Microsoft has sent an open letter to OpenDoc developers a week after Apple computer and IBM essentially abandoned them while dropping the technology in favor of Java. While Microsoft doesn't explicitly ask the developers to jump on the ActiveX bandwagon, it does ask them to join the Microsoft ISV program, which is very much ActiveX-oriented.
Microsoft's latest move comes as competitors are lining themselves up on decidedly ActiveX or JavaBeans sides. Microsoft claims it has no interest in "beating" Java as they ship more copies of Java tools than anyone. Also, ActiveX is being ported to numerous platforms, including the Macintosh and various flavors of UNIX, dispelling notions that the technology is Windows-only. ActiveX is also far more mature than JavaBeans and has much more support in the development community, Microsoft argues.
I guess the line is drawn. This will be interesting.
