By porting the Personal Java real-time subset of its programming language to the PowerTV operating system, Sun Microsystems Inc is opening the way for developers to write Java applications that could be used on a variety of two-way interactive set-top boxes. Scientific-Atlanta Inc says it will distribute Personal Java on its Explorer 2000 which run PowerTV on Sun’s microSparc II RISC chip from next year. Nine US and Canadian cable operators have already signed up to deploy initial versions of the Explorer 2000 set-tops this year, which conform to the Tele Communications Inc- driven OpenCable specifications for next-generation cable boxes. Scientific-Atlanta says Personal Java applications will be able to run on those Explorer 2000 set-tops deployed this year once a software patch is downloaded to support them next year. TCI has already said it will Personal Java alongside Microsoft Corp’s Windows CE in its digital set-tops.
