This is a fantastic presentation, and if I were developing a history of software class, I'd reuse this presentation for a unit on API's and libraries, given the

This is a fantastic presentation, and if I were developing a history of software class, I'd reuse this presentation for a unit on API's and libraries, given the author's permission. I've never seen such a concise and informative presentation on the history of any aspect of software development (languages, methodologies, human interface, etc...) Really, really well done. I still think that Oracle has a pretty strong legal leg to stand on, unfortunately. And they have the legal team to pretty much guarantee victory. API specs deserve the same copyright protections we provide for other forms of intellectual property. The bigger problem that needs to be confronted is the ridiculous scope and corporate bias of US copyright law, which is the ultimate root of the maladies that strangle creativity and punish artists and working engineers in this country. I believe that API specs deserve the same legal protections as song lyrics, plot devices, and poetry. But I think those legal protections, buttressed by lawyers from Disney and Oracle, have gotten out of control and now penalize the people they were supposed to protect.