The top 10 stories in IT this week

12.11.2010
We used to go weeks -- months even -- with no news about Java, but that seems to be changing since Oracle bought Sun Microsystems and took over licensing control of the language, which sparked heat this week from the Apache Software Foundation. Oracle also brought star-power to the witness stand this week as CEO Larry Ellison testified in its intellectual-property theft case against SAP.

1. and : The Apache Software Foundation contends that Oracle disregarded its own licensing terms for Java technology and so the foundation is urging members of the Java Community Process to join forces against the next proposed version of the language if Oracle does not straighten up. The foundation also threatened to pull out of the JVC is Oracle does not lift licensing restrictions. There also was happier Java news for Oracle as Apple announced that it will contribute to the open-source Mac Java project.

2. : In other Oracle news, Ellison claimed under oath that SAP would have had to pay $4 billion had it licensed all of the intellectual property that its now-closed subsidiary TomorrowNow stole from Oracle, based on his assessment of what percentage of his company's PeopleSoft and Siebel customers could have been stolen away by SAP. His figure was based on how much Oracle paid for those two companies when it acquired them. SAP admits that the theft occurred, so the case now is all about how much it will have to pay.

3. : The European Union is investing €15.7 million in an IBM-led research project into cloud storage, which also will involve 14 European partners across a spectrum of industries.

4. : Red Hat Enterprise Linux version 6.0 came out this week, with company executives saying they aim to "erode the Microsoft server ecosystem."

5. : A U.S. Department of Commerce report next week will detail Obama administration plans to toughen policing of Internet privacy, with the president planning to also announce a new federal position to oversee that effort, according to The Wall Street Journal.