In this InfoWorld article, Java founder James Gosling rates Oracle’s handling of Sun’s technologies in the four years since the acquisition.

In short, Java gets a passing grade, while the treatment of the Solaris operating system fails miserably.

Oracle is suing Google, claiming patent infringement related to the implementation of Java used in the Android smartphone operating system.

According to this article from internetnews.com, the Department of Justice will not fast track approve the Oracle-Sun merger due to concerns over Java. However, Oracle’s legal counsel ensures compliance with all of the DoJ concerns.

Sun has announced the availability of its “GlassFish V2” Open Source Java EE 5 Application Server platform.

GlassFish V2 is downloadable at http://glassfish.java.net with versions available for Solaris, Linux, Windows and Mac OS X.

According to this post by Jonathan Schwartz, Sun will be changing its stock trading symbol next week from “SUNW” to “JAVA”.

“JAVA is a technology whose value is near infinite to the internet, and a brand that’s inseparably a part of Sun (and our profitability). And so next week, we’re going to embrace that reality by changing our trading symbol, from SUNW to JAVA. This is a big change for us, capitalizing on the extraordinary affinity our teams have invested to build, introducing Sun to new investors, developers and consumers. Most know Java, few know Sun – we can bring the two one step closer.

To be very clear, this isn’t about changing the company name or focus – we are Sun, we are a systems company, and we will always be a derivative of the students that created us, Stanford University Network is here to stay. But we are no longer simply a workstation company, nor a company whose products can be limited by one category – and Java does a better job of capturing exactly that sentiment than any other four letter symbol.”

This internetnews.com article reports that Sun updates the JavaFX compiler. Supposedly, the update will speed up how the JavaFX Script is compile to enhance application performance. More information on Sun’s JavaFX is located here.

At this week’s JavaOne conference, Sun has made a number of announcements:

The OpenJDK project is a fully-buildable Java Development Kit released under the GPL v2, compatible with the Java SE 6 specification

JavaFX Script is a scripting language for creating rich content and applications that run on Java-powered devices.

Also announced is a collaboration with Ericsson on a communications applications server to be released under an open-source license as part of Project SailFin.

Sun announces a new scripting language targeted at the mobile devices market. Below is a summary of Sun’s press release, for the entire press release click here.

A new scripting language, JavaFX Script gives Java developers the power to quickly create content-rich applications for the widest variety of clients, including mobile devices, set-top boxes, desktops, even Blu-ray discs. Content creators now have a simple way to develop content for any Java Powered consumer device.

* JavaFX allows content creators to create rich media content without relying on developers, including drag and drop of desktop and mobile content to the desktop, something that is not possible in any other RIA.

* JavaFX Script offers a close integration with other Java components (applications and infrastructure) running on server and client platforms, enabling a rich end-to-end experience for developers and users.

* JavaFX Script takes advantage of the Java security model so consumers can securely access assets (e.g., pictures, music files, word documents) on their desktop.

JAX-WS 2.0, a follow-on to Java API for XML-based RPC 1.1(JAX-RPC), simplifies the task of developing web services using Java technology. JAX-WS 2.1 is a maintenance release that adds WS-Addressing capabilities to JAX-WS 2.0.

Got a question about JAX-WS 2.1? Submit your questions from February 26 through March 2 on the Ask the Experts page and get answers from three JAX-WS experts at Sun: Vivek Pandey, Jitendra Kotamraju, and Kohsuke Kawaguchi.

Java Plug-In technology, included as part of the Java Runtime Environment, Standard Edition (Java SE), establishes a connection between popular browsers and the Java platform. This connection enables applets on Web sites to be run within a browser on the desktop.

Got a question about Java Plug-In technology? Post your questions on the Ask the Experts page from February 12 through February 16 and get answers from key members of the Java SE Deployment Team.

Sun is having another Ask the Experts session, this time about the open-sourcing of its Java software products.

Got a question about Sun’s open-sourcing of its Java platform implementations? Read the FAQ. Then post any follow-up questions from January 16-19 during this Ask the Experts session and get answers from representatives of Sun’s Java platform implementations.

Sun has announced the availability of Java Platform Standard Edition 6.

Sun has released all of its Java implementations under version 2 of the GNU General Public License.

Learn how to leverage the inutitive yet powerful features of NetBeans Enterprise Pack 5.5 by joining this webinar.
Then post any questions you have on this topic during the week of October 30 in an Ask the Experts session.
Key technical representatives of the Java Studio Enterprise team at Sun Microsystems will be on hand to answer your questions.

Got a question about building graphical interfaces using Swing?

Post your questions on the Ask the Experts page during the week of October 16 through October 20 and get answers online from key technical representatives of the Swing, Java 2D, and AWT teams at Sun Microsystems.