I'm admittedly not a Java expert, and I'll grant you, Microsoft's VM might have had some cool features - hell I bet if you gave them enough time they would have had GPU accelerated 3d graphics available in a browser through Java - for Windows platforms only.
The problem with Microsoft is that they are a habitual monopolist and their method of choice is embrace, extend, and extinguish. They were already on step 2 of their plan before Sun's lawsuit stopped them.
Do you really think Java would be in the state it is today if you had to target a different VM for every OS? Microsoft always tries to lure developers over to their platform with the "ooh, shiney" factor of new APIs and features. This is like cheese in a mousetrap. Once they have you hooked on their APIs you're screwed.
The problem with Microsoft is that they are a habitual monopolist and their method of choice is embrace, extend, and extinguish. They were already on step 2 of their plan before Sun's lawsuit stopped them.
Do you really think Java would be in the state it is today if you had to target a different VM for every OS? Microsoft always tries to lure developers over to their platform with the "ooh, shiney" factor of new APIs and features. This is like cheese in a mousetrap. Once they have you hooked on their APIs you're screwed.