining new game plans designed to send you back to the bush leagues.
So, fans, go get a beer and a hot dog. Tune in your browser and enjoy the game. It should be fun.
