I wasn't at Sun but am on the Java team now at Oracle. I'm constantly amazed by the inventor culture that Sun had, the people who came from there, and the legacy it has produced, but we all know how the business ended. That's no environment for a world-changing development platform to thrive.

It took a few years to find its footing, but Oracle has really given Java the space and resources to thrive. The roadmap is fuller than it ever has been and the release cadence continues to deliver value. Check out projects Amber, Loom, Panama, Valhalla. Tap into the stream of Inside.java. Exciting times.

Point being, I believe Java is a datapoint for successful product acquisition.