And is it a coincidence that Eclipse is the tool used to develop Android applications? This will make it more difficult to cross-develop applications using only a mac. I'm sure there will be other Java implementations for Mac OS X so I'm not that worried, but it still makes you wonder.

Correct, he won't since the person appointed is a she. Way to go with the stereotype male association though.

Actually no they do not. There are (at least) two ways to gain a trademark:

• Registration, which is the safest one, since you know whether you have a trademark or not. This is usually marked with the (R)-symbol
• Usage/Establishment (the legal term in Sweden is "inarbetad", I actually don't know the english equivalent), by consequently using a brand name in a certain way to market a product, service etc. you may gain trademark rights if the brand becomes part of the public awareness. Usually the TM-symbol is used to show that a company intends to use this as a trademark but it is not registered.

Trademark law varies a little from country to country and please consider this a simplified explanation. IANALBIHADIL (I Am Not a Lawyer But I Hold a Degree in Law, there must be a shorter one for this - any suggestions?)

Very well stated, and if I had mod points I would happily provide them.

People seem to forget that there's not one phone that's the best for everyone. It's about the best phone for the job, and different people have different opinions about what that job is. I completely understand iPhone buyers, you know what you get and in a smooth experience, and am thinking of becoming one myself. On the other hand I understand Android-buyers, you get the freedom to choose and do pretty much as you please, but it lacks several other things like a smooth upgrade path (Nexus One excluded) and a market with non-free apps in several countries.

Sure, Jobs' view of what should be in a phone does not fit everybody. But if it fits a customer's view, why shouldn't he/she buy one?

I am starting to look for a new phone and an Android handset seems like the Next Big Thing (tm). But the complete lack of purchasable apps in several countries makes a purchase completely out of the question. Google's apparent lack of interest in commenting on the matter makes me feel uncomfortable.

As a developer, I would love to port my upcoming apps to Android as well as iPhone. But Google won't let me sell my app in their market, why? Android is always pushed forward as the more "open" with regards to which apps are allowed. But the fact that you cannot even access the non-free apps in several markets makes the App Store a much better alternative for me.

So Google, any news on when I will be allowed to give you my money, or sell my apps through your store and (hopefully) providing you with revenue?

However, it does contain the letter "Æ". Which coincidentally is called "Ash" in English.

I see your point, thanks for making it clear.

Maybe this is obvious to everyone else, but I don't see how this is different from an unprivileged user installing a static binary to his/her home directory and executing it? To me this is just as insecure and possible in any distribution?

Ah, there's nothing to support an argument like a blog post from 2006.

http://xkcd.com/435/

Agreed, as soon as I read TFA (yes, I actually read TFA), I hit the search button in the hope that someone had already made this point.

And from what I could see from the rest of their web page, they seem to be doing little to none international work at all, nice job!

*sigh*

Wow, you managed to get first post and be insightful! And what's more, I felt no need to even read any additional comments, well done.