Date:  Mon, 15 Dec 1997 21:38:16 -0500
From:  Gerald Cohen <gcohen[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]UMR.EDU>
Subject: Re: "Java"

   First, thanks for the messages on "Mudville." I've forwarded them to
Robert Smith of the _Boston Globe_ and will ask that he send me a copy of
whatever he writes on the subject. If in fact he does so, I'll let you
know what he says.

  In the forwarding of the messages I somehow inadvertently sent Dan
Marcus' message back to ads-l. Sorry about the mishap.

  Now to "Java." Barry Popik has recently treated this word in a few ads-l
messages, and I would like to add a footnote.  An article in the German
news magazine _Der Spiegel_, Nov. 4, 1996, p.243, contains an interview
with the co-founder of Sun Microsystems, Scott McNealy, in which he tells
how the computer language "Java" received its name. McNealy of course
spoke in English, which _Spiegel_ translated into German. Here is the
German version and then my translation of it:

SPIEGEL: Wie sind Sie auf diesen merkw=FCrdigen Namen gekommen? (How did yo=
u
come up with this peculiar name?)

MCNEALY: Ich glaube, wir haben sie so genannt, weil bei der Entwicklung
irrsinnig viel Kaffee getrunken wurde. Au=DFerdem waren alle anderen gut
klingenden Namen schon per Copyright gesch=FCtzt. (I believe we called it
that because while we were developing it we drank a terrific amount of
coffee. Besides, all other good-sounding names were already copyrighted.)

--Gerald Cohen

gcohen[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]umr.edu