Both technologies employ a virtual machine, support threads, and are designed to be platform-independent. Security Built-in authentication and encryption at OS level, but not automatic machine protection security. Machine protection security is built-in. Encryption is being added. One file system accesses everything from data to network resources.
File system accesses local data.
Network data must be accessed through the server. Inferno does have a full-blown operating system and a virtual machine and a protocol stack, and in a lot of respects is something Java would like to be when it grows up. It is also a complement to Java because you will be able to run Java applications within Inferno. There is extraordinary value if Lucent is successful in positioning Java with the telephone companies as a platform for allowing the reality of write it once and play it anywhere on anything. Although JavaOS is designed to act as a portable network operating system, Winterbottom points out that it is not yet optimized for large-scale server applications.