Sun Microsystems has released their first major release in about two years, I am mostly looking forward to scripting support, which might finally bring back some productivity to good old Java, actually a little ironic since I had been planning to implement Rhino in some projects, now its part of the family.

Java SE 6 is the current major release of the Java SE platform, with full support from NetBeans IDE 5.5. Sun endeavors to foster the highest level of transparency and collaboration on the platform with the Java community through Project JDK 6, resulting in the following key features. Sun’s Java Multi-Platform Support, Training, and Certification can provide you the peace of mind to develop and deploy Java solutions with confidence.

New Security Features and Enhancements

• Native platform Security (GSS/Kerberos) integration.
• Java Authentication and Authorization Service (JAAS) login module that employs LDAP authentication
• New Smart Card I/O API
  » Find out more

Integrated Web Services

• New API for XML digital signature services for secure web services
• New Client and Core Java Architecture for XML-Web Services (JAX-WS) 2.0 APIs
• New support for Java Architecture for XML Binding (JAXB) 2.0
  » Find out more

Scripting Language Support (JSR 223)

• New framework and API for scripting languages
• Mozilla Rhino engine for JavaScript built into the platform
  » Find out more

Enhanced Management and Serviceability

• Improved JMX Monitoring API
• Runtime Support for dTrace (Solaris 10 and future Solaris OS releases only)
• Improved memory usage analysis and leak detection
  » Find out more

Increased Developer Productivity

• JDBC 4.0 support (JSR 221)
• Significant library improvements
• Improvements to the Java Platform Debug Architecture (JPDA) & JVM Tool Interface

Improved User Experience

• look-and-feel updates to better match underlying operating system
• Improved desktop performance and integration
• Enhanced internationalization support

An in-depth summary of Java SE 6 features and enhancements to the platform is provided in the Java SE Umbrella JSR (JSR 270) and the desktop and core feature overviews.

• Download Java SE 6

Only a few weeks since Firefox 2.0 was launched for the public, Mozilla organization has released the first alpha build of what is to be known as Firefox 3.0 in a years time. NOTE: This is not for public use, and should only be used in development for testing cutting edge technology features.

Gran Paradiso Alpha 1, an early developer milestone based on the Gecko 1.9 branch, has been released. Gran Paradiso, a mountain group located in Italy, is also the project codename for Firefox 3. There are no significant user interface changes. Core layout and rendering changes include use of Cairo as the default graphics library, use of Cocoa Widgets for MAC OSX builds and new SVG elements.

For more details, refer to Gran Paradiso Alpha 1 Release Notes.

• MozillaZine: Gran Paradiso Alpha 1 Released
  

The OpenDocument format has reached the staging phase of ISO standardization, and is now an official ISO Standard Format for advanced office documents. The format has mainly been developed within the OpenOffice.org project scope, but already many other office applications have or will be adopting the format. Microsoft which is dominating the market with their proprietary formats have now also accepted that open formats are not going away, but of course Microsoft has decided to contribute with their own version of an open office format… As far as I am aware it is not as open as they would have you think, however when its finalized as an ECMA standard i guess we will see, and hear much more about this topic…

The OpenDocument standard has been developed by a variety of organizations and is publicly accessible. This means it can be implemented into any system, be it free software/open source or a closed proprietary product, without royalties.

• Slashdot | OpenDocument Now Published ISO Standard