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== History ==
=== Background ===
The origins of Java go back to 1990. The personal computer was in its ascendancy, and many inside and outside Sun thought the company had missed major opportunities in the desktop markets. Its high-end workstation and server markets were rolling along fine, but as PC use spread across the landscape, the company faced being stranded in a narrowing slice of the computer market. Sun machines had a reputation for being too complicated, too ugly, and too nerdy for mass consumption.
Thus, McNealy was more than ready to listen when a well-regarded 25-year-old programmer with only three years at the company told him he was quitting. Naughton told McNealy that he was quitting to join NeXT Computer Inc., where, he said, "they're doing it right".
McNealy paused for a second then shrewdly asked Naughton a favor.
{{Cquote|Before you go, write up what you think Sun is doing wrong. Don't just lay out the problem. Give me a solution. Tell me what you would do if you were God.}}
The following morning, Naughton threw his heart and soul into the challenge. He typed out a list of Sun's shortcomings along with his own glowing appraisal of NeXT's critically acclaimed NeXTstep operating system.
Later, he emailed his report to McNealy, who forwarded it to the entire management chain. A firestorm was ignited. The following morning, Naughton's e-mail box was bursting. Hundreds of CC'd readers had read his recipe for what ailed Sun and had agreed in a resounding chorus. Naughton was "brutally right", James Gosling e-mailed, a remarkable programmer whose opinions carried great weight higher up. "Somewhere along the line, we've lost touch with what it means to produce a quality product."
It was John Gage, Sun's science office director who really dug in, asking, "What is it you really want to do?" They came up with some core principles for a new project : consumers are where it's at; build a small environment created by a small team; and make the environment include a new generation of machines that are personal and simple to use, computers for normal people.
If still vague, these principles were enough to get Gage's executive juice flowing. With his support, Naughton pitched the high concept to Wayne Rosing, then president of Sun Laboratories Inc.
Naughton laid down key demands that he'd scribbled on the back of a restaurant place mat : the project would be located offsite, away from corporate "antibodies" well known for attacking innovative ideas. The project's mission would be kept a secret from all but the top executives at Sun. The software and hardware designs would not have to be compatible with Sun's existing products, and for the first year, the team would be given a million bucks to spend.
=== StarSeven ===
The secret "Green Team", fully staffed at 13 people, was chartered by Sun to anticipate and plan for the next wave in computing. Their initial conclusion was that at least one significant trend would be the convergence of digitally controlled consumer devices and computers.
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