Weiqi Gao's Observations - android tag

Oracle Sues Google Over Android

Fri, 13 Aug 2010 05:23:50 GMT

Oh boy! Is this real?

San Francisco Chronicle:

(08-12) 17:17 PDT Redwood Shores, Calif. (AP) --

Oracle Corp. said Thursday it has filed a patent and copyright-infringement lawsuit against Google Inc.

Oracle said in a statement that Google's Android system for mobile phones infringes on its patented Java technology.

This is the other shoe dropping in a story I reported 1221 days ago:

Java: The Third Fork From Sun

Here's an excerpt of a couple of comments from that post:

Re: Java: The Third Fork From Sun

Comment from Stefano on April 13, 2007 2:53:41 AM CDT #

Are you sure that it won't prevent ASF to release Harmony under the Harmony name without references to Java/JVM ?

As far as I understood it you are not granted patent licensing if you don't pass the JCK, so, I guess you are wrong in that statement.

Re: Java: The Third Fork From Sun

Comment from Weiqi Gao on April 13, 2007 7:53:08 AM CDT #

I'm speculating that Sun will not make any patent actions against Harmony even though the letter of the spec allows them that option. The PR backlash for such a thing would be unbearable.

A precedence of this sort of a situation is the relationship between Microsoft and Mono.

Things may play out differently, though.

Is this the end of Java as we know it?

Eric Burke: Amazing Android At The JUG

Sat, 15 May 2010 01:48:33 GMT

At yesterday's St. Louis JUG meeting, Eric Burke gave a presentation entitled Amazing Android.

Eric showcased the Android version of Square Inc.'s mobile payment app, which Eric and Bob Lee have been working on, and which has just been released on Tuesday.

It was a well attended session with lively discussions. Eric went through some of the challenges they faced while developing the application and showed how they solved the problems with ingenuity and unrelenting quest for both artistic and technical excellence. As has always been the case with Eric Burke presentations in the past, I can never convey the atmosphere with mere words. You really have to be there!

Check out the presentation slides here.

Eric Burke: Android At The JUG

Fri, 13 Mar 2009 05:34:18 GMT

Once upon a time, a blog post a couple of hours after a JUG talk was considered a fast news reporting.

Not anymore!

For Eric Burke's Android talk tonight at the St. Louis JUG, twitterers (@codetojoy @kylecordes @scottbale @MarioAquino @puredanger) were out in force. And tweets were flying during the talk.

Eric showed up with his signature "Angry Pitchfork Guy" T-shirt:

Tonight's talk is a follow up to the OCI Java lunch talk that Eric gave four months ago when Android 1.0 was just released. (Find it on YouTube: 1 of 3, 2 of 3, and 3 of 3.)

We had a big crowd today. Some people came just for the Android content. And Eric did not disappoint (well, maybe Kyle). He showed the Android app he wrote and put on the app store.

Like always, the pre- and post- talk chattering is just as interesting. I overheard:

We are working on a JavaFX project.
They started a long time ago, when JavaFX was called just JavaF
They started so long ago when it was still called OakFX
What's up with Google? They compile Java code to anything but the JVM
JavaFX was demoed on Android in JavaOne 2008, but no one is talking about it
I took out my G1 and scanned the bar code on a TV while talking with a sales person. He's not pleased
We had Lambda Lounge last week, No Fluff Just Stuff last weekend, Matt Taylor's Griffon talk at Groovy Users Group yesterday, and Android today. A very geeky week
"Force Closed", that's the opposite of "Use the Force"

I gave away a few coupons for a free copy of the "Pro JavaFX Platform" ebook that is available in Apress's alpha program now. I still have a few left, if you would like one, send a private email to weiqigao at speakeasy.net.