Will judge put Java in Windows?

Sun Microsystems told a federal judge on Tuesday that its Java programming language had been so harmed by Microsoft that it must be included with every copy of Windows XP. During the first day of an antitrust hearing that likely will last all week, U.S. District Judge Frederick Motz gave mixed signals about what he was thinking, saying that Sun's suggestion was "attractive" but could be unduly self-serving.

Bundling a Java interpreter with Windows XP, Motz said, would be a "wonderfully elegant and simple, although dramatic" remedy that could be better than turning the solution over to a clutch of economists from each side.

But Motz also said "it does give Sun the benefit over others," a reference to recent court decisions saying that U.S. antitrust law must help consumers, not competitors. "If you've got (Java) widespread and you've got the better product, why do you need parity?" Motz asked Sun's attorneys.

During opening arguments, Sun attorney Rusty Day of Day, Casebeer, Madrid and Batchelder said Microsoft had tried to kneecap Java because it poses a threat to Windows and, now, to the company's .Net strategy.

"The order Sun seeks merely affects a portion of the competitive advantage illegally seized by Microsoft," Day said.

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