GM BuyPower one of the world's largest automobile-buying sites on the Internet will soon be converted into a J2EE based application. The GM BuyPower site will likely become one of the largest-scale J2EE implementations so far.

Executives from Detroit-based GM said they insisted on a supplier that used open-standards software, in part so that GM can use the technology in more than 40 countries where GM BuyPower is available and across multiple languages and currencies. That is part of the reason RedCelsius (the consultant implementing GM's site) uses the J2EE software instead of Microsoft's much ballyhooed .Net initiative, said James J. Watson, RedCelsius chief executive.

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http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1007-200-5462143.html

That's one of the funniest justifications of using J2EE over Microsoft that I've ever read, "40 countries, multiple languages, multiple currencies".

Please.... How do Dell survive running their eBusiness on Microsoft's software. What a load of cobblers.

The sort of open standards for this don't come from J2EE, they come from the B2B world. Look at Web Methods, it isn't J2EE but that hasn't stopped companies like Dell using it to hook up with their customers and partners ALL OVER THE WORLD (yes, even with multiple currencies!).

ebXML, RosettaNet, SOAP, Web Services etc have nothing to do with J2EE or for that matter Microsoft .Net. They can be implemented using any technology. Thats why it's called an open standard as opposed to a Java specific technology (RMI for example) or a .Net specific technology.

The main advantage here is Java's advantage. Use Java and you get hardware and OS independance.

Could someone throw light on the URI "/cgi-bin/gx.cgi/AppLogic+COM" used in this site and "/cgi-bin/gx.cgi/AppLogic+Home" used in E*Trade??? I'm curious...

AppLogic objects are URLs that point to a Kiva app server, aka. Netscape app server, aka. i-Planet (pre-J2EE).

Good article. Platform independence, browser based technology is were the big boys are moving.