Article Abstract:
Sun Microsystems today will introduce Jini, the first consumer version of distributed computing technology. Jini is designed to let a range of consumer appliances communicate with a ubiquitous computer network that contains millions of small programs. The commercial use of distributed computing also could shift the computer industry's balance of power away from Microsoft's OS dominance and Internet designs. Examples could include smart cars that inform drivers of traffic congestion and phones that contain detailed information on all listed US phone numbers. Microsoft is reportedly developing a similar system, Millenium, but Jini holds an early edge because of Sun's versatile and popular Java programming language. Sun's plans call for hardware and consumer gadget vendors to add Jini to their products by Jan 2000. Questions remain whether computer networks, the heart of distributed computing, will be universal and wireless.
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Article Abstract:
The growth of the Internet has increased the development demands of high-technology companies throughout Silicon Valley and the entire computer industry, compelling companies to issue product upgrades at unprecedented intervals. Use of the World Wide Web for the transmission of software upgrades has increased users' expectancy regarding the timetable for delivery of new products. Startup companies with the flexibility to create and release products quickly are forcing more established software and hardware manufacturers to abbreviate development cycles in order to stay competitive. This has increased the rate of product obsolescence throughout the industry, minimizing long-term profits associated with any single product. The shortened development cycles have also substantially increased the working demands placed on product designers.
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Article Abstract:
Microsoft Corp. is reorganizing into five separate divisions in response to customers needs, according to the software concern's second-in-command and co-founder Steven Ballmer. In a teleconference held with Bill Gates, Ballmer said the reorganized company would be headed by a 14-member executive committee chaired by Gates. The divisions will be run by Microsoft veterans, though Brad Silverberg and Nathan Myhrvold's names were absent from the management plan. Ballmer denied that the reorganization was in response to the Federal government's antitrust lawsuit, saying he wanted to make the Redmond, Washington-based concern more responsive to its customers. The stock market responded to the announced plan by sending Microsoft shares up by $3.25 to $92.375 following a 2-for-1 stock split.
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