Linked by Thom Holwerda on Thu 31st May 2012 21:41 UTC
And thus, it ends. Despite a never-ending stream of doom and gloom from Oracle/Microsoft-funded 'pundits' regarding Google and Android (six hundred billion trillion gazillion eurodollars in damages!!1!), judge Alsup has just squashed all of Oracle's chances with a ruling that is good news for those of us who truly care about this wonderful industry: APIs are not copyrightable. Alsup: "To accept Oracle's claim would be to allow anyone to copyright one version of code to carry out a system of commands and thereby bar all others from writing their own different versions to carry out all or part of the same commands. No holding has ever endorsed such a sweeping proposition." Supreme Court, Ellison?
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Member since:2007-02-18
So does that mean that Mono was safe all of this time?
The concern with Mono was patents, not copyright. Some claim that we can't trust Microsoft with their legally binding promise* not to sue Mono users. Some claim that we can trust Microsoft. Whatever the actual case may be, they are different concerns from Java.
* I personally don't feel comfortable with their supposedly legally binding promises. If they revoke their promise unilaterally, who actually could challenge Microsoft for breaking the promise?
RE[2]: APIs not copyrightable
by satan666 on Fri 1st Jun 2012 18:48
in reply to "RE: APIs not copyrightable"
Member since:2008-04-18
I personally don't feel comfortable with their supposedly legally binding promises. If they revoke their promise unilaterally, who actually could challenge Microsoft for breaking the promise?
You are right to feel uncomfortable. Any normal person would. But Microsoft don't have to break their promise. Their promise covered only the ECMA part of Mono. Microsoft never promised anything regarding the non-ECMA part of Mono. And that broke Miguel's heart because he had hoped that a complete promise would help him further infect Linux with Microsoft's crap. Subsequently Miguel promised he would split Mono in two parts (ECMA and non-ECMA) for legal reasons. But he never delivered. Mono is dying slowly now. Moonlight is already dead. Novell is dead, Finally Attachmate threw Mono in the dump where it belongs.
RE[2]: APIs not copyrightable
by earksiinni on Fri 1st Jun 2012 19:44
in reply to "RE: APIs not copyrightable"
Member since:2009-03-27
Isn't there a similar concept in British law, the idea of a "poll" (e.g., "name poll")? I believe it's a form of legal obligation where the obligation is unilateral and self-imposed, or something like that. When the obligation is between two or more people, then it becomes a contract (I think).
I really don't know anything about the whole Mono situation, but perhaps the reason why Microsoft called it a "promise" is because the "poll" concept doesn't exist in U.S. law, AFAIK. Yet there may be some serious legal ramifications, just like how registering your copyright is not necessary to enforce it as long as it meets certain criteria (in theory). I always got the feeling that people were skeptical/prejudiced about/against the promise simply because of its name, as if it would sound naive to accept it because it would be like "believing" in a personal guarantee. But really, I haven't informed myself sufficiently to know the grounds for skepticism.
Features
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/20/13 11:29 UTC
The day has finally come! Jolla has finally announced the launch device for its Sailfish operating system - and by god this is a looker. It's decidedly different from other phones out there, but it has good specifications and carries a relatively reasonably price tag - EUR 399, and it's up for pre-order today, shipping in the fourth quarter of this year.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/18/13 21:33 UTC
Why does Google get so much credit in the technology industry? Why, despite the company's many obvious failings, do many geeks and enthusiasts still hold a somewhat positive view on the all-knowing technology giant? A specific talk at Google I/O this week provides the answer.
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OSNews is a sponsor of this year's O'Reilly OSCON in Portland, Oregon, USA. A lucky OSNews reader will win a free three-day pass, including two tutorials days. To win the pass, post a comment on this story saying something about Open Source Software or OSCON. We'll pick a winner at random next week. If you don't have an OSNews account, you may email us your entry. Part of the conference is the 9th annual Open Source Awards, and today the 16th is the deadline for nominations. If you'd like to nominate an outstanding open source contributor, do it here. Read on for more information about OSCON. Update: The 20% discount code for OSNews readers is "OSN."
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/11/13 21:41 UTC
"Windows is indeed slower than other operating systems in many scenarios, and the gap is worsening." That's one way to start an insider explanation of why Windows' performance isn't up to snuff. Written by someone who actually contributes code to the Windows NT kernel, the comment on Hacker News, later deleted but reposted with permission on Marc Bevand's blog, paints a very dreary picture of the state of Windows development. The root issue? Think of how Linux is developed, and you'll know the answer.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/08/13 14:22 UTC
This is one of those news items that's fun to write, fun to read, fun to comment on, and where no one will be able to say anything unkind. It's all just one big ball of awesome fluffiness. TuneTracker, the BeOS radio automation software, has just released something very special: TuneTracker System 5, the first version designed entirely and specifically for Haiku. In fact, it actually includes Haiku in the software package. Better yet, TuneTracker also unveiled several system-in-a-box products - which have Haiku and TuneTracker pre-installed.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/02/13 15:28 UTC
Exactly twenty years ago, a document was published that played a huge role in establishing the web as we know it today. Twenty years later, and this simple and straightforward document is proof of an irrefutable fact: while closed technologies can change markets, open technologies can change the world.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 04/29/13 21:06 UTC
Oh multitasking. That staple of computing that got thrown out the window with many modern smartphones. We got some rudimentary thing in its place - but even as multitasking on phone and tablets improves, its user-visible side remains cumbersome. Windows 8 has a neat implementation, and now it's time Android follows in it footsteps.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 04/24/13 22:24 UTC
They're here! Whether that excites you or not remains to be seen, but the Galaxy S4, which will most likely become the best selling Android smartphone of the year by a huge margin, has been reviewed by all the major sites, and there's lots of interesting conclusions in there - although I think most of you will get the gist.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 04/18/13 11:21 UTC
Nokia has posted its quarterly results for the first quarter of 2013, and just like the quarters that came before, there's not a whole lot of good news in there. The rise in Lumia sales still can't even dream of making up for the sales drop in Symbian phones, and when broken down in versions, the sales figures for Windows Phone 8 Lumias in particular are very disappointing. In North America, Nokia is getting slaughtered.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 04/16/13 9:29 UTC
The day has finally come: Google has started shipping Google Glass to the lucky few early adopters. Now that it's shipping, Google has also unveiled a lot more about the API and the specifications of the device itself. While the company had already given out substantial details at earlier occasions, there are still a few surprises here.More Features »
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Member since:
2006-03-23
So does that mean that Mono was safe all of this time?