Java and Linux vs. Microsoft (Score 1)

People who dismiss Java because it didn't "take over the world" simply don't understand how much Java hurt Microsoft and, as a side effect, helped other operating systems like Linux.

This paragraph from the article is telling:

Plainly there's no need to mourn for Java's fate. But its success as a sort of welding tool for computer networks is a long way from the early visions of Java partisans.

Java's use as a 'welding' tool was the death sentence for Microsoft's plans for taking over the world. For most companies, it's MUCH easier to operate an all-Windows network than a mixed network or all-anything-else network. The only thing that's probably keeping many companies from going 100% Windows is Java + Javascript + HTML interfaces to legacy systems. That is why IBM has thousands of Java programmers and is giving away Visual Age for Java for Linux. If everyone were programming in Visual Basic, IBM and Linux would be in very deep doo-doo.

Oh, and support Mozilla, too. It will probably be essential in a few years.