Name a place (besides IOS) where this will enable Closure to run that does not already have a JVM? Now tell me if it would be practical to run it there (printer firmware ETC) VS hand coded C.
Speaking of IOS - This IS an area where this may be practical, but that is only because of politics (Apple's tyrannical restrictions). But there are already closure compilers for IOS.
Any embedded device programmer will tell you that a VM in a printer is an expensive novelty. Putting a VM on an embedded device will incur extra overhead in both memory and processor requirements. This will only raise the processor cost by a couple of dollars likely, but quantity is always the problem here. If HP ships 2 million LaserJet X's in a given year, the use of the chip just cost them 4 million dollars extra. Now which is cheaper? hiring 2 C gurus to program the firmware at 150k per year, or I Closure programmer off the street at 90k per year (don't forget the 4 mill in hardware cost differences)?
While I agree with you, all the Ricoh printers in our company have a VM installed.
And I can tell you that a well known mobile company originally from UK, available in most European countries, makes use of Java for Smartcards on their SIM cards.
You made your math wrong. Nowadays, specially if we put outsourcing in the equation, hiring Java developers is way cheaper than hiring C developers, specially since many universities don't teach C any longer.
Speaking of IOS - This IS an area where this may be practical, but that is only because of politics (Apple's tyrannical restrictions). But there are already closure compilers for IOS.