Sun is fighting back with a new feature called Java Kernel in Java 7. Java Kernel is a version of the Java virtual machine that is greatly reduced in size, loading only those classes that are required for an application and downloading even those only as needed, the goal being to make Java applications and, especially, applets lighter and more nimble. And who can argue with an 80 percent reduction in code size? Java Kernel is a programming triumph and about time, too.