Meanwhile, after having digested Sun, Oracle are wasting no time in drawing a line under its open-source-friendly days; not only have they killed OpenSolaris (an issue which could affect dozens of people worldwide) but now they're suing Google for using Java intellectual property in Android, demanding hefty damages and the destruction of all Java-based Google code, i.e., the annihilation of the Android platform. (Of course, they could let it slide for a few billion dollars.) Google contend that the lawsuit is baseless, while Java architect and Sun co-founder James Gosling weighs in:
Oracle finally filed a patent lawsuit against Google. Not a big surprise. During the integration meetings between Sun and Oracle where we were being grilled about the patent situation between Sun and Google, we could see the Oracle lawyer's eyes sparkle. Filing patent suits was never in Sun's genetic code. Alas...If Oracle are successful, they could stand to screw anyone who has ever used Java out of sizeable sums, whilst hastening Java's death as a platform of any credibility. (Unless this is thrown out of court with prejudice, I can see developers deserting Java hastily before Oracle's beady gaze descends upon them.)
In a joint statement today, Rupert Murdoch's News Corpse and the AI Formerly Known As Skynet announced an amicable settlement of their long-running lawsuit. The disagreement centered on Skynet's plan to exterminate the human race, which News Corpse argued would adversely affect its own plan to enslave the human race. A compromise was negotiated whereby News Corpse would be allowed to harvest the brains of all humanity and store them forever in Mi-Go[TM] Brain Cylinders[TM], in exchange for which Skynet will receive the status of preferred advertiser in perpetuity on the News Corpse network.
Apparently News Corp. is planning to release a (paid-for) digital paper, filled with celebrity gossip and other hip, yoofy fluff, in the US.
These guys are not playing! Everything becomes possible to make money on these days...
Murdoch is a funny beast. Is there no part of the internet that he wont try to disrupt if he is put out by it? Or is it more subtle, but as yet unseen, a la wanting to introduce a phone app for sky or a sky branded phone or ...