Java

It’s been nearly a decade and yet there is still no end in sight. No, it’s not the Samsung vs. Apple patent circus, which seems to have mostly died down. This one is between Google and Oracle and the final results could have widespread repercussions across the entire software industry. The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit just ruled that Google, in fact, violated Oracle’s copyrights when it used Java API in Android and could end up owing the Java owner more than $8.8 billion in damages.

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That popular idiom about "well-rounded" female operatic singers may have not been coined with the legal system in mind, but it's almost a perfect fit. In a system where appeals can be filed again and again, nothing is really over until funds run out. Just take the case between Oracle and Google that has been on-going for almost a decade. After losing it's case in a federal jury ruling, Oracle has taken the matter to the Appeals Court for the Federal Circuit, insisting that Google's use of Java in Android is, in fact, illegal.

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Beginning next month, Gmail is going to be much safer to use. That's because Google is going to start blocking Javascript attachments from Gmail messages, potentially shutting down a major security risk. This isn't the first time Gmail has blocked certain types of attachments, and Javascript will be joining other types like .exe, .msc, and .bat files.

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After being revealed at MineCon earlier in the year, Minecraft's version 1.11 update has entered into full release for the Java version of the game. More commonly known as the Exploration Update, version 1.11 looks to inject some more adventure into the game. It does this by introducing a new NPC villager called the cartographer, who offers maps that lead to hidden treasure.

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Six hours. That's how long, or, to be more blunt, short settlement talks between tech giants Google and Oracle lasted. Given that duration, the outcome should probably already be evident. The the companies failed to reach a settlement regarding an ongoing copyright infringement lawsuit Oracle filed against Google for the use of its proprietary Java APIs in Android. As the settlement failed, the two will head back to court next month to perhaps once and for all give closure to both the actual question of infringement as well as damages to be paid. If any, that is.

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The squabble between Apple and Samsung over certain design patents may have hogged the spotlight time and again, but there is another lawsuit that is taking just as long and has just as grave a repercussion, at least for the Android world. For nearly six years now, Google and Oracle have been going back and forth over the copyright infringement lawsuit revolving around the use of Java APIs in Android. Ahead of a pretrial scheduled end of April, Oracle is seeking a whopping sum of $9.3 billion in damages for the profits that Google made from Android.

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The days of bloated, bug ridden, error prone web browser plugins are finally and truly numbered. Just last month, Adobe has practically started Flash's retirement from the web, pushing instead for a more standards-friendly HTML5. Now Oracle is doing the same, somewhat. Of course, it isn't dropping the ball on Java entirely but it is announcing the inevitable and probably demise of the Java web browser plugin. That said, what it recommends as a replacement is still a Java-based technology for launching full applications from a browser link.

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It seems that Google may have found a way to ditch a copyright lawsuit from Oracle surrounding its use of Java API. Either that or it's part of a secret settlement between the two. Whatever the underlying reason, Google has confirmed that starting Android N, the mobile platform will be removing its dependency on Oracle's proprietary Java in favor of the open source OpenJDK implementation. While Google's official reason is to root for open source software, the motive might have a tinge of legal maneuvering.

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Microsoft security tools will now be treating the Ask Toolbar that comes alongside Oracle's Java installations as "unwanted software" (a category that also includes malware). For a while now, when Windows users install Java, they have to opt out of getting the Ask Toolbar installed in their browser. Opting out is a small task, but it's enough to give Java users a bad impression of Oracle.

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Minecraft is a very popular video game that lets players build just about anything they can dream up using blocks of all sorts of materials. What players can build in the game is only limited by their imagination and patience placing blocks. One of the drawbacks of Minecraft in the past was a potential to leave PCs with security vulnerabilities.

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It has long been known that installing Java meant having to keep an eye out for that pesky adware Ask Toolbar, which would be selected by default and, unless you explicitly made it known you didn't want it, would appear to muck up your browser -- assuming you were using Windows. Nothing about that has changed. What has changed is who this toolbar now affects: Mac users in addition to Windows users. Oracle has begun bundling Java for Mac with the Ask Toolbar.

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No company or web service is probably as painfully aware of the need to keep data safe and private than the likes of Facebook, who holds a virtual copy of a good portion of their users' lives in their hands. Facebook is now sharing part of that knowledge by releasing Conceal, a set of Java APIs that will help other app developers keep their own users' data secure.

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