According to leaders of the Apache Software Foundation project to create an open version of the core Java Standard Edition components, Eclipse is now running in a clean-room JVM developed under the project.
This is a pretty big step forward for Java which while being relatively open still suffers from the fact that it's controlled by Sun Microsystems. This means developers seeking to use Java technology in new ways are dependent on Sun's goodwill and ability to develop a JVM for their environment. With a clean room implementation you can expect to see additional development of the Java platform in new ways. A clean room implementation that is Apache license compatible gives developers more flexibility to do something new.
Having a true free software solution can often act as a magnet for developers, especially if there is a significant amount of work that has already been done. The Harmony is certainly such a project as a reverse engineering of the Java Virtual Machine is well beyond the scope of most single developers even if they are Java developers. Reverse engineering is an art in and of itself that most developers are not familar with. There aren't college courses in it but it's certainly one of the great engines of growth in SIllicon Valley. The creation of the commodity PC market rested largely on the reverse engineering of the bios of the first machines. Without it I imagine that customers would still be locked into the single vendor systems, each with their own proprietary parts with systems regularly costing between $3,000 - $5,000.
Commoditization is a powerful force in driving down prices and driving innovation through increased capacity at a decreased price. It's one of the things that the free software movement does to traditional proprietary software vendors that makes the economics of free software so compelling.
