Linux is not realy a platform in the same sence as Mac OS or Windows, which may come as a nasty suprice for anyone coming from those platforms. If you are looking for a deployment solution for Linux only you would do well to check out autopackage [14] and zeroinstall [15] projects, Zeroinstall bears a remarkable resemblance to Java Web Star concept, albait conincidentally. The autopackage web site FAQ [26] is worth reading as it gives a good over view of the issues in Linux application distribution and deployment. Both these solutions work with all kinds of application, not just Java.