>front-end to the GNU Objective-C compiler... Best of both worlds:
>interactive testing of algorithms within Squeak and then direct-compile via
>the Obj-C compiler. Give Java a run for its money...

Hmm, I already find Squeak to be faster than java on my choice of 
platforms (Mac).  Yes, I'm sure if you pick the right combo of tests 
maybe java is faster but Squeak is quite fast for me.  It's even more 
impressive when you keep in mind how much of it is Squeak and how little 
is compiled c...