Sun's Java prince refuses Redmond relocation

Exclusive The first major fallout from Sun's capitulation to Microsoft has occurred with vice president and Java defender Rich Green quitting Sun in "disgust," The Register has confirmed.

Green, Sun's vice president of developer platforms and the major public voice for Java, left the company on the same day that Sun announced it had declined to pursue lawsuits against Microsoft, according to sources. During the US Microsoft antitrust trial, Green was one of Sun's key witnesses, arguing that Microsoft tried to undermine Java by shipping an incompatible version of the JVM (Java Virtual Machine).

Sources also confirmed that John Loiacono, formerly head of operating systems at Sun, will now head up the company's software business. Jonathan Schwartz had served as head of software until taking on the roles of President and Chief Operating Office last week.

Green's exit is said to be just one of several that have come as a result of the Microsoft deal. After spending years telling the world of Microsoft's evils, Sun decided to accept a $2 billion apology and put most of its animosity for Redmond in the past.

Few executives within Sun spent more time extolling the virtues of Java than Green. Over the past few years, he was at the center of the battle to place Sun's JVM on Microsoft's operating systems and to get PC OEMs to ship Sun's version of the software.

The battle between Sun and Microsoft for Java was no doubt a personal affair for Green. ®

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