The short story:
There’s Google with Android OS and there’s everybody else with everything else. Google’s Legal Counsel said that companies like Microsoft, Oracle and Apple are trying strangle Android over bogus patents. Microsoft’s Legal Counsel said that they asked Google to jointly bid for Novell patents, and Google said no. Google responded that it’s a trap.
The most interesting part of this Tech Soap Opera are the fans (for lack of better terms). For example, a post by John Gruber (a perceived Apple fanboy and an accused Google hater) was submitted to Hacker News. The post draws anti-Gruber comments regardless of the content. It shouldn’t be about Gruber; it should have been about Google, its competitors and patents.
There is an immediate need of Patent Law Reform.
In the meantime, fans of each faction are reposting the articles and tweets.