[repsilat]

And what a turnaround for the CLR. People used to say, "Sure, C# is a better Java, but Microsoft and closed-source etc..." Or, "Sure F# looks cool, pity about..."

Microsoft's reputation isn't what Sun's was, but it's miles better than it was under Ballmer and light-years ahead of Oracle's. Looks like the bulk of .NET code is released under permissive licenses, too (?)

I don't know how much "hacker goodwill" buys you when you make old-people tech, but Java has definitely lost ground to its main competitor. Maybe their recent uptick in language development velocity will help things.

[DonHopkins]

You need "hacker goodwill" to hire and retain great people like James Gosling and Anders Hejlsberg. Oracle doesn't have a snowflake's chance in hell of ever hiring anyone who can hold a candle to them.

[kamaal]

Beyond that, its also reasonable for them to charge for Java. Java is huge, the ecosystem, the libraries and the software built using it. Its like you have to spend money to build a technology which every one is using to build awesome things, and you have to not only continue investing in it, but give it away for free.

Sun spent like millions of dollars on Java, without earning a penny in return. At some point in time you are a company and have to make profits.

Sending all that big money down the drain for others benefits, and no profits for yourself is something no company will do.