Oracle still suing Google; now with proof

Back in August, Oracle sued Google over alleged use of copyrighted java code in its Android operating system. After Google insisted that the suit was baseless, the case kind of fizzled out. Now, Oracle is revising their original suit to include line by line examples of patent infringement by Google, as shown by ZDnet.

Image Source: ZDnet

While the code is slightly different in places, Oracle believes that the comparisons exhibited are “nearly identical…on a line-for-line basis.”

Christopher Dawson, writing for ZDnet, believes that Oracle’s play on Google is not just about money. While Oracle’s monetization of Sun has a lot to do with filing suit on IP claims whenever possible, Dawson believes that Oracle really wants a piece of the mobile market. Considering the potential PR backlash that suing a company like Google entails, he believes that there is a broader tactical strategy behind the suit other than pure cash settlements. In fact, the Wall Street Journal is confused about the whole lawsuit in the first place. Why would Oracle go after Google, of all companies? There are plenty of smaller fish to fry in the wide world of Java development. This only furthers Dawson’s point that Oracle is looking to force Google into some kind of deal that latches them onto the back of the mobile computing revolution that Android is a big part of.

Openoffice.org splits from Sun Microsystems

Much of the team behind Openoffice.org, the free suite of office software, has jumped ship from Sun Microsystems and set up a new independent organisation.

Following the aqcuisition of Sun by Oracle, is seems that the coders behind the open source Microsoft Office lookalike were concerned that being swallowed up by the larger outfit would be detrimental to the software's future.

In a statement, the newly-created Document Foundation said that it was forking from the company which had sponsored it for ten years in order to "fulfil the promise of independence written in the original charter."

Oracle has been "invited to become a member of the new foundation" and is being urged to "donate the brand the community has grown during the last ten years".

If Oracle decides it doesn't want to play ball the foundation will carry on under the interim banner of LibreOffice.

Stopping just short of actually accusing Oracle of interfering with Openoffice.org's free and open nature, spokeswoman Sophie Gaultier said: "We believe that the Foundation is a key step for the evolution of the free office suite, as it liberates the development of the code and the evolution of the project from the constraints represented by the commercial interests of a single company."

Oracle Reveals 16-Core SPARC T3 CPU for Servers

Oracle has announced that it has made a major move on the server market, namely the release of a server processor that has a full 16 cores which has already been used in the creation of a whole new range of servers at least twice as powerful as their predecessors.

Apparently, Advanced Micro Devices isn't the only company that thinks increasing the number of CPU cores is what servers need.

In fact, Oracle has actually developed a new SPARC processor that has 16 cores and no less than eight threads for each one, leading to 128 simultaneous threads for each CPU in a server.

These chips also feature a L2 cache memory of 6MB which, though it may have its hands full with the massive parallelism, contributes to the throughput and I/O performance boost.

Simply put, Oracle claims that its new CPU can deliver twice as wide an I/O bandwidth and twice the throughput compared to previous-generation processors.

For those interested in numbers, the 16 V9 cores of the 40nm-based chips each have a clock speed of 1.65 GHz.

This CPU has already been made part of a number of new servers, not just single-socket but also two-socket and four-socket versions.

The single-socket T3-1 is available in a two server-rack unit (2U), while the two-socket and four-socket servers come in 3U and 5U versions.

“Oracle’s SPARC product line is the cornerstone of our strategy to deliver customers a complete, open and integrated apps-to-disk solution,” said John Fowler, executive vice president, Server and Storage Systems, Oracle.

“These new SPARC T3 systems deliver on our commitment to provide customers with a 2x increase in performance every two years and deliver massive scalability for high compute environments like cloud computing,” he added.

The first oracle SPART T3-powered servers should start shipping sometime during the next 30 days.

Oracle really wants Mark Hurd; will pay $250 million

In what is quickly becoming one of the more expensive hiring battles in recent history, Oracle is pulling out all the stops to get Mark Hurd, former HP CEO, to join as co-President. This morning, according to Cnet, details emerged showing that Oracle is giving Hurd a base salary of $950,000. This includes a potential bonus payout of $10 million, as well as 10 million stock options, which if paid out now, would come out to roughly $240 million. After being deposed of the CEO throne at HP, for what started out as sexual harassment charges, but ended up being charges over falsified expense reports, Hurd could definitely be doing worse.

The enormous bid is likely a result of Hurd’s glittering reputation as the guy who made HP the global IT services juggernaut it is today in his five year tenure. Larry Ellison, CEO of Oracle and public defender of Hurd, said that "Mark did a brilliant job at HP and I expect he'll do even better at Oracle. There is no executive in the IT world with more relevant experience than Mark."

Hurd’s biggest obstacle is HP’s unwillingness to let him work for the competition. Ever since Oracle bought Sun Microsystems, Oracle and HP have been direct competitors in the server business. HP claims, in a non-compete lawsuit filed after Oracle offered the job, that Hurd would not be able to fulfill his job requirements at Oracle without divulging protected company secrets. While this alone won’t stop him from accepting a job at Oracle, it will severely damage any partnerships or relationships that the companies may have in the future, limiting Hurd’s capability in his new role.

Latest release of Oracle Database Lite now available

Oracle has announced availability of the latest release of Oracle Database Lite, a comprehensive solution for developing, deploying and managing applications for mobile and embedded environments.

With Oracle Database Lite, mobile users gain continuous access to data unconstrained by mobile network bandwidth and coverage, allowing them to access enterprise data even in the absence of a network connection.

This release also provides centralized user and device provisioning and management of SQLite-based mobile applications, allowing disconnected users to have an experience virtually identical to users who are connected.

Oracle Database Lite supports Windows 2003/XP/Vista, Redhat Linux, Windows Mobile 5 & 6, Symbian 7, 8, & 9, and embedded Linux for SH4 and xScale.

The software consists of the Oracle Database Lite Client, a small footprint SQL database that runs on many devices and platforms and can be bi-directionally synchronized with an Oracle Database server; and Oracle Database Lite Mobile Server, which enables mobile users and devices to operate in occasionally connected environments, periodically synchronizing with a back-end database server.

Enhancements to Oracle Database Lite include synchronization and device management for the open source SQLite database, user authentication on client devices using a Common Access Card, and easy sharing of devices among multiple users by means of device re-registration.

"As companies look to more cost effectively run global operations, workers need to be able to efficiently access data without interruption or hassle despite their physical location, which is why demand for mobile applications continues to grow across many industries,” said Marie-Anne Neimat, vice president Software Development, Oracle. “Oracle Database Lite’s support for mobile applications built on the open source SQLite database addresses this need and helps improve productivity for a large community of mobile workers who can now access their enterprise Oracle Database, no matter where their jobs take them.”

More information: http://www.oracle.com/database/database-lite-...

Researcher says Oracle database can be hacked remotely

A computer security expert believes that nine in every ten Oracle databases are vulnerable to an attack that would give hackers access and control over sensitive corporate and government database systems, without the need for a user id or password, according to Reuters.

David Litchfield, chief research scientist at NGSSoftware Ltd, a UK-based security company said that he warned Oracle of the vulnerability in their popular database software back in November, hoping that the company would fix it. He decided to go public with the flaw after Oracle failed to fix the vulnerability when they released their quarterly security patches in January.

Talking about the flaw after presenting his research at the Black Hat hacking conferencein Washington on Wednesday, Litchfield said "It allows an attacker without a user ID and password to take complete control. All firewalls become irrelevant."

Although it is possible to prevent the exploit by changing the default settings of the software, Litchfield believes nine in every ten databases are vulnerable. He added that there was no way to tell if any hackers had already used the vulnerability to gain access to a database.

Reuters reported that Oracle declined to comment on the vulnerability.

EU gives Oracle unconditional approval for Sun purchase

U.S. software company Oracle has been given unconditional approval from the European Union for its $7 billion purchase of computer maker Sun Microsystems, reports Reuters. Oracle was given the go ahead by the U.S. Department of Justice in August last year.

The approval comes after an investigation was started by European Commission in September over concerns of the impact the deal would have on the competing MySQL database. Sun acquired the popular database system in early 2008.

Speaking in a statement, EU Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes said, "I am now satisfied that competition and innovation will be preserved on all the markets concerned. Oracle's acquisition of Sun has the potential to revitalize important assets and create new and innovative products."

Oracle announced its intentions for the MySQL platform in a December press release - something which apparently played an important role in Kroes decision. Speaking at the time of the release, she said it was "an important new element to be taken into account in the ongoing proceedings."

However, Michael Widenius, one of the founders of MySQL, has continually lobbied for MySQL to be excluded from the deal. An advisor to the Swedish programmer said the commitments from Oracle were merely "cosmetic".

Prior to EU approval, Widenius said, "Should Oracle get MySQL unconditionally, then I can only say that as a European I am ashamed of our regulatory system."