Comment Re:Google is not the good guy here (Score 1) 204
Ok, google's choices as you see them.
a) The GPL? I don't really understand why this is even a discussion. On one hand you're saying you should be able to do anything with anything you create, and on the other hand google shouldn't be allowed to. Since Android is effectively an application executing on Linux there's no reason for it to be GPL'd. There is no reason for it to be GPL'd other than that. One of the main reasons for Android to be under the Apache2 license is project Harmony http://harmony.apache.org/ that provide the class libraries. I don't know if they could have converted the class libs to the GPL and I really don't care, I'd prefer the Apache2 license to the GPL because as you say " I would certainly reserve that right on any software I write." - if I write apps I want to own the apps, or at least have something of a mechanism to stop people ripping me off.
b) Seriously? Did you read any of the things I'd posted? That license is between you (as the Android developer or android OS compiler - and even that isn't guaranteed) and Oracle. Remember, and this is important, Android does not run Java, it CANNOT run Java it runs Dalvik byte-code. The license you linked to was for the Java Development Kit, effectively a desktop JVM and compiler. Ergo executing Android does not violate this license, Writing apps for Android does not violate this license and I'm fairly sure that even compiling Android doesn't violate this licence although not 100% confident.
From that license file
"D. Java Technology Restrictions. You may not create, modify, or change the behavior of, or authorize your licensees to create, modify, or change the behavior of, classes, interfaces, or subpackages that are in any way identified as "java", "javax", "sun" or similar convention as specified by Sun in any naming convention designation."
Which is I presume what you're discussing here since there's no mention of embedded versions in the entire license agreement, this is an EULA for the download of the JDK, this may or may not be binding on Google (or indeed any large company) as it is specifically an End User License Agreement - quite a number of companies have their own licensing agreements with Sun and now Oracle over Java as it is different in the enterprise.
But a major point here is that you can use the Java SDK to create programs that run elsewhere and therefore are not subject to this license, secondly there is more than one java compiler for example - http://jikes.sourceforge.net/ which kinda means that if you also have a VM you're able to avoid the license completely.
On a moral level the authors of Java (which by the way isn't Oracle) do have the moral right to tell you what you can and can't create with their software but (and this is important) they've already done that in the license for the language spec and bytecode spec. You're suggesting that they should have absolute control forever - this isn't a good thing and cannot happen. Companies would create new languages rather than be controlled by a competitor.
If you had written a new programming language and you wanted it to be popular you'd have to have few restrictions as if those restrictions are too onerous then the majority of people will never use it. Please note that writing a program is not the same as writing a programming language, one is a program and the other a specification and syntax. If you had put in restrictions then nobody would use it and nobody would care, what you can't (legally, let alone morally) do is say yeah do what you want and then tomorrow say nope, you can only create kiddie games on it. Unless your license had that unilateral ability (and remember consideration is necessary for a license to be binding) that you could change it at any time then you're stuck - most companies read the licenses and as such refuse to do business with something that has the huge risk of randomly changing at no notice.
Finally your forced licensing, er firstly this isn't assignment of copyright from the author of the program to the author of the language and secondly from your linked article "At all times, Qt was available under a commercial license that allows the development of proprietary applications without restrictions on licensing. In addition, Qt has been gradually made available under a number of increasingly free licenses." Which means that Trolltech isn't trying to take your code, hence not supporting your point, you have always been able to release any program written to take advantage of the Qt library (and this is a library not a language) and release it under any license you want - but you have to pay them for that. Which is fine since they wrote a library that saves you time, if you want to release it under a GPL license for free it appears they now have a new free version that might support that. But if you want to make money off your code using their library you have to pay.
Please note that this is different from Android in that Android doesn't use Oracle's libraries, it uses the Harmony libraries which means that Android (and therefore Google) isn't restricted on the license in the same way as if they used Oracle's libraries.
I very much doubt I'm going to convince you towards my point, and barring actual evidence the other way I'm not gonna shift, so best of luck to you!
Z.