What is jCron?   jCron is a Java based task scheduler for Windows NT/2000 that will run as a NT service and will not die if the user logs out (a common problem in other Windows NT/2000 scheduling applications). It will easily run Java applications and includes a JNI interface to run platform specific binaries. NEWS!  jCron 1.0 basic is now available free of charge. It provides robust job scheduling functionality for Windows NT/2000. jCron 2.0 is currently being developed to provide cross operating system job scheduling, centralized gui based management and many enhancements. Why was it built?   The idea for writing this application was inspired when the author was in dire need to find a very low cost scheduling tool that would easily run Java applications with a granularity of a minute. This application needed to act like cron, but on a Windows platform (see "What is wrong with the Windows Job Scheduler?").   The author was able to find several tools that appeared to fit the bill. However, after testing many possible tools (some free, most not) none fit the bill. The main reason for failure being that the scheduler would stop working if the user logged out. What is wrong with the Windows Job Scheduler?   The Microsoft Windows family of operating systems does not provide a granular enough job scheduling application. The smallest increment for a job to run is one day. While I think it is a bad idea to omit this functionality from an operating system, it gives me an opportunity to contribute to fellow software developers!