In spite of rapidly growing industrial activities involving real-time distributed computer systems, the scientific foundation for real-time distributed computing remains in a weak state. For many reasons, use of object oriented (OO) programming approaches in constructing real-time distributed computer systems is gaining popularity steadily. However, fundamental research issues in real-time distributed computing cannot be melted away by simple adoption of C++ or Java as a basic programming language. At the same time, new fundamental extensions of conventional OO approaches might offer a new dimension of solution possibilities. In this panel, experts from both industry and academia with extensive research experiences in real-time distributed computing will discuss what they perceive as unresolved R&D issues of fundamental nature and promising directions for searching for effective technological solutions. The discussion will not be confined to the cases of OO systems.