Re: The great Java showcase (re: 2nd historic mistake)

[Mike Coffin <mhc@Eng.Sun.COM>]

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Bertrand Meyer <Bertrand.Meyer@eiffel.com> writes:

> James P. White wrote:
>  
> [Quoting me]
> > > It's really fascinating to read this again a month later,
> > > with the recent announcements -- widely reported by the
> > > press -- that Corel is dropping its Java strategy altogether.
> > >
> > > So much for the showcase success of the century...
> 
> [James P. White]
> 
> > As I am sure you will hear, those reports were entirely inaccurate.
> 
> The Toronto Globe and Mail wrote that Corel was "ditching"
> Java efforts. This has been criticized on some newsgroups
> as being exaggerated. But here is the report from Computer
> Reseller News in Techwire...

Rather than rely on sources that are notoriously unreliable when it
comes to technical information, how about just going to the source?
E.g., http://www.corel.com/javastrat/index.htm.  Here is the
front matter:

    "This document outlines Corel's Business Applications strategy and
    the role that Java plays. The future focus of Corel's Business
    Applications targets three primary areas.

    "The first area of concentration for Corel is to add Java
    technology (code named Remagen) to its existing suite that will
    allow Corel� WordPerfect� Suite 8, or other software such as
    Microsoft� Office, to be run on a server and accessed via a thin
    Java client on any Java virtual machine. Targeted to the corporate
    community, this product will allow for lower maintenance costs and
    cross-platform access to the Corel family of products and any
    other Windows NT�-based application.

    "The second step is to produce a new line of products that are
    Internet-centric and take advantage of Corel's Java
    expertise. This new product line will combine concepts found in
    our present CorelCENTRAL product that ships in Corel�
    WordPerfect� Suite 8, evolving technology from our Corel� Office
    for Java, and other technology and concepts that are presently
    being worked on at Corel. This development will create a new
    generation of products for information management and knowledge
    handling inside and outside the organization.

    "The third area of concentration for Corel is to continue producing
    and evolving its present suite of Windows� products.  Corel's
    customers can expect to see future versions of Corel WordPerfect
    Suite as the company moves these business applications forward."

None of this sounds much like Corel is "ditching" Java.  I think that,
as usual, the press is engaging in pack journalism.  Someone early on
interpreted what Corel did as a retreat from Java, so journalists from
all over raced off to write that story.  The fact that it wasn't
actually true doesn't matter much: it's a *big* story, and lot's of
people *want* it to be true.  So we get a sort of Gresham's law of
journalism where bad journalism drives out good.

-mike