WebMink
Simon Phipps's personal commentary

java-dot-stuff [java.net]

I've seen a few people commenting on the new java.xxx URLs. The java.com site is target for some misunderstanding (some of it great fun!). Rafe Colburn for example says:

Maybe I'm just naive, but I'm convinced that there is little overlap between people who care about Java and people who want a virtual Christina Aguilera on their mobile phone.

But I'm afraid I don't agree. The java.com site isn't intended for the usual JavaOne contingent. It's role in life is to be destination for all the click-throughs that come from the new Java logo as it gets used by consumer products companies like Motorola or Nextel when they use it on their web sites. When a consumer clicks on the Java logo, they'll reach a web site that talks about the excitement and value of Java-powered products. This is answering Russell Beattie's point about the need for wide Java branding for the benefit of implementors, and I for one am pleased it's happening at last.

When it comes to the java.net site, people have been asking me why the site sounds so like something Microsoft markets. java.org wasn't Sun's to use, so to paraphrase Bono in the lead-in to U2's cover of 'Helter Skelter', "this is the suffix Microsoft stole from the Internet, now we're stealing it back." You can draw your own parallels.

posted at 9:10 AM (UK) | |