Novell uses Java for client-network vision
As part of its drive to move from client-server to what the company is calling client-network computing, Novell Inc will beta a Java SDK this fall including a Java Virtual Machine, NetWare Loadable Modules and the Java and NetWare- specific class libraries for executing applications. The Provo, Utah-based company was the first to license the Java Virtual Machine (JVM) and says itsusing the technology to make Netware a more distributed computing environment so users won’t to be tied to a particular server. As there is no easy way to find Java applets across networks Novell proposes a generic naming class for its widely-used Novell Directory Services (NDS).
Bitstream brings Java to TrueDoc
Bitstream Inc, Boston, Massachusetts, promises to give Java developers and users access to all the typefaces on their systems with its TrueDoc typographic imaging technology. Currently Java has four to five preset fonts hardwired into it, but Bitstreamstechnology will circumvent those and handle the actual typeface generation instead of the Java OS. The company will incorporate its new TrueDoc Java classes into their applications for OEMs and ISVs in June. The technology was created after Concord, Massachusetts-based Future Tense – which is designing a desktop publishing application for Java called Texture – licensed TrueDoc C source code. It found it too unwieldy for its product and called in Bitstream to help develop a Java version. Future Tense is the only licensee to date. Bitstream says it expects other companies to provide a similar service, but claims other offerings will be big and chunky and unsuitable for small information appliances such as Java-based PDAs. Its rendering engine adds only about 35K to a Java applet. TrueDoc supports TrueType, PostScript Type 1 and OpenType.
Metrowerks sets JavaOS tools for1996
Austin, Texas-based tools house Metrowerks Inc yesterday promised to deliver full support for the JavaOS operating system in new CodeWarrior for Embedded Systems tools due by year end. Metrowerks says it will create software development tools to support JavaOS on the new breed of network computers (NCs) and has devoted about 10% of its 55-member engineering team to Java development, which it called a significant investment for a small firm. But Metrowerks isn’t betting the farm on Java, predicting that its importance in the marketplace won’t be known for another two years. The company sees 32-bit development tools for the embedded market as its future. It says Java’s portability fits in well with its company religion, or rather, lack of religion: We want to be agnostic to programming languages and agnostic to microprocessors. CodeWarrior will include support for embedded industry-standard file formats, application binary interfaces and will support embedded application development for the 68K, PowerPC, MIPS and x86 microprocessors and be hosted on the Metrowerks ventured into the Java market earlier this month by building Java support into the Macintosh version of Microsoft’s Internet Explorer browser for integrating it with ActiveX (CI No 2918).
NTT Data tests US Internet water
NTT Data Communications Systems, Tokyo, Japan, is using the JavaOne conference to see if there is an American market for its InterInfo Re-Search Service which it is launching in Japan in the third quarter. It’s touting InterInfo as an alternative to offerings such as Yahoo’s news engine or IBM’s infoMarket. NTT says features such as its Java-tized desktop interface, the fact that it stores its indices from the Internet and Intranet databases on its own server along with the usersdata, and the ability for customers to access the service as a forum set it apart from competitors. NTT is an information services giant in Japan, with an Internet service and Web manager and Internet commerce products in Asia, but it apparently has not formed a plan to make a name for InterInfo in the US. To provide its service in America it says it would need to create partnerships with information providers such as Lexus/Nexus and Dow Jones, but does not have any outside Asia currently. If NTT decides to launch here, it would aim for the corporate market, giving customers an initial 10 searches free and then charge under an undetermined scheme.
IBM to providew Java support in Arabica version of Opendoc
IBM Corp is carving its own component architecture out of OpenDoc in the form of Arabica, which also supports applets based on the Java Beans APIs. IBM says ISVs will be able to create Arabica components from any Java development environment and that Arabica will also be used to connect Java/internet applications with enterprise OLTP and database systems. Details about Arabica, which betas in the fourth quarter, were very sketchy. IBM’s also using FTP Software Inc to help it port Java to Windows 3.1 – a task Microsoft Corp declined. FTP is also putting its CyberAgent intelligent agent software up on Windows 3.1 and OS/2.
