Oracle vs Google : Lawsuit of the decade !

Oracle is suing Google over Google using the Java framework in Android without license.

This presentation released by Oracle gives a clear picture of what it is suing Google for. It definitely presents the picture from Oracle's part, and on first look paints a very dark picture about Google's use of android. Oracle claims that the Android framework is copied from Java, without paying the due credit, and of harming the bigger java community. Some example (of code) do suggest that Android is based on Java, a lot of it is just taken verbatim.

This part of the presentation clarifies what is going on :

Do you need a license if you are building an application using Java : No. However, if you are extending Java, and providing an API specification or application framework of your own, you do need one, especially for commercial purposes. Android clearly (until court decides otherwise), in my holy opinion, falls under that category.

Here is what the presentation says about 'When is a Java License necessary' :

• You are writing an application (say a web-application) in Java programming language : NO


• You are providing class libraries on Java API Designs : YES


• Downloading java software components: YES

Most of the developers of java fall under the first category, but some companies do need to use Java for the rest two and they thus purchase License from Oracle (formerly from Sun) and some also contribute to Java community. Several exampls quoted in the presentation.

I think Oracle has a good case, however the Google side of the story is interesting as well, as it claims that Java programming language, or any language for that matter is not copyrightable. Partly true, and remains to be seen how it is presented in court. Meanwhile, the hearing started in San Francisco yesterday (17th April) and the next 8 weeks are going to be really interesting.

And then remains the lawsuit about the patent/copyright infringements which will be heard soon after. More on that later.

References:

Oracle presentation (91 pages, takes a while to open) : http://www.oracle.com/us/corporate/features/opening-slides-1592541.pdf

Bloomberg news coverage : http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-04-17/ellison-testifies-oracle-explored-dropped-making-java-phone-1-.html

BBC news : http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-17705873

Asia: The next destination for higher education

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-12671198

Asia, more particularly India and China are going to be the most sought after destination for higher education in the coming decade (if not earlier).

China increasing its quality of education - China has been trying to attract foreign students since a long time and more importantly to retain its students who go abroad for studies in huge numbers. The quantity of schools and universities is not a problem for China, but the inherent quality of education to match with the Harvards and Oxfords of the world is a key challenge. However, with Capital in hand it can reform this and make itself the next best option after US and UK and may be exceed them in near future.

India - with reforms in the education sector which now provides permission to foreign universities to setup campuses and courses in India, we are already seeing foreign universities setup in India. We might soon see a Harvard and Cambridge in India, and coupled with the quality of facutly India has, it can be a very lucrative destination for foreign students.

UK set to reduce immigration levels - with UK set to curb immigration for non-EU citizens from April 2011, which might impact students coming for higher education (UK's education export amounts to almost £40billion). We will definitely see more students choosing to study at home in Asia rather than going abroad.

We have already seen decline in number of student intakes in the last few years in Australia due to visa/work restrictions and other reasons. And with a fear of double dip recession still looming over USA, we might see a decline in people opting for the states as the destination for foreign education (however, I believe USA will still remain the hottest destination for near future).

Another factor to consider is the level of opportunities people are exposed to after they come out of universities with MS, MBA, PhD and other degrees in hand. Pay levels (which are higher in USA/UK) are definitely a factor and if we start seeing such levels in Asia (Singapore/HK already have such levels), this can be a defining factor in attracting people to study and work in Asia.

Also read - India- the next university Superpower?

India VS China : Continued

Read an excellent article in The Hindu about how its insane for India to chase China in growth rate. India should compete with it on other issues like Social Indicators of Health, Employment, Literacy, Infant Mortality etc. The article is written by Nobel laureate Amartya Sen.

Sen argues that India is growing at a better rate than Bangladesh, but still lagging in most of the social factors which indicate the overall well-being of the society. We should try to improve these (While continuing to grow, ofcourse) , rather than focusing too much on how much India's GDP is growing vs the Chinese.

Here are a few stats give out by Dr Sen.

India,         China ,    Bangladesh

GDP growth rate

(approx)                                8%   , 10%  ,   6%


Life expectancy                     64.4 ,    73.5 ,  66.9

Infant mortality                  50/1000 ,   17 ,   41

Under-5 mortality rate     66/1000 ,  19 ,  52

Adult literacy rate              65 ,  94,   54

Children immunised

with DPT vaccine                66% ,  97% ,  94%

Health care

spend (as % of GDP)           1.1% , 1.9% ,   NA


GNP per capita    (USD)    3,260 , 6,770 ,   1,580

Though India is better off than Bangladesh in adult literacy rate, its worse off in female literacy rate. This has been the reason for immense social well-being in Bangladesh, empowerment of women. India is still lagging in female literacy rates which is the prime reason (among others) for poor performance in other indicators like IMR, U5MR, population growth rate etc.

Now, given these facts can we say that India is doing better than Bangladesh just because our GNP is growing faster ? Absolutely not. It can be argued that higher GDP overall means higher spends in education, healthcare and infrastructure, but somehow these basic issues are ignored while we blow the trumpet of growing at 8% (or so) and overtaking China by 20XX.

 

[Source:  http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-opinion/article1453228.ece?css=print]

Is EURO the cause of European Crisis ? - Krugman believes so.

Paul Krugman on European Crisis

Can Europe be Saved ? What are the Causes of the current crisis in Europe ? How did America cope with recession ? Krugman writes about these things in this article. Its a nice read.

Creating a common currency was a good idea, or atleast thats what European elites thought at that time. But did it really make any sense, as the trade between european countries has increased just by 10-15%, not enough - says Krugman. Also due to the diversity in culture and language in the Eurozone, there is not enough mobility of people to fill employment gaps created by other countries. Krugman compares Ireland with the state of Nevada in USA which have similar economies and use a common currency for trade with their neighbours,  but Nevada is supported by the common culture and any unemployment gaps can be filled as people can move in and out easily without any barriers of culture or language, which is not the case with Ireland.

Another problem with a common currency, argues Krugman, is that the indvidual countries can not adjust to the falling/raising Euro. UK is lucky, as it did not fall into the 'Euro-trap' and is free to re-valuate its currency depending on the situation to implement wage cut/inflation/deflation etc.

John Glen on Economics of Cricket

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P06WMO8b8fk

Professor John Glen is an economist and teaches at Cranfield School Of Management. Personally, the best professor I have come across, and also the one without whom I would not have liked economics.

Love to hear him, now and then. The other day at the coffee machine, we were talking about the ongoing IPL auctions and the Ashes. Here in this interview he talks about what the recent Ashes win will do for Cricket in UK and sporting in general. Also the upcoming tour of No 1 Test Team India in summer will generate huge interest and huge returns for the two boards.

 

One year MBAs - The way to go in India ?

Read this article by professors at IIM Bangalore - http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/6806670.cms

The professors believe that the one year MBA is the way to go to save investment in terms of time and money for students, and also for the b-schools which can save enormously and instead invest the amount in increasing intake.

I agree that the average intake in IIMs, at 2000 per year is very low, and also that we will run out of quality faculties sooner rather than later.

But a lot has to be thought before putting the one year course in action, like for example the mindset of students and parents (yes, parents who play a BIG role in so called career directing the ward) and the society in general (recruiters etc).

A lot of one year courses have come up in the recent past, ISB , Great Lakes being couple of them. Once the market sees the real value, there will be more such colleges for sure in the future.

India EU trade deal : in view of immigration

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/India-EU-trade-deal-may-nullify-UK-migration-cap/articleshow/6719964.cms

Quote from the article -

"India has insisted on increased mobility for its skilled workers in return for reduced tariffs on European products and the lifting of some restrictions on businesses bidding for public procurement contracts".

What this essentially means is that, if this trade deal goes through, Indian workers (highly skilled, like us) will be able to work in any EU country under contract. This will also mean an increase in worth of 3.9 billion pounds a year for the whole European economy, much needed in times of recession.

This also means that, once this deal is through, UK will be bound by this EU agreement and companies in UK will be able to recruit Indian workers in sectors such as information technology, management consultancy and engineering. This would mean bypassing the annual limit of immigration set by the conservative government earlier this year. It will not be a surprise if this deal gets immense criticism and opposition from within UK, as limiting the immigration is one of key promises of this coalltion government.

The mere fact that India can dictate terms to EU/UK, makes me feel good. But a free trade between countries, and free flow of highly skilled workers will always be beneficial for both parties.

The deal is due to be signed in December, and only time will what will be its fate.

Reference:

Read article in timesofindia oct 9th 2010

India Vs China - revisited

In the wake of the ongoing Commonwealth games 2010, here is a nice article on how India and China are poised as the favorites for investors all over, and how they will fare in the longer term.

I agree with the writers view that India will grow faster than china in the coming few years, and I believe stronger governments at the center can even accelerate this process. If we are able to cross the hurdles of corruption and bureaucracy faster, we can beat China even in its size.

The CWG games ironically, will add a lot of impact to India's GDP (close to 4B USD) in the next 2-3 years and will create close to 2.5 million jobs. (Read economic times article)

http://www.economist.com/node/17147648

A quote - " ..... most foreign investors would probably pick China. The market is bigger, the government easier to deal with, and if your supply chain for manufactured goods does not pass through China your shareholders will demand to know why. But as the global economy becomes more knowledge-intensive, India’s advantage will grow..... "

Reference :

Economist article 'India's surprising economic miracle' - 30th Sept 2010

http://www.economist.com/node/17147648

Economic times article

7/10 Asian small-cap funds are Indian

UK to impose annual cap on immigrants from non-EU countries

A move, that is likely to affect highly skilled workers from non-EU countries of which Indians make the major chunk, the UK government is ready to announce an annual cap on such workers.

Its going to be 24,100 for the period starting July 2010 till April 2011, when they want to finalize a permanent CAP. Well, it remains to be seen whether this will actually be implemented, as there has been a lot of opposition from industry and schools that hire and enroll a lot of fee-paying students from non-EU countries.

The economic times says - "However, the proposed annual cap is expected to face opposition from British companies struggling to recruit employees with the right skills. Campaign groups such as the Highly Skilled Migrants Forum have already announced that they will oppose such limits."

Personally, I fear this move. But since the CAP is just a 5% reduction in the number of migrants that came last year its nothing to worry. Real worry could be when next year, in April 2011 if they go on to reduce the number even lower. Getting a Tier-1 Visa would be then like winning a lottery. (As it happens when applying for H1 Visa to work in the US).

If that is not enough, there are talks of implementing bonds for students who come for education, which they need to pay for studying and will get it back only if they return.

I think this is CAP will just be temporary, and can not remain for long. As it is UK is having shortage of highly skilled workers. This seems to me as a knee-jerk reaction, and nothing else. What this move also serves is a fulfillment of promise made during elections. Come April 2011, when the move will be reviewed, it could be taken back.  Remember what happened to the eligibility rules for Tier-1 in April 2010. First they changed the point based system (PBS) for Tier-1 to allow just masters degree holders to come to the UK in 2009 and then rolled it back in 2010 as they surely found no good in that. Well, that was the non-conservative government at that time, but I believe things will change as economy also recovers during early next year.

The Hindu says - "Leading British businesses are opposed to an artificial limit arguing that it would make it difficult for them to recruit the necessary skilled staff and damage the economy. Universities, who depend on fee-paying foreign students as the main source of their income, are also strongly opposed to such rigid restrictions."

[References]

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-industry/services/travel/visa-power/UK-to-impose-annual-cap-on-immigrants-from-non-EU-countries/articleshow/5954003.cms

Surge in demand for European Schools – BW

Businessweek has reported a surge in demand for European schools.  There are various reasons for the same. According to me the main reasons are below, especially from India.

1. Shorter courses - The shorter the course, the lesser time you remain in uncertainty. Also a shorted course means less investment. In US-B-schools, the courses are of 2 years duration and because of recession, where there is no or less guarantee of a job, it becomes difficult to sustain those two years especially with huge investment of 100K+ USD. This makes European schools more lucrative for applicants especially for Indians who are very sensitive towards cost.


2. US H1 Visa concerns - With Barack Obama restricting companies from recruiting H1 visa holders, there is a lot of uncertainty, and so students who want to work in the US post-MBA on H1 are not that keen to go in for a US-MBA. Not that the UK or other European administrations are more welcoming, but such sudden changes do impact influx of students.


3. Other factors - Attacks on Asian students in Australia has led to fewer applications to Australian universities, and may be (I don't have data to prove it, but I believe it might be a factor) such applicants would have preferred European destinations now. Also because of the fact that in most of EU countries, a dependent on student can work, its easier for students to take their spouses who can work while they study. This provides good support, both financial and emotional.

Other than these factors, it could also be coincidental. The surging number of students coming out of engineering schools every year makes a good market for these European schools. Also because of recession, more and more students are choosing to take up a higher education especially in Entrepreneurship etc as mentioned in the article.

[References]

http://www.businessweek.com/globalbiz/content/mar2010/gb20100319_850576.htm

Google vs China : Who will be the winner

Google has now decided to stop censoring its search and show uncensored search in China. Following a series of negotiations with Chinese officials who did not allow google to show uncensored searches, Google finally decided to do what it thinks right.

Google runs the risk of getting its services blocked, but its a risk it needs to take. There are various reasons why:

1. Google needs to compete with Baidu which is the market leader in search currently in China. A completely open market, void of censorship is destined to give google the much needed acceleration.

2. Though, google runs the risk of getting its services blocked in China, but this is a very minimal risk. At most it will have to relocate or let-go its 600 employees in China. China will lose more in terms of credibility and 'face-value', not to mention the ire it will earn of the google-china employees.

3. Google's China business contributes very little to its topline, and hence it will not be a bad decision (financiall) to quit China on moral grounds (ethically). Though, in longer run, Google might be relinquishing a BIG market. But there are other avenues to attract Chinese market.

If Google succeeds in continuing to provide uncensored services without any problem, this will be landmark victory for independence of speech/freedom of business in China. Other companies might also get inspired and follow suit.

Time will tell what the Chinese will let them do, and what Google''s follow up strategy will be.

[References]

Read this article on wsj for more

Read more on censorship in china in this NYTimes article.

Welcome changes in Tier-1 Immigrant Visa for UK – From April 2010

A good news for all those who want to apply for the Tier-1 Visa for working in the UK.

Here are the changes done (I am listing the major ones):

1. Now you can score points for Bachelors Degree as well. In the previous changes to rules for Tier-1 in 2009, the points were awarded only for Masters and PhD.  Now you can easily get 30 points for having a bachelors degree.

2. New point system for previous earnings. You do not get any points for earnings under 25000 GBP. See statement of policy below to see the full table.

3. New point system for age. You get 20 points for agent 29 or under, 10 points for age 30-34, 5 points for 35-39 and no points for 40 or above.

4. Earnings multiplier (currently 5.3 for India) is going to change. Actual change has not been announced yet.

All these rules apply for applications submitted after April 6' 2010.

References:

• See how points are awarded in Tier-1

• Read more on Tier-1 Guidance

• More about Tier-1 and UK Visa

• Forum for discussing Immigration related problems/issues/questions

• Case worker guidance manual - Complete guidance for all documents and all prerequisites. - http://www.bia.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitecontent/documents/policyandlaw/ecis/hsmpcaseworkerguidance/

[updated on April 6th 2010]

- Immigrants working on Tier-2 visa (intra company) will not be eligible for permanent settlement as per new laws now. Read more here

Infy's lessons of leadership - how others can benefit

Read this article about how Infosys leads the way in Leadership

Interesting how Infy found that increasingly people were less trained than the roles that they were in. It found that it will need a pool of leaders in the coming future and started investing in training.

Good lesson for corporates, especially in India IT industry. Its not just about improving the motivation of the employees, its also about how you employ the right person for the right job.

Though, I do not believe in the way it can be extended for every other company. First, no one can maintain such a talent pool, other than the biggies like TCS, Wipro. Sometimes its better (and cheaper/faster) to hire from the market.

For the smaller players, its difficult to follow the talent risk strategy, as sometimes you just can not maintain a healthy balance between demand and supply.

UK stops student visas from a few centers following huge volumes

Read this article on ibnlive.

Following huge volumes of applications from certain centers in northern India, UK has , for now, stopped accepting any further applications for Tier 4 visa.

This is a cause of concern. This should not be a cause of concern for genuine students but defintely this makes things difficult going forward. Like stricter regulations etc.

This could be another roadblock for those hoping to go to the UK for further studies like me.

I hope this is just a one-off case and does not effect the general visa application process.

May the visa-god be with me. But before that I need to secure an admission. Well ! thats another story.

6 Reasons why India is growing more than ever before

Source : http://www.ted.com/talks/nandan_nilekani_s_ideas_for_india_s_future.html

A speech by Nandan Nilekani.

I have tried to summarize the whole speech here.

Ideas that have arrived - The 6 reasons why India is growing at a rate greater than ever before.

1.Population as an asset - as opposed to a liability. Only youngest country in an aging world.

2.Entrepreneurship as a positive thing in society.

3. English as a language of aspirations.

4. Growing need and adaptation of technology.

5. Seeing globalization as a good thing and feeling a need to participate in it.

6. Deepening of democracy - improved society.

Ideas in progress - The ideas for which need has been felt but not yet implemented.

1. Education - Primary education, especially in govt sponsored schools.

2. Urbanization -

3. Cities as engine of growth - Develop cities, and see the as centers of growth, innovation and creativity.

4. Single Market - View India as a single market.

Ideas in Conflict - The de-accelerators


1. Ideology of caste etc

2. Labour policies - need to regulate highly un-organized labour force. More benefits.

3. Higher Education - Need to de-regulate so that opening up universities is easier. Make it easier for foreign universities to setup centers here.

Ideas that we need to anticipate

1. Technology

2. Health - Better health prospects, and not have diseases of rich countries.

3. Pensions and entitlements - Social security for the old.

4. Energy - Carbon footprint, global warming etc need to be controlled via growing economies like India.

IIMA Alumni will head PepsiCo's quaker unit

http://ibnlive.in.com/news/iim-alumni-named-new-head-of-pepsicos-quaker-unit/102774-7.html

Jaya Kumar, an Indian born and an IIM A alumnus will now be the president of Pepsi's two billion dollar Quaker Foods and Snacks division

People of Indian origin already at the top of PepsiCo leadership include Chairman and Chief Executive Indra Nooyi and SVP of corporate strategy Vivek Sankaran.

Kudos !

Lets take over the world.

 

-----------------------

Added 29 oct 2009

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/infotech/software/At-Microsoft-six-Indians-call-all-the-shots/articleshow/5174535.cms

Indians call the shots at Microsoft as well. At least 6 Indians are among the top 25 , of the company’s 95,000-strong workforce.

The 1 Lakh car and the 1 year MBA

Whats this about everything getting shortened. The 1 Lakh car is already a hit, even before being launched.  And we know how popular the 1 Year MBA courses are now-a-days.

Is there a correlation ? We all know short is sweet, and in case of the car, it also appeals to the masses.

There is a difference though, the 1 lakh car may be short in capacity and price, the 1 year MBA is still a hefty $$ affair. Especially if you want to pursue one abroad. Its no way the nano of the MBAs.