Why does it even include this in the name? Really, its not coded in java, it has no more java used in it than any other distros. It would be the same as naming slackware the slackware java desktop system. I can't seem to figure it out, maybe someone can help me.

you are quite right, there are only a few java apps. I saw a live demo of project looking glass which is written in java, now that should be callled a java desktop system.

Actually, Java is a trademark as well as the name of a programming language. Sun uses Java on a number of different products. You might already know about the Java Station and the Java Workstation.

A Java Desktop project also existed before the Java Desktop System.

It's a brand and it's used for Solaris also. The programming language has the Java Compiler or javac. The Java Runtime Environment is JRE.

Sun isn't a consumer products company - their clients have always been enterprises. So, people that have dealt with them over the years, don't find the Java brand confusing.

Yes, I think Project Looking Glass looks fantastic!! I want to check it out...

I have quite a few screen shots, on LG3D at www.gcclinux.com and I have also provided many scripts to help you to get it installed and running under JDS Linux.

I hope that you find it useful.

Kind Regards,

RIcardo W.

Here is an article published recently to address precisely this question:

"What' so <i>Java</i> about Sun's Linux Desktop?" (O'Reilly | OnJava.com)
http://www.onjava.com/pub/a/onjava/2004/10/06/jds.html

-Sam Hiser

That article is a must read for anyone who has questions about JDS! I think they hit the nail on the head, and more of us Linux hobbyists need to see this point. Companies don't want the same things that we want out of Linux and Sun appears to be addressing their needs which usually differ from our (Linux hobbyists/hackers) desires. In the end I hope this will be better for the Linux community as a whole by increasing the demand for Linux.

Some marketing teenager wizz out of Harvard decided Jave was a strong brand and decided eveything should be called Java to capitalize on it.

In the end it will only kill the Java brand.

No offense, but the Hiser article really does NOT answer the question.

It's really very, very simple. Sun has a LOT invested in their trademark and they've been asked to use it. This is why even their HARDWARE bares the Java(tm). It's that simple.

I wonder if cjcox read the whole article... it is very long and while a corporation might have that sole reason so that it might survive, the many people in it who work to implement the overall project are unlikely to all think that way.

I would suggest that the article shows how well the entire Linux community benefits from resources poured in from commercial users of the GNU Linux concept - without the big boys who probably "give" more than they "take" I doubt Linux per se could possibly have got as far as it has as a viable alternative.

I think we are confusing free beer with free software.

As I pointed out in a different forum, even free beer isn't free, because your buddy pays for it (if he shouts you one), or your boss does (in a company get-together) or the bar manager does (in a happy hour).

I liked that article and felt it was well balanced - even if long - and was basically honest in its looking at all sides of What's so Java about Sun's Linux desktop?

My oops... I think I was looking somewhere else at the time... I should have retracted.
The article does indeed say what I said... it's just a brand and Sun is using it to the max.

maybe I should oops too; re-reading it, it came across a bit strong, for which I'm sorry

It is sorta strange... I mean my w2100z workstation has the Java name and logo.

I liked that little Java-dude (the one that looked like Captain Kirk's shirt with a nose) better than the steamin cup o' java. I think it would have made a cooler .. even more generic... trade/brand mark.

Now you have to think about a good explanation for why a Java logo appears on stuff..... vs. that means it runs on java, or that means it's based on java, etc... like in the good "old" days.

I think that Sun people want to popularise their OS with the most common trademark JAVA . maybe even to misguide noobs to buy their OS , preferably over market giants.
what ever maybe the intention , they made it clear that it is a part of the open source project
that is more than enough for us!!!

It's really nice, looks tonnes better than solaris lol, seen a screenshot in a linux mag.....