Anti-Microsoft Alliance Tightened

Three Microsoft Corp. rivals have struck a series of deals to tighten their alliance against the dominant maker of personal computer software. IBM Corp., Sun Microsystems Inc. and Netscape Communications Corp. moved to coordinate their work on a universal language for developing software that works on any computer system, not just Microsoft’s Windows. The companies said their engineers will work together to make sure the Java language smoothly runs software formatted for different computers, ranging from Windows to Sun machines. And they said they will fine-tune the language to lessen problems, as well as time new releases so software developers get the latest versions at the same time. In another move, Mountain View-based Netscape plans to use Sun technology in its browser for cruising the Internet, which competes against Microsoft’s browser, to improve how it works with software written in the Java language. In a third Java push, Sun, which is also based in Mountain View, announced licensing deals with three big phone equipment makers that plan to use Java software in new phones, dubbed webphones, that can tap into the Internet. And Sun, Netscape and several other high-tech companies--with the notable exception of Microsoft--proposed a technical standard aimed at helping to unclog bottlenecks that have slowed the flow of information across the Internet. The agreements, unveiled at a New York trade show devoted to Java software, came after Apple Computer Inc. shocked the computer world by agreeing to a broad alliance with archrival Microsoft that includes a deal to develop a programming language that will compete with Sun’s Java.