The Sun creation was attracting millions of programmers eager to use Java to build everything from smart-phone software to high-volume Web sites. "Stewardship of Java is such a profitable business, I feel like a start-up," McNealy gushed.
When another JavaOne conference begins this week, McNealy might not be so giddy.
Java, a cross-platform programming language, remains a vital technology to legions of corporate customers and software companies, but the unity of the Java industry itself is being strained, according to industry observers. The past year has seen more explicit conflict among Java vendors, instead of the cohesive front needed to compete effectively against Microsoft. Also, open source and the rise of Web services have drawn developer attention away from Java.
And Sun's declining revenue and shifting product strategies are a distraction to the industry at large, which has looked to the company as the Java standard bearer.
For Sun, which is trying to revitalise its own Java business, the shifting ground in the software landscape could mean that the Java creator may ultimately have less sway in the direction of the industry.
"Sun is actually losing control of the Java franchise," said Anne Thomas Manes, an analyst at the Burton Group and former Sun executive. "If Sun were smart, they'd see the writing on the wall -- that they can't maintain exclusive control of Java and that open source is taking over."
At the JavaOne conference, Sun will forge ahead with its plans to regain lost ground in the Java software market. Sun will be releasing Java Studio Creator, a US$99 Java tool meant to steal away developers from Microsoft's easy-to-use products. The company is also introducing a bundle that includes a two-processor Opteron-based Sun server running the Solaris operating system and the Java development tools, for a three-year US$1,499 annual subscription.
Sun contends that the Java industry remains vibrant, and that the company regularly evaluates its relationship with the Java community.
The open-source runaround
One of the most pressing questions facing the Java industry is whether Sun will release Java to the open-source community, potentially ceding some control over Java's evolution. One of the most high-profile events planned for this week is a panel discussion to debate the open-source question. IBM and other Java proponents say an open-source version of Java will increase the software's popularity.
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