... "and if you don't do everything I say, I'll blow up the moon! Ah-hahahahah!"

How do you not love this guy? Somebody get him a black cape.

The claims are pretty serious, and Oracle is going straight for the jugular. It'll be interesting to see how it shakes out, but I've got to hope that Google will come out of this in good shape for the sake of Java. It's unfortunate that Oracle is interpreting Google's implementation of Dalvik and a Java-based system as a direct infringement upon their patents.

Android aside, it raises some fairly serious questions around Java's future development as a platform vis a vis the uncertainty recently resolved between Microsoft and the Mono project. While Microsoft extended their "Community Promise" to Mono implementors and users, Oracle seems to be taking the opposite approach to companies developing alternate JVMs and Java-based devices. It'll be interesting to see Oracle's stance toward other alternate JVMs such as IBM's.

If you're curious, the original complaint is here: http://www.scribd.com/doc/35811761/Oracle-s-complaint-agains...

The patents upon which Oracle claims infringement are:

- Protection domains to provide security in a computer system (6,125,447)

- Controlling Access to a Resource (6,192,476)

- Method and apparatus for pre-processing and packaging class files (5,966,702)

- System and method for dynamic preloading of classes through memory space cloning of a master runtime system process (7,426,720)

- Interpreting functions utilizing a hybrid of virtual and native machine instructions (6,910,205)

- Method and system for performing static initialization (6,061,520)

That could be because we prefer startups whose founders include hackers. On the other hand, we don't just prefer that type because they're more fun to hang around with, but because in our opinion they're more likely to succeed.

"How Google routed around Sun's IP-based licensing restrictions on Java ME": http://www.betaversion.org/~stefano/linotype/news/110/

It's apparently not a complete surprise, this guy in 2007 predicted that

    ... in the future expect a shit-load of IP-related lawsuits
    on this.

My thinking is this: Even though the company would only use it for "defensive purposes" (which I believe), you never know who owns the company tomorrow. And you are not going to work there tomorrow either, so you might be the one being sued.

Instead, I would try to get permission to blog about it, so it is available for everyone -- including my future self.

I recommend everyone else do the same!

(Throw-away account - I'm not sure future employers want this)

He wrote the first side-scrolling engine for PCs (long before they were called that) back when it was considered impossible.

He made people sit up and take notice of Shareware

He wrote the engines for Commander Keen (2d platformer) Wolfenstein (3d) , Doom (3d with variable height floors/walls), Quake (full 3d), Quake II (coloured lighting etc) etc etc

He's one of a very small number of people who were writing groundbreaking code right at the beginning, and are still writing groundbreaking stuff.

He's constantly made his code public, as much as possible

He loves fast cars; how does a 1000hp twin turbo w/24psi of boost Testarossa sound? (that was 11 years ago)

He founded a company that builds and flys some serious rockets. real ones.

Seriously, if that doesn't make you a coding god, what does?