Sun readies Java for netbooks

Sun Microsystems is working with partners to make Java telecoms ready for netbooks, reports The Register.

The company hopes to deliver a modular version of Java Micro Edition "sometime" next year, which would let netbooks running Java offer more of the kinds of features used in cellphones and are currently enabled on such devices through the Java APIs.

Currently, netbooks must use Java Standard Edition, which is used on notebooks and PCs. The work would also bring functionality found on laptops to some smart phones, according to Sun.

Google revamped its Google Docs word processing, spreadsheet and presentation trio, refreshing Docs' appearance and adding shared folders, batch file uploads and more than 50 other new features to make it more valuable for knowledge worker collaboration, states eWeek.

In Docs, colours have been changed and buttons have been moved. The new 'Folders' dialog lets users control which folders an item is in. When users have a folder open, they can access the 'Move to' dialog to move files to other folders.

Sharing folders brings the notion of shared files to another level. While users have always been able to share files in Docs, they may now share whole folders of files, a valuable proposition for workers collaborating on a project.

Digium, the company that created and develops Asterisk, the open source telephony platform, has partnered with IBM to create an Asterisk-based phone system that is now available for the IBM Smart Cube platform, says TMCnet.

The IBM Smart Cube is a pre-integrated solution that includes hardware, the operating system, security, backup, middleware and the necessary components to run business applications that SMEs can download from the IBM Smart Market.

All of the applications, now including Asterisk for Smart Cube, are designed to handle the appliance's fast software installations, company officials said. The product is part of IBM's so-called 'Smart Business' initiative for small to medium-sized enterprises.