As we reported they would last week (CI No 3,375), Sony Corp has taken a license for PersonalJava from Sun Microsystems Corp. The two say they will work together to support the development of applications based on Java for the digital home entertainment network environment. The deal between the two – which has yet to result in any definitive agreements – will include Sony incorporating Java applications into its digital audio-visual products and Sun creating PersonalJava software development tools for digital AV products. Sony says it’s creating an open architecture for home entertainment products that will allow for the interaction of personal computers, AV equipment, set-top boxes and digital TV and figures Java’s just the cross-platform tool for the job. Sony’s announcement came just three days after Sun lured LM Ericsson telfon AB and Samsung Electric Co into the Java camp.
