Arguments to be heard April 3 Oral arguments are scheduled for April 3 in the Microsoft appeal of a judge’s order forcing the company to distribute Sun Microsystems version of Java.The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, in Richmond, Va., will hear from both sides that day. Each side’s lawyers have 20 minutes to present arguments, according to information from Sun.On Feb. 3, the appeals court delayed a Dec. 23 order by U.S. District Court Judge Frederick Motz, who is presiding over a number of private antitrust lawsuits against Microsoft, including one filed by Sun. Motz, based in Baltimore, set the clock ticking on the “must-carry” Java order in a ruling Jan. 21, when he gave Microsoft 120 days to comply. Sun has argued that Microsoft tried to derail a competitive threat posed by Java by offering a version of the technology that is incompatible with Sun’s specifications. Its lawyers argued before Motz that Microsoft’s behavior, if allowed to continue, would unfairly drive developers to Microsoft’s competing .Net platform.Microsoft has argued that other issues, such as Java’s performance and quality, have hampered developer adoption of Java, not Microsoft’s actions. Its lawyers have argued that the “must-carry” Java order is an extreme solution to Java’s competitive disadvantage.On Feb. 3, Microsoft took the first step to comply with Motz’s order, by replacing the service pack Windows XP SP1 with a new service pack, XP SP1a, which is identical to the previous service pack but excludes Microsoft’s Java virtual machine. Software DevelopmentTechnology IndustrySmall and Medium Business