Java settlement phases out previous Microsoft products

By Alun Williams

Posted on 9 Dec 2003 at 15:32

In the wake of the dispute with Sun Microsystems over the use of Java Virtual Machines (JVM), Microsoft is phasing out the availability of some of its previous products from its downloads site.

Microsoft is accused of diluting Java cross-platform support with its own variant implementation of a JVM, and its latest response - to meet the terms of the original settlement - involves withdrawing a range of software from the MSDN Subscriber Download FTP service.

Products affected include Windows 98, IE 5.5, NT 4.0, SQL Server 7 and versions of Office 2000. You can find the full list here, in a posting on the MSDN Public Newsgroup by Andy Boyd, an MSDN Subscriber Downloads manager. The reason given is the December 2001 legal settlement with Sun.

The removal will take effect as of 15 December 2003, states Boyd.

Some products, however, will be updated as new Java-compliant. This is due to happen before 31 December 2003, which is another term of the January 2001 settlement.