Sun and Microsoft to work together

**Updated x2

**Update just for Dare

I'm glad this story is coming on April 2nd :)

 

https://news.com.com/2100-1014_3-5183848.html?tag=nefd_lede 

Sun and Microsoft reach a deal on antitrust and patent issues, with payments of $1.95 billion set to go to Sun, which also announced that it will cut 3,300 jobs as losses mount.

Under the 10-year pact with Microsoft, the software company will pay Sun $700 million to resolve antitrust issues and $900 million to resolve patent issues, the companies said. The companies will pay royalties to use each other's technology; Microsoft is paying $350 million now, with Sun to make payments when it incorporates technology later.

The ten-year technical collaboration will encompass several facets, designed to improve information sharing between the companies’ server and desktop products.

Here's my quick assessment of how we can collaborate:

  • Liberty & Passport
  • .NET & Java
  • “Windows desktop communication protocols” (whatever that means)
  • MS JVM support

  It's a new era in computing, everyone's growing up and learning to play nicely.