Brief: Microsoft appeal of Java order set for April 3

IDG News Service - Oral arguments are scheduled for April 3 in the Microsoft Corp. appeal of a judge's order forcing the company to distribute Sun Microsystems Inc.'s version of Java. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, in Richmond, Va., will hear from both sides, and each side's lawyers have 20 minutes to present arguments, according to information from Sun.
On Feb. 3, the appeals court delayed a Dec. 23 order by U.S. District Court Judge Frederick Motz, who is presiding over a number of private antitrust lawsuits against Microsoft, including one filed by Sun. Motz, based in Baltimore, set the clock ticking on the "must-carry" Java order in a ruling on Jan. 21, when he gave Microsoft 120 days to comply.
Sun has argued that Microsoft tried to derail a competitive threat posed by Java by offering a version of the technology that's incompatible with Sun's specifications. The company's lawyers argued before Motz that Microsoft's behavior, if allowed to continue, would unfairly drive developers to Microsoft's competing .Net platform.
Microsoft has argued that issues other than its actions, such as Java's performance and quality, have hampered developer adoption of Java. Its lawyers have argued that the "must-carry" Java order is an extreme solution to Java's competitive disadvantage. The company took the first step to comply with Motz's order on Feb. 3 by replacing the Windows XP SP1 service pack with a new service pack, XP SP1a, which is identical to the previous service pack but excludes Microsoft's Java virtual machine.