String.hashCode() produces identical hashCode values too often for strings that
are greater than 16 characters.  This is a significant problem because many other 
classes use String.hashCode() to generate a hashCode value

In the example below, the two strings are significantly different (different lengths, and
2/3 of the characters are different) yet produce the same hashcode.  

Steps to reproduce
Compile and run the attached code.

public class StringHash {

    public static void main(String argv[]) {
        String s1;
        String s2;

        if( argv.length >=2 ) {
            s1 = argv[0];
            s2 = argv[1];
        }
        else {
            s1 = "abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz";
            s2 = "a12d34g56j78m9!p@#s$%v^&y*A";
        }

        // compare hash codes
        System.out.println( "String 1: " + s1 + " s1.hashCode(): " + s1.hashCode() );
        System.out.println( "String 2: " + s2 + " s2.hashCode(): " + s2.hashCode() );
        System.out.println( "Equals: " + ( s1.equals( s2 ) ) + 
                            " HashCode equals: " + ( s1.hashCode() == s2.hashCode() ) );
        
    }

}