Comment by rglullis

The stories you heard do not contradict the analysis from Joel, do they?

"They thought they could make money from Java": yes, but if you are a hardware company, you shouldn't push for the development of software that commoditizes your server.

"They were worried about Windows-only software": if you make money from hardware, you fight Microsoft by integrating/developing/fomenting software that can run exclusively on your stack. IOW, do what Apple did and still does.