A Message from the Borland JBuilder Team

Dear Friends,

This past year has been without a doubt the most interesting and exciting time in the history of the JBuilder (TM) product line. Now in its third year of release, JBuilder continues to lead the industry in providing Java Enterprise developers with solutions to complex development problems. I'd like to take this opportunity to review with you where we've been and what you can expect from the JBuilder Team at Inprise/Borland in the future.

In the Spring of 1999, we released JBuilder 3.0, the last Windows- only version that we will ever produce. Our customers have repeatedly asked that we produce versions of JBuilder for their platform of choice and we've come through for them. In November 1999 we released JBuilder 3 Solaris Edition, the first version built upon the new, all-Java architecture that had been under development for over a year. By the end of the year, JBuilder Foundation, which ran on all three major platforms, Windows, Solaris and Linux, was released to rave reviews.

During this time we also released our all-Java, relational database, JDataStore (TM). Bundled with our Professional and Enterprise versions, this very fast, small footprint database provides an outstanding solution to our customers' local storage needs.

Let's not forget the industry and reader's choice awards we've received over the last year. These awards help confirm that you've made a wise choice in selecting JBuilder as your preferred Java development environment.

• Software Development's - Jolt Product Excellence Award - 1999


• JavaWorld - Best Java IDE 1999


• JavaWorld - Best Compiler 1999


• JavaPro - Best Java IDE 1999

Looking ahead, we still have our work cut out for us. As J2EE technologies continue to emerge as de facto standards for high- powered web development on the Internet, you can expect us to continue to provide industry leading development tools. To better focus on the needs of our Java development customers, we have reorganized our team into a Java Business Unit. This business unit includes JBuilder and JDataStore products, as well as the preview release of HandHeld Express and other not yet announced technology initiatives.

Although the newly formed Enterprise Business Unit will include VisiBroker (R), Inprise Application Server (TM), and AppCenter (TM) products, both groups will continue to leverage the synergy between our two product lines.

Finally, I'd like to personally thank you for buying our products and for your undying loyalty. In my eleven years here at Borland I've never forgotten who I really work for; you the customer. Please continue to let us know what your needs are and together we'll ensure that our Java products remain the best in the world.

To share your comments about JBuilder, you can use the Borland newsgroups at http://www.borland.com/newsgroups/

Sincerely,

Tony de la Lama
Vice President and General Manager
Java Business Unit