I think that both sides of the argument are valid but I am more inclined to believe that keeping the language stable at least over the short term may be the bet

I think that both sides of the argument are valid but I am more inclined to believe that keeping the language stable at least over the short term may be the better strategy. Java thrives in environments where stability is a prime concern and Sun's commitment to maintaining backwards compatibility would inspire confidence. The new languages that are being developed to run on the jvm reduces the need for Java to evolve as rapidly as some would like. If it is proven that these new languages solve problems better than java then it's only a matter of time before developers make the switch. At this point when it's obvious what features are really desired then it Sun/Oracle may decide that adding those features to the Java language are appropriate. In this way the new jvm languages sort of act like a research lab to test out new ideas to see which work better.