Sun Microsystems will spend tens of millions of dollars to emblazon all manner of computing products with a new Java logo, the company plans to unveil next week at its JavaOne conference.
Under the branding campaign, everything from cash registers and microchip-enabled "smart cards" to TV set-top boxes and video recorders will carry the logo, said Jonathan Schwartz, Sun's executive vice president of software. The campaign is geared to convince ordinary people, not just programmers and computer experts, that Java carries value, he said.
As a competitive weapon, though, Java has had some significant rusty spots. While Java has attracted a large developer community, the programming tools Sun provides need to be better, Sun acknowledges.
Java developers "have been pushing us to drive a level of ease of use and productivity that, to be blunt, Microsoft set the bar with Visual Studio," Schwartz said. "We're really ramping up our focus and investment around delivering a much stronger competitor to Visual Studio."
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