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I'm sure that most of you are aware that Oracle have brought a suit against Google for infringement of certain patents in the former Sun Java portfolio now owned in full by Oracle. If not the focus seems to be something to do with open source dalvik jvm engine, although the way that dalvik works is slightly different from Suns JVM it has (since v 2.00? of android) a JIT (Just in Time) compile engine which may or may not be where the alleged infringements lie. It seems that Oracle have timed their suit to have maximum impact on the Android market, which will probably spread FUD among the investment community. One can only hope that the Open Handset Alliance doesn't blink. I don't understand the full specifics but I understand that Oracle are asking Google to recover all android handsets ? If this is true (I may have misinterpreted what was being said) I am not sure how Google would implement the Oracle demand that all units carrying Android be destroyed, considering the numbers of handsets already out there. I suspect the tactic on Oracles part is to put the wind up Google and hope they cough up an out of court settlement. I really hope that Google don't choose to play to Oracles fiddle. As a java developer (not by choice but by the pragmatic view that it is the only alternative to .Net that I am allowed to practice at work) and an Oracle DBA (of sorts) I am disappointed (but not surprised) that Oracle have taken this stance. This of course is not doing the open source movement any favours and ultimately it will damage all open source contributors including Oracle itself. However a side "benefit" might be that the profile of open source (and hopefully specifically the GPL license as the only truly free license) is increased in the public domain. An increased awareness of open source in the wider community and how it needs protection in order to benefit consumers rights and drive down development costs etc, can only be a good thing. There are a lot of Andriod product owners out there that are unaware of what open source is ... maybe that situation will be changing very shortly? Tom. -- The Mailing List for the Devon & Cornwall LUG http://mailman.dclug.org.uk/listinfo/list FAQ: http://www.dcglug.org.uk/listfaq