IBM demonstrated its Bluebird operating system add-on which is optimized for Java, corporate intranets and the Internet at its Technical Interchange conference last week.

Bluebird is part of IBM's ongoing initiative to preach the gospel of platform independence according to Java, said Mike Lawrie, general manager of IBM's personal software division. The idea is to convince users that OS/2 Warp Server is a viable platform because its forthcoming 100% Java compatibility will let users run any pure Java application on the operating system, Lawrie said.

Bluebird, slated to go into beta testing this summer, was designed to do just that. The add-on to OS/2 Warp Server consists of a client and a set of server-side management utilities.

Lawrie acknowledged that the ``biggest drawback associated with installing OS/2 Warp Server has been the lack of applications written for the platform.'' But the promise of 100% Java compatibility, which IBM is just now starting to deliver to top-tier customers, would make that a moot point, users and analysts said.

With Bluebird, users can move from a traditional client/server model to a network computing environment that includes Intel Corp.-based managed PCs and diskless PCs.

Lawrie's efforts to jump-start OS/2 are supported by IBM's Network Computing Projects business unit in Austin, Texas.

Its goal is to propel IBM to the forefront of Java development and to assist Fortune 500 OS/2 Warp Server accounts in codeveloping mission-critical Java applications for the Internet. Already, 20 customers have signed up.

Rudi Peeters, an electronic-banking officer at CERA Bank in Lauven, Belgium, said the bank is the first to launch a Java application on an OS/2 Warp network.

``Our mortgage loan calculator Java applet running on our OS/2 Warp network puts every one of our bank's transactions online and in real time,'' Peeters said. It saves the bank money and lets customers immediately see the results of transactions, he said.

Analysts praised IBM's Java initiatives. Frank Dzubeck, president of Communication Network Architects, Inc., a Washington consulting firm, said the ability to run any application that is 100% Java as opposed to a mix of Java and another programming language on OS/Warp Server will be an advantage for IBM.

What makes IBM's strategy so potent is that Windows NT and Windows 95 operating systems can't run Java applets.

IBM's quick and comprehensive support of Java gives it an advantage over Microsoft Corp. that could help IBM garner new customers beyond the traditional OS/2 Warp bailiwick in banking and financial shops, Dzubeck said. But a commitment from Microsoft to run all Java applications on its operating systems could defuse IBM's efforts, he said.

Source: ComputerWorld