Im running Windows XP and visited a Web site with a Java applet and Internet Explorer told me I couldn run it; what is going on?
Windows XP (the version of Windows XP which Microsoft began shipping in the Fall of 2001) shipped with the Microsoft java virtual machine (a piece of software that runs Java applets) as a Web-installable component of the product. Sun Microsystems brought a lawsuit against Microsoft in March, alleging that Microsoft’s distribution of the virtual machine in Windows XP over the Web is unlicensed and constitutes copyright infringement. Microsoft believes that Sun is wrong about that, but rather than argue about it Microsoft disabled the installation of the Microsoft VM on Windows XP machines that didn’t already have a Microsoft VM. As discussed in more detail below, Microsoft is now making the Microsoft VM available by distributing it as part of the upcoming Windows XP SP1. Any customer who faced this situation can load Windows XP SP1 by downloading it off Windows Update or ordering a CD through http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/pro/downloads/servicepacks/sp1/ordercd.asp and they will rec
