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Krzysztof Szafranek's link blog

Hi, I'm Krzysztof and I make websites.
When I'm not making websites, I read these.
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May 6, 2012 / 1:17am

Java creator James Gosling: 'Google totally slimed Sun'

In his testimony last week, Schwartz explained his "grit our teeth" strategy after Android had its public debut as an incompatible variant of Sun's Java. "We saw a handset bypass our brand and licensing restrictions...we decided to grit our teeth and support it so anyone supporting it would see us as part of the value chain," he said. Apparently, continuing to seek a way to work with Google -- to turn lemons into lemonade, as Gosling wrote -- was preferable to engaging in a costly lawsuit.
more on news.cnet.com

The sad patent dance over Sun's grave. In retrospective, Sun under Schwartz's leadership looks like a somehow idealistic company. That made the demise inevitable.

Filed under: google   java   oracle   sun  
 
Nov 11, 2010 / 12:19am

Apache declares war on Oracle over Java

Charging that Oracle has willfully disregarded the licensing terms for its own Java technology, the Apache Software Foundation has called upon other members of the Java Community Process (JCP) to vote against the next proposed version of the language, should Oracle continue to impose restrictions on open-source Java use.
more on itworld.com

The lost war on Java continues. "Lost" because I see nobody as a winner in the end here.

Filed under: java   oracle  
 
Nov 3, 2010 / 9:32am

Oracle Buys eCommerce Software Giant ATG For $1 Billion

ATG, provider of eCommerce software and related on-demand commerce optimization applications, this morning announced that it has agreed to be acquired by Oracle for $6 per share in cash, or approximately $1 billion.
more on techcrunchit.com

Yes, it does matter. Probably you've been using sites powered by ATG without knowing this already.

Filed under: ecommerce   oracle  
 
Aug 27, 2010 / 9:58pm

An update on JavaOne

Like many of you, every year we look forward to the workshops, conferences and events related to open source software. In our view, these are among the best ways we can engage the community, by sharing our experiences and learning from yours. So we’re sad to announce that we won't be able to present at JavaOne this year. We wish that we could, but Oracle’s recent lawsuit against Google and open source has made it impossible for us to freely share our thoughts about the future of Java and open source generally.
more on googlecode.blogspot.com

Oracle's efforts to kill Java are fruitful indeed.

Filed under: google   java   oracle  
 
Aug 25, 2010 / 10:56pm

Some more comments...

Lightning might strike and they might live up to their 2007 commitment to create an independent Java foundation. I'm not holding my breath, but if enough customers rose up in revolt, it could actually happen. But it would require Oracle customers to do this, since the only thing that Oracle pays attention to is money, and that's what customers hand over to Oracle.
more on nighthacks.org

Java creator replies to comments on recent Oracle lawsuit.

Filed under: java   oracle  
 
Aug 22, 2010 / 2:26pm

Why software patents are a joke, literally

In my last article, I mentioned that a patent from Gosling was one of seven cited in Oracle’s lawsuit. These patents are among those that Oracle acquired when they bought Sun earlier this year. James isn’t saying where these entries rated on the “goofy patent” scale, if at all. But another former Sun employee, Charles Nutter, has written a more detailed analysis. When considering whether or not the suit has merit, he states:

The collection of patents specified by the suit seems pretty laughable to me.

more on zdnet.com

In other words, Oracle just wanted to exploit these Java patents, regardless of their actual merit.

Filed under: google   java   oracle   patents  
 
Aug 15, 2010 / 3:00pm

Oracle v Google: Why?

All that we know about what Oracle wants, realistically, is what they are prepared to surrender. Aside from bearing the hard costs of litigation, Oracle is willing to absorb soft costs in risk to reputation and participation rates in the Java ecosystem. We must expect then that Oracle’s expected return will be commensurate with these costs. Oracle is many things, but stupid generally isn’t one of them.
more on redmonk.com

In-depth analysis of Oracle's recent legal action against Google.

Filed under: google   oracle   patents  
 
Aug 13, 2010 / 11:39pm

Oracle sues Google over intellectual property

Oracle Corp. filed a lawsuit against Google Inc. on Thursday, alleging that the Internet search giant has infringed on intellectual property related to the Java software that Oracle acquired when it purchased Sun Microsystems Inc.
more on marketwatch.com

Oracle clearly seems to be determined to kill Java in a long run, but will try to squeeze as much cash out of it as possible.

Filed under: google   java   oracle   patents  
 
Jun 30, 2010 / 1:26am

Has Oracle been a disaster for Sun's open source?

As far as Oracle is concerned, everything is going swimmingly:

Oracle Corporation today announced fiscal 2010 Q4 GAAP total revenues were up 39% to $9.5 billion, while non-GAAP total revenues were up 40% to $9.6 billion.

In particular, Sun seems to be making plenty of money:

We estimate that the acquired business [Sun] will contribute over $1.5 billion to Oracle’s non-GAAP operating profit in the first year, increasing to over $2 billion in the second year. This would make the Sun acquisition more profitable in per share contribution in the first year than we had planned for the acquisitions of BEA, PeopleSoft and Siebel combined,” said Oracle President Safra Catz.

more on h-online.com

Open source fans may cry over Sun, but Oracle was able to rapidly profit from the acquisition.

Filed under: open source   oracle   sun  
 
May 21, 2010 / 10:50pm

Sun's stars: Where are they now? And why did they leave?

Nutter cites uncertainty about JRuby as reason for leaving: "We were still excited to work on JRuby and we didn't have a lot of negative indications, but we didn't have a whole lot of positive indications that the project would continue. It seemed like a good time to move on to someone willing to fund JRuby.
more on networkworld.com

While Sun's business may benefit from acquisition, working for Oracle doesn't appeal to Sun star programmers.

Filed under: java   oracle   sun