Java

Larry Page plays defense in Oracle-Google trial

Last updated: 10 a.m. PT

SAN FRANCISCO -- Google CEO Larry Page returned to court on Wednesday morning to retake the stand as a witness in the legal battle between Google and Oracle over patents and copyrights related to Java.

Yet, as demonstrated during Page's initial testimony on the stand on Tuesday afternoon as well as during the video of his deposition from last August, Page continuously denied much -- if any -- knowledge regarding discussions regarding Java licenses and Google engineers copying Java API codes.

See also: Google's Page claims little knowledge about Android, Java license … Read more

Google: Oracle, Sun blew it on a Java smartphone

Google CEO Larry Page will take the stand again in the company's courtroom tussle with Oracle over whether Android infringes on Java patents and copyrights, but the story line for the search giant is set.

The crux of Google's argument goes like this:

Java code was available to the public free. Google did nothing wrong developing Android. And Oracle is annoyed because it and Sun failed to popularize Java-based smartphones.

Those bullets are designed to counter Oracle's argument that Google ripped off Java and called it Android.

Google's pyrotechnics in its opening statement come as it … Read more

Oracle CEO Larry Ellison: I don't know if Java is free

Among the highlights emanating from U.S. District Court in San Francisco courtroom 8 today was Oracle CEO Larry Ellison's response to a question regarding the status of the Java programming language, which his company acquired when it bought Sun Microsystems in 2010.

Asked by Google's lead attorney, Robert Van Nest, if the Java language is free, Ellison was slow to respond. Judge William Alsup pushed Ellison to answer with a yes or no. As ZDNet reporter Rachel King observed in the courtroom, Ellison resisted and huffed, "I don't know."

In other words, it's … Read more

Larry Ellison takes the stand in Android IP trial

SAN FRANCISCO -- Oracle CEO Larry Ellison defended his company's patent and copyright infringement suit against Google on the second day of the trial here this morning.

Although Google CEO Larry Page was technically called as the first witness by Oracle's legal team, Ellison was the first to take the stand at the U.S. District Court in San Francisco as Page's testimony was presented via video from his deposition last August.

Ellison, wearing a dark suit and red tie, was asked in direct exam by Oracle's star lawyer David Boies about writing Java programs and … Read more

Larry Page appears in Oracle-Google trial

SAN FRANCISCO -- Following Google's opening statements this morning, Google CEO Larry Page was announced as the first witness in the company's patent and copyright trial against Oracle.

Presented at the U.S. District Court here, Page's testimony was actually a video from his deposition on August 24, 2011.

Oracle attorney David Boies focused on a particular presentation on July 25, 2005, listing "Must take license from Sun" as one of the bullet points of the agenda.

The argument back and forth between Boies and Page was to determine whether or not this presentation was … Read more

Oracle gives opening statement in Google case with 91 slides

Oracle kicked off its Java patent and copyright lawsuit against Google and its Android mobile operating system with a 91-page slide deck.

The presentation, which was provided by Oracle as a link ahead of opening statements, outlines the company's lawsuit over Android. Oracle's argument is that Android is a ripoff of Java and it wants compensation and damages.

For those paying attention to Oracle lawsuits -- notably the TomorrowNow case vs. SAP -- the presentation sounds familiar. Oracle goes for the jugular.

Oracle makes extensive use of e-mail excerpts in the presentation and quotes Google executives arguing that … Read more

How to use Java applets in OS X after Java 2012-003 update

To tackle the recent Flashback malware for OS X, Apple issued an update for Java that closes the exploited vulnerability in its runtime. Apple also issued a couple of additional tools and tweaks to tackle other potential problems in Java. The first of these is Apple's updated "MRT" (malware removal tool) utility that will scan for and remove the malware from affected systems. The second is a change to how OS X handles Java, in which the system will now keep the Java plug-in disabled until it is needed.

The idea here is to only allow the … Read more

Checking for the new SabPub malware in OS X

Recently the Flashback malware attacks on OS X gained headlines, not because of the presence of the Trojan, which had been around for some months prior to the increase in attention, but rather because it gained the possibility of installation in a drive-by-download attack that did not require any interaction from the user in order to install.

This development was made possible because of a vulnerability in Java that allowed for a maliciously crafted applet to break the Java sandbox and write files to the disk. Apple has since patched this issue and it, along with other companies, have released … Read more

Oracle-Google patent trial starts today

Oracle's patent infringement lawsuit against Google is finally set to go to trial at the U.S. District Court in San Francisco today, but there are certainly plenty of questions looming as to where this will end up.

The fact that these two Silicon Valley giants will finally have a trial under way is fairly incredible (and slightly unbelievable), given how much back-and-forth there has been over the last two years since Oracle initially filed suit in August 2010.

Since then, there have been numerous delays with potential start dates assigned for October 2011, January 2012, and March 2012. … Read more