Browser be gone: it's the Java run-time environment

JavaSoft will announce the Java run-time environment (JRE) this week, a free package that includes the Java Virtual Machine (JVM) and Java Development Kit 1.1 (JDK). The JRE allows Java applications to run and be stored directly on the client's computers and obviates the need for a Web browser. This approach is similar to Microsoft's run-time libraries for Visual Basic, which have filenames such as "VBRUN300.DLL.