The PR campaign is yet another indication of the intense positioning taking place among major companies over the World Wide Web, each seeking to take a decisive, sustainable lead with some kind of product or technology. What makes Java so special is its relative platform-independence. You can code it once, then run it on a Mac, PC or Unix box, and it's the same program for all users.
Release cycles become easier and occur faster, and any given OS is less restrictive.
Its distributable nature will take developers far beyond the world of traditional software. In five to 10 years, it's likely that hybrid, Java-powered stereos, televisions and other appliances will be downloading new features and program information to themselves automatically over the Internet. It's often actually easier for nonprogrammers to pick up OO concepts than it is for, say, seasoned Cobol programmers, as the latter can actually be confused by their preconceptions of how programs should work. Visual Basic programmers are reporting steep learning curves, too, though most of them also express joy at the increased flexibility and features. If you've never dealt with OO technology, consider studying it before delving into Java.