Actually, "work for hire" only applies to employees; a developer who works as a contractor will still own the copyright in code developed for a client, unless a written contract provides otherwise.

If Java API's are copyrightable, does this mean that Oracle has a copyright interest in every program ever written that uses those APIs? Does every Java programmer need to add a comment "Copyright Oracle" to every file that uses a Java API?

The software industry as a whole has been very cavalier about APIs. It is not hard to find examples of big vendors like Microsoft, IBM, or DEC claiming copyright ownership of APIs taken from elsewhere. In return, rarely, if ever, do they become involved in litigation claiming ownership. Some vendors (e.g., The Open Group) consider use of APIs (including implementation) to be covered by "fair use".

Oracle wants to tread in waters that the industry as a whole has deliberately avoided in the past.

I am not a Java developer, and give the way that Oracle has turned the language into toxic waste, I doubt I will ever become one.

It is not against the rules, and I saw it happen, when Willie Davis of the Dodgers stole second against the New York Mets while the pitcher held the ball the entire time. This was way back when the Mets played in the Polo Grounds. Even thought the Mets were bad, it was still not a nice thing to do. It was one of many incidents that has led to my current mantra:

"If the Dodgers lose, it was a good day in baseball"

The only science I care about is published in reputable journals.

Like the discovery of "N rays". http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/N_ray
And the discovery of "Potassium Flares" in the spectra of stars. http://adsabs.harvard.edu/full/1967PASP...79..351W
Not to mention the discovery of Cold Fusion by Pons and Fleishmann. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/0022072889800063

Had the same need 20 years ago when migrating from VAX/VMS to Unix. The old emails were saved in a not quite readable format, but I figured I could recover them if necessary. In the end, never bothered. Yes, there are a few (actually, only two) that I'd like to resurrect now, but life moves on.

When necessary, I use OpenOffice - and it's version 1, from 10 years ago. Newer versions changed things up so much I gave up trying to figure them out. Just give me the same fonts, the same menus, the same tabs to click on. In the end it's the content, not the way you type it in, that counts.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I,_Libertine

This book, by Frederick C. Ewing, made the best-seller list in spite of the fact that neither it nor the author even existed. The hoax was perpetrated by Jean Shepherd and his radio audience to protest the way the lists were compiled - this was back in 1956.

The only way to bring stability to the software industry is to make sure that compatible APIs are outlawed. You know, like what we had during the UNIX Wars http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unix_wars

It is the CEO of the big company who establish priorities. If the CEO wants a security hole fixed, it will be fixed. When the CEO is personally involved in the courtroom protecting "IP':
http://www.sfgate.com/technology/article/Ellison-testifies-in-Android-suit-against-Google-3489185.php
the fixing security of holes will suffer.

It's because big companies like Oracle are too busy pursuing lawsuits against Google for IP infringement:
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-57526509-93/oracle-appeals-ruling-in-lawsuit-over-googles-use-of-java/

Protection of "IP" takes precedence over fixing security holes in the same "IP" every time.

People forget that before netbooks appeared, the smallest regular notebooks were 12 inch models weighing nearly 4 pounds, which came at a price premium (upwards of $2K), and while smaller devices existed, they were expensive, quirky, and underpowered, yet Microsoft demanded that they only run Vista. The original eee PC obliterated the cost/weight barrier, which contributed to its extremely popularity in spite of its other shortcomings, and indicated that there was enormous latent demand for low-end mobile devices. Microsoft, demonstrating its continued cluelessness in the mobile market, took the minimal steps necessary to ensure that netbooks woudl run MS Windows, not Linux, but otherwise did nothing to promote or improve the platform, and sure enough, iPads, smartphones, and their ilk have taken over the market from the low end while pricing pressures have forced down the cost of traditional notebooks from the high end.

My Samsung netbook [Ubuntu NBR] hits the sweet spot for a full-featured "laptop", which I absolutely need when traveling, but is small and light enough that I no longer bother to check bags, even on the smallest regional jets. It will be tough finding a replacement that works as well.

I'll stick with e16 - it does all that I need. Basically, I only use the e16 window manager, along with a GNOME desktop - kind of odd but it works. Even at that, the only features I rely on from e16 are edge-flip and "annihilate" - features that used to exist in Red Hat but were dumped long ago.

I had one EULA that was displayed in a hard-to-read, tiny scrolling window, but since it was for a purchased product, I decided to read the thing anyway. Partway through, an error message popped up saying I had taken too long, so the transaction was cancelled.

I figure the crapware vendors pay enough to balance out the cost of MS Windows 8. Thus, when I wipe the hard disk and install Linux, I'm still breaking even.

All "sigs" automatically added by your email client.

"This message has been scanned for viruses ..."
In one recent email this sig appears 7 times.

"Send from my iPad" and "Sent from my iPhone"

These sigs are all just shameless advertising.