Sun CEO Jonathan Schwartz (pictured right) recently spent a lot of blog space hyping up today's introduction of a NASDAQ stock symbol change for the company from SUNW to JAVA, the same name as the company's programming language introduced in 1995. Schwartz said, "To be very clear, this isn't about changing the company name or focus… JAVA is a technology whose value is near infinite to the internet, and a brand that's inseparably a part of Sun (and our profitability)."
Following the announcement, Sun customers began flaming Schwartz with scores of comments railing against the change. Although Schwartz claims the name change is not meant to indicate any shift in business focus, reading his comments and the actions supporting them, it's hard not to draw the conclusion that Sun is (unwisely) attempting to boost the profile of a programming language that many feel is on its way out.
