Sun's Project Tiger has matured and resulted in the release of the Java 2 Platform Standard Edition (J2SE platform) Version 5.0, Beta 2. Accompanying the release was news of the latest benchmark results for the solution, which show it as capable of delivering 59,648 JBB operations per second on the SPECjbb 2000 on a 64-bit two-way system.

The Sun Developer Network is offering two new membership levels along with two developer promotions. This announcement is part of the Sun initiative to keep developers on Java technology's cutting edge and provide them with access to Java technology products, programs, information, tools and equipment.

Project Kitty Hawk, a new initiative encompassing expanded service-oriented architecture (SOA)-enabling capabilities in Sun products, is underway. Project Kitty Hawk is designed to enable a new breed of enterprise software built around Java technology-based Web Services, incorporating an SOA programming model and an open, extensible architecture.

Each week, we determine which articles have been most frequently referenced by logged in subscribers to provide you with the most popular articles of the current and last volumes. The Web version of this article has the top 10 articles. The top article last week was "Interoperability? Sun Is Already There" [13277]. The top article for this volume is still "Sun Confirms Plans to Open Source Solaris Operating System" [13199].

Red Hat and Microsoft were formally invited by Sun Chairman and CEO Scott McNealy to join the Java Community Process during his keynote speech at the 2004 JavaOne Conference, and he stated that greater things would be made possible for the community with these two companies as active participants.

Allied Irish Bank (AIB) will transition all of its branch staff in the Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland and the United Kingdom to the Sun Java Desktop System in 2005, making it the largest financial services enterprise deal for this Sun product.

In the "Java Studio Creator Field Guide," authors Paul Anderson and Gail Anderson take a look at the next generation tool, formerly known as Project Rave, for Java technology application development. The book aims to allow readers to spend less time on "plumbing," and more time on tasks of higher value.

The Identity Library ISVs details the integrations of the Sun Java System Identity Server (formerly Sun ONE Identity Server) and Independent Software Vendors' products (ISVs). From Oracle to PeopleSoft to SAP, this library can assist in shortening development cycles, ensuring identity consistency and safeguarding accesses to Web and other resources.

Sun offers pay-per-use storage worldwide for businesses wanting a flexible model that accommodates project-driven data volume increases. Storage-on-demand comes with predictable pricing and is part of Sun's commitment to utility computing. The Sun StorEdge 9000 systems are the first to come with storage utility computing services under the new pricing.

Sun StorEdge 6000 Family Host Installation Software Version 2.3 contains a new device management software, Sun StorEdge Configuration Service Version 2.3, for the StorEdge 6000 family and is backward compatible. The last order date for version 2.2 is August 13, 2004.

Scott Nesbitt addresses the issue of combining multiple files from diverse sources into a single PDF file in Linux, which lacks the facility that Adobe Acrobat provides both Windows and MacOS. Nesbitt reviews three Linux command line utilities, Ghostscript, joinPDF and pdfmeld, which he finds bridge the gap nicely.

Unless you are a developer or programmer in Java programming language who is working on problems involving huge enterprise frameworks, there may be better tools for you to use than BEA WebLogic, JBoss or WebSphere. "Better, Faster, Lighter Java" considers the alternatives.

When Lory Rice, computer manager of the theoretical physics sub-department at Oxford University, came on the scene in 1995, he found an inefficient and disconnected IT infrastructure that was entirely inadequate to the job required of it. The Sun/Streamline Computing solution that replaced it, at Rice's direction, now enables the department to meet its computing obligations in a way that was impossible ten years ago.

The State of Idaho until recently had 17 separate student information systems in use. Most of these were incompatible. A Sun IT infrastructure has enabled Idaho to create the Idaho Student Information Management System (ISIMS), which provides resources for students, teachers, administrators and parents while creating a mechanism for the state to comply with the mandates of No Child Left Behind (NCLB).

Sun has added two new certification offerings to its learning and certification programs that now include seven career paths encompassing all three Java technology platforms: Sun Certified Mobile Application Developer for Java 2 Platform, Micro Edition (J2ME) and the Sun Certified Developer for Java Web Services.

Design flexible applications that are easily modified and updated. "Java Reflection in Action" starts with the basics and gradually builds a complete understanding of the language. Authors Ira and Nate Forman supplement the basics with reflective concepts illustrated with many short examples that are useful for real-world applications.