News and Information Press Releases

Microsoft Appeals Preliminary Injunction Ruling in Sun Lawsuit
January 14, 1999 - Microsoft appealed the Federal District Court's preliminary injunction in the contractual dispute between Microsoft and Sun. Filed with the U.S. Appeals Court in San Francisco, the appeal points out that the district court erred in accepting Sun's claim that the case involves copyright issues rather than a contractual dispute.

Microsoft to Appeal Preliminary Injunction Ruling in Sun Lawsuit
December 16, 1998 - Microsoft announced today that it will appeal the November 17 preliminary ruling in the Sun lawsuit. According to Microsoft associate general council Tom Burt, the company's industry-leading Java implementation meets the terms of Microsoft's contract with Sun. "Microsoft does not believe any preliminary injunction should have been ordered," says Burt. Microsoft will continue to comply with the preliminary injunction while waiting for the appeal to be heard.

Microsoft Releases Latest Version of Virtual Machine for Windows
December 7, 1998 - A new version of Microsoft's acclaimed virtual machine has just been released and is now available free of charge. Building on the technology that earned it the PC Magazine Editor's Choice for two years in a row, this new release extends Microsoft's performance leadership with even greater speed and new features for developers. It also offers support for Java Native Interface (JNI), in addition to the tight integration with Windows that customers and developers expect.

Microsoft Assures Windows Customers of No Impact from Sun Lawsuit Ruling
November 20, 1998 - Microsoft issued communications to partners and customers around the world to assure them that the preliminary ruling in the Sun lawsuit would not delay the delivery of Windows 98 and other Microsoft products. In letters to each of the company's customer segments, Microsoft addressed specific concerns and explained how it would comply with the judge's ruling while shipping products without interruption. "Our top priority is to make certain that our customers understand that they will see little or no impact from the ruling." said Jeff Raikes, senior vice president for sales and support.

Microsoft Will Comply With Preliminary Ruling in Sun Lawsuit
November 17, 1998 - Microsoft will comply with a preliminary ruling in its contractual dispute with Sun Microsystems. The ruling, handed down by of Federal District Court Judge Ronald H. Whyte, gives Microsoft 90 days to begin supporting Sun's Java Native Interface (JNI) in the Microsoft Java virtual machine, and to turn off by default certain Microsoft-specific keywords in its development tools. Microsoft said it will take all necessary steps to comply with the court's order, while also working to ensure that customers continue to receive Windows 98 without interruption.

Microsoft Ships Enterprise Solutions With Microsoft Visual J++^® 6.0
October 6, 1998 - Visual J++ 6.0, the newest version of Microsoft's development environment for Java, is now available. This release is an ideal way to harness the productivity of Java and the power of Windows^® to create compelling applications. With Visual J++, developers can build "powerful enterprise solutions that take advantage of all the great features of Windows and BackOffice," according to Microsoft lead Visual J++ product manager Bill Dunlap.

Microsoft Defends Best Implementation of Java in the Industry; Sun Motion is Without merit
May 12, 1998 - Microsoft reaffirmed its commitment to providing the best Java implementation in the industry and called Sun Microsystem's request for a preliminary injunction against the Microsoft Windows 98 operating system without merit. "There is no legal or factual basis for granting Sun's request," said Tom Burt, associate general counsel for Microsoft. "If the preliminary injunction is granted the harm would be to consumers and software developers who will be denied use of the best tools in the industry to create and run Java applications."

Microsoft to Comply with Preliminary Court Order on Use of Logo
March 24, 1998 - Microsoft will comply with Federal District Court Judge Ronald H. Whyte's preliminary ruling that the company can no longer use the Java Compatibility Logo on packaging and Web sites for Microsoft Internet Explorer and the Microsoft SDK for Java. According to Tom Burt, an associate general counsel for Microsoft, the company is disappointed by the ruling, but remains confident that once all the facts have been presented, the court will find it to be in full compliance with its contract with Sun Microsystems.

Microsoft Announces Windows Foundation Classes
March 11, 1998 - At Spring Internet World in Los Angeles, Microsoft announced the release of Windows Foundation Classes (WFC), a new set of Java class libraries that combines the productivity benefits of the Java language with the full native capabilities of the Microsoft Windows platform. WFC provides an innovative object-oriented framework that simplifies the building of applications for both Win32 and Web page delivery. It will allow developers to build applications with the functionality and performance that best meets the needs of their users, all within the same programming model.

Microsoft Visual J++ 6.0 Combines Productivity of Java Language with Power of Windows
March 11, 1998 - Microsoft's industry-leading Java development tool Visual J++ just got better. Now available as a beta release, Visual J++ 6.0 offers Java developers a fast way to build and deploy high-performance, data-driven client/server solutions for the Microsoft Windows operating system and the Web. This latest release offers a host of new and updated features and is the first Java development tool to support Microsoft's new Windows Foundation Classes (WFC), an object-oriented framework designed to provide easy access to the full power of the Windows platform.

Leading Development Tool Vendors Announce Support for J/Direct
March 11, 1998 - At Spring Internet World, Microsoft announced that there is broad support for J/Direct among leading development tool vendors. Plans by companies including Rational Software, Sybase, and Tower Technologies to use J/Direct in their development tools will simplify and expand the efforts of developers who want to create high-performance, fully featured applications in Java that take maximum advantage of customer investments in hardware and software.

Apple and Microsoft Unify Java Technologies for the Macintosh
March 11, 1998 - Microsoft and Apple have just announced plans to jointly develop a single Java virtual machine (VM) for the Mac OS. Based on Apple's Mac OS Runtime for Java (MJR), it will incorporate a variety of Microsoft Java technologies. The new virtual machine will mean better consistency for Java implementations across Apple® Macintosh® and Microsoft Windows-based computers. When complete, the new MJR will incorporate Microsoft's J/Direct technology, and it will become the exclusive Java virtual machine of Microsoft Internet Explorer for the Macintosh.

Microsoft Gives Java Developers a Jump-Start on Win32 Development
December 10, 1997 - At Fall Internet World, Microsoft announced the release of J/Direct Jumpstart. A set of code samples with tutorials and examples, J/Direct Jumpstart provides the fastest way to harness the productivity of the Java language and power of the Windows operating system.

Microsoft Countersues Sun Microsystems
October 27, 1997 - Responding to the earlier legal action filed by Sun Microsystems, Microsoft filed a suit against Sun in U.S. District Court for breach of contract, breach of covenant of good faith and fair dealing, and unfair competition. "Sun's suit may make for good PR, but its claims are not grounded in fact or in law," said Tom Burt, associate general counsel, for Microsoft. "We are disappointed that it has come to this, but we have upheld our end of the bargain. Sun has not."

Microsoft Releases Latest SDK for Java
October 7, 1997 -- Microsoft today announced the release of the SDK for Java, version 2.0. The SDK includes final versions of Microsoft's virtual machine (Microsoft VM), Application Foundation Classes (AFC), and J/Direct.

Microsoft Acquires Cooper & Peters; Leading Component Developers to Join Microsoft AFC Effort
June 13, 1997 -- Microsoft announces its acquisition of Cooper & Peters Inc., a leading developer of object-oriented user-interface framework technologies for Java and Smalltalk.

Microsoft and EarthWeb Team Up to Provide Online Advertising and Distribution Discounts for J/Advantage Members
June 9, 1997 -- J/Advantage members will receive advertising discounts of 30 percent and distribution discounts of up to 50 percent. This marketing program is available now to all current J/Advantage members.

Momentum Surges for Microsoft Application Foundation Classes
June 9, 1997 -- More than 100 top commercial Java developers are now committed to Microsoft Application Foundation Classes (AFC) Libraries and Microsoft VM. members.

Microsoft Announces Innovative Security Zones
June 3, 1997 -- Responding to user and IT manager interest in improved browser security, Microsoft announced major enhancements that will give Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.0 the most advanced and sophisticated security control of any browser.

Microsoft and Aladdin Systems Collaborate to Improve Java Performance on the Macintosh
May 22, 1997 -- Microsoft Corp. and Aladdin Systems Inc. announced their collaboration in delivering key Java compression technologies to the Apple® Macintosh® platform.

Microsoft to Acquire Dimension X
May 7, 1997 -- Microsoft Corp. announced that it has signed an agreement to acquire Dimension X, the leading start-up devoted to the Java multimedia market. The move gives the company a set of key products and technologies to enhance the Microsoft Internet Explorer Web browser and the DirectX(tm) set of APIs.

Microsoft Unveils J/Advantage Program to Help Java Developers Achieve Commercial Success
April 2, 1997 -- The J/Advantage program offers marketing support and the technology infrastructure that Java application and component vendors need to achieve success in the marketplace.

Microsoft Releases Developer Preview of Application Foundation Classes for Java; Top Java Developers Demonstrate Support for Microsoft's Class Libraries
April 2, 1997 -- With more than 30 prebuilt, reusable user interface components -- from toolbars and tree controls to tabbed dialog boxes -- Microsoft Application Foundation Classes (AFC) help make developers more productive, allowing them to focus on application-specific features that add the greatest value to their products.

Microsoft Extends Application Foundation Classes for Java to Ease Development of Distributed Enterprise Applications
April 2, 1997 -- The Microsoft Application Foundation Classses (AFC) Enterprise Libraries give corporate developers a complete set of industrial-strength Java class libraries for today's distributed computing environments.

Microsoft and Metrowerks Announce Free Redistribution of Virtual Machine for Java and JIT Compiler for the Macintosh
April 2, 1997 -- Microsoft Corp. and Metrowerks Inc. announced that the jointly developed virtual machine for Java and the Just-in-Time (JIT) compiler is available for redistribution with Java applications as part of the CodeWarrior software development package.

Microsoft Announces, Demonstrates Application Foundation Classes Comprehensive Set of Cross-Platform Class Libraries for Java
January 21, 1997 -- Designed from the ground up, these high-performance, value-added class libraries offer richer graphics, and user interface and multimedia functionality that can run on any platform or browser that supports Java.

Microsoft Ships Final Release of Internet Explorer 3.0 for Macintosh with Just-in-Time Java Compiler and Native ActiveX™ Support
January 8, 1997 -- At MacWorld Expo, Microsoft Corp. today announced the worldwide availability of Microsoft Internet Explorer version 3.0 software for Apple Macintosh. Microsoft's acclaimed Web browser now offers Macintosh users the fastest access to the widest selection of Internet content.

Microsoft SDK for Java Attracts More Than 50,000 Developers in Nearly Two Months
December 11, 1996 -- Microsoft Corp. today announced that the Microsoft Software Development Kit (SDK) for Java is achieving widespread acceptance from developers seeking to create world-class Java applications.

Microsoft Announces Immediate Availability of Technology to Enable Fast and Safe Download of Web Applications
August 7, 1996 -- Tools to compress and sign Java applets and ActiveX controls freely distributed; Microsoft Internet Explorer 3.0 users download faster with increased security.

Microsoft Licenses Industry's First Java-Based VRML 2.0 Implementation from Dimension X
August 5, 1996 -- High-performance 3-D on the Internet becomes a reality with ActiveX controls and DirectX™.

Microsoft and Metrowerks Integrate Java with ActiveX on the Macintosh
May 14, 1996 -- Microsoft Corp. announced a pact with Metrowerks Inc. in which Metrowerks will integrate Microsoft ActiveX technologies with Java in its CodeWarrior development products for the Apple Macintosh operating system.