Removing Java From Windows XP May Cause Headaches For IT ManagersRemoving Java From Windows XP May Cause Headaches For IT Managers

Microsoft's decision to remove Java technology from Windows XP could cause support headaches for IT managers who'll need to manage the software separately.

That's probably not the intended effect of the change to Microsoft's latest desktop operating system, due to ship Oct. 25. Unlike Windows 2000, 98, and older versions of the system, Windows XP won't include a Java Virtual Machine, the client-side software needed to run Java apps in a Web-browser window. Microsoft says it will require users to download the component separately, or install another vendor's Java software, ensuring compliance with a January legal settlement with Sun Microsystems.

IT buyers say it's an unnecessary change. "It's going to be a huge hindrance," says Gary Williams, director of IT at Centex Homes, a division of the $6.71 billion Dallas builder Centex Corp. Most of Centex Home's 2,300 Windows 98 desktop users run an IBM terminal emulator to access a key accounting application through Internet Explorer. That requires Microsoft's Java client, which often gets corrupted, and must be re-installed. "We'll end up having to find a way to make sure that component is always there," says Williams. "It has ripple effects through everything we do."

Sun sued Microsoft in 1997, saying the company made unilateral changes to industry-standard Java specs. In the intervening years, Microsoft has abandoned even those tactics, instead promoting its Component Object Model for writing Windows and Web apps. Under terms of the January settlement, Microsoft may keep selling its 3-year-old Java development tool, Visual J++ version 1.1.4, for another seven years.

The settlement also requires Microsoft to clear updates to its Java Virtual Machine with Sun, says Tony Goodhew, a Microsoft product manager. Requiring IT managers or users to download the software from Microsoft's Web site ensures users will always have the latest version, he says. "It's a small extra step. Our expectation is this will have no impact whatsoever on developers' choice. There's no conspiracy theory here."

Sun couldn't be reached for comment at press time.

Others disagree. "It's an inconvenience to their customers they can't blame on Sun," says Paul Heller, chief technology officer for Internet operations at BankOne Corp. in Columbus, Ohio. "Our sites are Microsoft-based"--the company switched from a Java environment this year. "But to think other people aren't writing Web sites in Java is stupid."