Java Kernel plan proceeds

Sun continues to work on the Java Kernel, the idea of which is to provide a subset of the Java Runtime Environment tuned to particular programs.

Formerly known as Java Browser Edition, the Java Kernel is planned for release as part of Java Standard Edition (SE) 6 update 4, probably in early-2008, a Sun representative said on Friday. Developers will have early access to the code to provide feedback.

An original intent was to make Java like a Flash plug-in and enable a resurgence of Java on the browser. Applications would specify which features they need, such as Swing and XML parsing, said Sun staff engineer Ethan Nicholas, who is working on the project.

"The basic idea was that the current Java Runtime Environment is simply too big, and most programs require only a small subset of the functionality," Nicholas wrote in September 2006 on his blog. "The 'browser edition' that I suggested would enable you to install exactly the subset of Java that your particular program required, but you would be able to download all of the other functionality on demand (and thus be fully compatible with J2SE)."

Some Sun employees doubted the project would fly, according to Nicholas. Even a detailed analysis of the idea painted a bleak picture, he said.

"The feature did in fact get submitted as a proposal for Java 7 under the name "Java Kernel" (the idea being that you download a small "kernel" of Java functionality, which is in turn capable of downloading the rest of it)," Nicholas said.

Nicholas said he developed a stripped-down JRE installed containing only enough functionality to run "System.out.println," or "Hello World."

To determine which files were necessary for the project, Nicholas wrote a program to iterate through the JRE files.

"After going through all of the files in this fashion, I was left with an extremely minimal JRE that could run Hello World and ... well, that's about it. But it at least provided a starting point. Building a working installer from this JRE was itself a challenge because several of the files that weren't necessary to run Hello World were still necessary to successfully install the JRE, but I persevered and now have a fully functioning, minimal JRE," Nicholas said.

Comments about the project posted on Nicholas's blog varied.

"I also believe modularization of the JRE is the solution. Not just for the size of the download, but also for different other issues," one commenter said in 2006.

"The problem here is that Java isn't just a browser based technology, it's a platform. When I write a Java applet or application, I expect the platform to be there," said another respondent.

Yahoo Updates Mail

Yahoo Inc. will close an almost two-year public test for its new version of Yahoo Mail on Monday with several new enhancements, as the Sunnyvale, California, Internet giant boosts this Webmail service that is key to both its usage and advertising growth.

Yahoo will remove the beta tag from the new Yahoo Mail version on Monday and will roll it out to all of the service's 254 million active users worldwide in the coming six weeks.

Because the new Yahoo Mail has been available to all of the service's users for almost a year in beta form, its enhancements aren't a secret, but Yahoo is announcing some new improvements.

For example, all users will see an improvement in performance and speed with this "general availability" version of the new Yahoo Mail, as well as an expansion of the search refinement features.

In addition, the capability to initiate an instant messaging session with Yahoo Messenger users from within Yahoo Mail has been extended to include Microsoft Windows Live Messenger users and will be available worldwide as well.

Meanwhile, users in the U.S., India, Canada, and the Philippines will get the capability to send text messages to mobile phones from within an e-mail message window, a feature Yahoo expects to extend elsewhere as it secures agreements with local mobile operators.

Although the new Yahoo Mail will now become the service's primary version, users will be able to continue using the "classic" version. "We'll continue to offer both products for the foreseeable future and we'll let our users decide what's the right Yahoo Mail experience for them," said John Kremer, Yahoo Mail's vice president.

With competition heating up from Google, Microsoft and others, Yahoo has to continually boost Yahoo Mail, which drives a lot of Web traffic for the company.

Apple anti-theft system

Nearly everyone has heard of "iPod muggings"—thieves targeting unsuspecting users on the street because of the presence of those signature white headphones that indicate there's an expensive gadget on the other end. Of course, iPod users aren't the only ones who have ever had gadgets stolen—everything from CD players (yes, some people still use those) to PDAs to GPS units to cell phones have been attractive targets for thieves for years now. And while there have been some attempts to dissuade thieves from stealing our things, most have been pretty easy to get around. But what if a thief knew that if he (or she) stole that iPod, it would only have one charge cycle left before it became useless?

A recently-published patent filed by Apple (and dug up by the New Scientist) could provide one such deterrent. The patent, titled "Protecting electronic devices from extended unauthorized use," outlines a technique that would allow a particular device to authenticate itself with certain, user-approved power supplies and devices so that it can only be charged by those devices. In a lot of ways, it's a lot like DRM, but for electronic devices.

According to the patent, when the device suspects unauthorized use, the recharging mechanism of the device itself is disabled. "Consequently, normal use and enjoyment of the device can be significantly reduced when the recharger is disabled." Thanks, Apple. Suspected unauthorized use, however, could include any number of user-defined conditions. The owner could set a timer for the authorizations to expire, the device could be connected to an unapproved power supply, or—this one is particularly interesting—the device is being used "outside a determined geographical boundary." Under any of those conditions, the device would be alerted that it's being subject to suspect activity and ask the user for its preassigned security code. If authorization succeeds, then everything will continue on as expected. If not, the device won't be rechargeable until it is authorized once again by the owner.

The patent does not discuss what happens in the event of a device reset or when a password is lost. In order to be effective, the system would need to be difficult to get around, but not so difficult that users might accidentally render their iPods useless after being a little too forgetful. There would obviously need to be some sort of back door for Apple to somehow reset the device, but we're left to speculate about those details.

Naturally, some of us might think upon first blush that this is merely a guise for Apple and other manufacturers to lock out third-party chargers, but the patent insists that this is not so. The lawful owner of the device would be able to configure the gadget to work with any authorized devices he or she desires. Of course, that doesn't mean that devices couldn't just "mysteriously" not accept authorizations when hooked up to certain types of chargers.

As today's DRM mess has proven, such a system could easily be subject to compatibility issues. If so, it would result in frustrated users who might just choose to authorize everything instead of fight with it, thus negating the point of the system in the first place. But as long as that option exists—the ability to turn it off altogether if one chooses—then the idea is kind of a cool one. Locking out unauthorized chargers wouldn't exactly help someone get a stolen iPod back, but perhaps if enough potential thieves knew of the limitations, they wouldn't be so eager to steal the gadgets in the first place. Maybe.