Sun and 3Com have agreed to turn the Palm organiser into a Java device, by building in the latest, most compact version of Sun's programming language, the 100K Java Micro Edition. Clearly the move helps shore up both companies' products against Windows CE, by giving Java access to a new market, and providing Palm Computing with a way of getting more people to write software for the Palm platform. That could be crucial to Palm's attempts to position its hardware as more of a corporate networking tool than an executive plaything. The move also neatly brings the two companies' open source-style initiatives together, with both Java and the PalmOS now open to developers to use in the creation of new solutions. PalmOS isn't quite as open as Java, but this latest deal could persuade Palm to loosen some of the control it still maintains over its operating system. As for Sun, getting Java onto the Palm is a useful 'proof of concept' move -- it shows the software can be made to work in small form factor devices, in particular mobile phones, which is the market Java Micro Edition is really aimed at. ®