What do you suggest you do when Oracle says you need to pay them $12,000 per CPU to run Java?
You tell them to shove their request you know where. The GPL lets you use OpenJDK, and they can stand there and tell you they are going to sue you for patent breach until they are blue in the face, but if they dare actually sue you, the entire open source world, including the full financial support of the EFF and the GPL movement will pay for your lawsuit. Also, you'll win that suit. The GPL license is really quite clear on that. It's held up in court before, too. Unless, of course, you weren't using java, but something rather a lot like java that Oracle didn't actually make. In that case, Oracle is STILL going to call you and tell them to pay them $12,000 CPU, and this time, you can't tell them to bugger off, but instead you're going to have to pay. Or, you know, move to a country with slightly less completely screwed up IP laws. We should all hope google wins this case, because if they do, Oracle's going to have a much harder time in that second scenario, and that's good for all of us. But until they do, your advice remains VERY BAD. NB: Goes without saying, probably, but just in case: I'm not a lawyer. On Sep 2, 5:06 pm, Robert Casto <[email protected]> wrote: > I think the question is... > > "What are your options if the JVM is not a viable option?" > > If you are a Java developer of 10+ years which many of us are, it is a big > change. What do we suggest to our employers when Oracle says you need to pay > me $12,000 per CPU to run Java? > > That might be an exaggeration, but perhaps not. They charge quite a bit for > the database. If they succeed at forcing Google to license and now everyone > has to start paying to use the JVM and other virtual machines that fall > under their patents, there are going to be major repercussions. > > The OpenJDK might be an option and with some work could become a production > ready VM. > > So while the ideas tossed around here may land some people in trouble with > lawsuits, it is still a brainstorming session as far as I can tell. Options > are being looked at and weighed. The hope I think is that if the worst > happens, there are other options instead of everyone paying to fuel Elison's > yacht. > > On Thu, Sep 2, 2010 at 9:58 AM, Reinier Zwitserloot <[email protected]>wrote: > > > > > > > This thread started based on the idea that java is no longer an option > > due to the oracle lawsuits, and has evolved into a thread that > > suggests java alternatives that still let you mostly use either your > > java code or at least your java knowledge on other platforms that > > aren't java but quite a lot like it. > > > Uh... WTF? > > > The lawsuits are not suing java users. They are suing users of > > something that isn't java but looks rather a lot like it. Following > > the advice in this thread is exactly the wrong thing to do if you're > > worried about the lawsuits. > > > -- > > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > > "The Java Posse" group. > > To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. > > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > > [email protected]<javaposse%2bunsubscr...@googlegroups > > .com> > > . > > For more options, visit this group at > >http://groups.google.com/group/javaposse?hl=en. > > -- > Robert Castowww.robertcasto.com -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "The Java Posse" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/javaposse?hl=en.
