Sun created Java, expects the world to embrace and use its programming language, but throws a hissy-fit every time a developer tries to change the way the language works. You can't just sit down, create a language and expect it to be perfect. Languages are, by their very nature, transitory. In spoken language, new words perennially crop up as other words dwindle from popular usage.
Programming languages change, too.
Because of that, Perl is a better tool today. In McNealy's vision, Java becomes a truly cross-platform language, one whose programs don't need to be tailored for specific operating systems. This has been one of the great dreams of computing, and Java seems to have an actual chance. Just this time. But I don't think the right way to achieve that goal is for Sun to create a set of rules single-handedly.