Oracle Gets High-Power Assistance in Android Case [Editorial] - The UpStream

Oracle Gets High-Power Assistance in Android Case [Editorial]

posted Saturday Feb 23, 2013 by Scott Ertz

Oracle Gets High-Power Assistance in Android Case [Editorial]

The battle between Oracle and Google is becoming legendary. When the suit first started, I predicted this could become a rallying cry for the software industry. While I hate to get behind Oracle and Java, I seem to have picked the right side.

While Oracle lost the case, the appeal is becoming the symbol of developer intellectual property versus open development. Obviously Oracle is on the side of developer rights, while Google is on the side of "we want other people's code." On the side of Oracle are Microsoft, EMC, NetApp, the Business Software Alliance and many others. These companies and groups all filed amicus curiae briefs in support of Oracle, suggesting that the industry disagrees with the court's initial decision.

While not on the record, as the deadline expired February 19th, I count myself as a supporter of Oracle here. As a developer myself, I find it personally offensive that Google feels they can use code written by Oracle's brand Sun Microsystems without so much as a hat tip, let alone royalties for the usage. This court case has been a turning point for me as a developer and a person. I have always known that Google was an evil company, but I still used some of their services, sporadically. After this case, I started walking away from Google's services one at a time.

At this time, I have eliminated Google from my life, with the exception of a Gmail account that I use for receiving spam garbage, as many of us used to use Yahoo in the past. My real email is through the company, of course, but I do also have a personal account that I access through Windows Mail or Outlook. My instant messaging is all done through Skype, on the computer and phones. I use a Palm Pre 2 (syncing with my Live account) and an HTC 8X Windows Phone (obviously syncing with the Live account). I do all of my development through Visual Studio and Web Matrix using Internet Explorer to test. My search engine of choice is Bing, both because of the case and Google's lack of relevant results. I have even abandoned Google Reader for an RSS reader on my Windows 8 machines.

I have actively done all of this, spurred on by this case over the last few years. I hate the idea that Google feels that, if my software is what they are looking for, they are willing to steal it from me. I put a lot of time and energy into my software and I would never give it to anyone without a license, let alone one of the most over-valued Ponzi schemes ever conceived. If you are a developer as well, I urge you to take the same stand I have and tell Google that you don't like their theft of code. If you are not, you too should abandon Google merely because of their lack of respect for privacy.

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