Sun provokes little fear in my world. I feel that if pressed to do the right thing, Sun probably will. I see Java as an excellent insurance policy against Microsoft dominance in this area. Developers really do think this way. We all make strategic investments - even those of us who work outside of corporations.
Any product has the potential to be a killer app.
Killer apps drive markets, so one woman or man potentially has a lot of power. So sometimes I make choices for purely economic reasons, and sometimes I go the other way just because it reflects my interests. I feel that way about Java. Microsoft supports Java. Netscape supports Java.