That's because UPnP could handle much of the grunt work required to secure blocks of IP addresses, while Jini could concentrate on the interaction between the intelligent appliances themselves and the network. These could be used for the Internet, TV or other functions. We are going to have information appliances distributed throughout the house. She believes consumer usage will probably take longer to ramp up than most optimists predict. In many quarters, Lucent's Inferno is seen as the most credible alternative to Jini.
Inferno revolves around the concept of services managed by a file system.
It also has a common API and translates Java apps on the fly. However, another developer said that, while Inferno was heavy-duty software, it seemed to be more tuned to the telecom world than to the converging universe of PCs and information appliances. All rights reserved.