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Oh, so now you are asserting an imaginary patent on every conceivable pointing device, far more broad than any pointing device patent (and there have been quite a few) claimed by anybody?

I proposed a hypothetical scenario where someone holds a patent to the input solution that outmost majority of the desktop users use, yes. I didn't say anybody does, just what would happen if someone did.

And yet Apple's current laptops completely lack a right-click button. But to the uncreative, the way they are accustomed to can seem like the One True Way.

Totally digging how you spout ad-hominems. Too bad it only speaks of your human qualities. And I didn't say "one true way" either, just that it is the most productive/comfortable. There tend to be multiple solutions to a single issue all the time, but they are never equal so there's also always one that is better than the rest. Being forced to use inferior solutions makes exactly whom happier?

Blatantly false. As the jury clearly recognized, many of Samsung's devices were cosmetically similar to the iPhone [peanutbuttereggdirt.com] in a way the Palm phones never were.

Doesn't look so earth-shatteringly different to me. http://www.wired.com/images_blogs/gadgetlab/2011/01/webOS-22.png http://c2499022.cdn.cloudfiles.rackspacecloud.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/Samsung-Galaxy-S2-Android-4-ICS.jpg

Nowhere in the trial was it claimed that Android itself is a cheap iOS copy.

Double-tapping, bouncing back at the end of a list and finding phone numbers in text messages are all Android features, not something that Samsung added on it's own. And those features were found offending. Am I missing something?

I take it you haven't used recent Blackberry models, which have evolved quite a bit since 2008. I still know quite a few people who prefer the Blackberry over the iPhone. Do you really think that it will be a good thing for the consumer if Blackberry is driven out of business and replaced by iClones?

Our company just scrapped the entire Blackberry program we had going, because they are pretty much garbage. If Blackberry goes out of business, it will be because other customers also found them lacking. In the end the customers decide, so for them, whatever happens will be good.

Yet prior to the release of the iPhone, it was conventional wisdom that it was impossible to create a virtual keyboard that would be popular with consumers.

Quite the contrary, my GPS systems had virtual keyboards even before. Not on phones, though.

But there actually still are quite a few people who prefer the kind of well-crafted physical keyboard that the Blackberry devices offer.

And if there are enough of those people, then Blackberry doesn't have to worry about going out of business. Good for them. I still think it's a waste of space on the phone.

Do you really think it will be a good thing for the consumer if this sort of device becomes unavailable to consumers because everybody is playing follow-the-leader with Apple?

If there are people willing to pay for that feature, someone will keep making those phones. Judging by how Blackberry is doing though, apparently not a lot of people need that feature. I don't think it's about following Apple; it's catering to what the masses need. If they want full touchscreen with virtual keyboard, everyone will make that - because that's where money is.

This is kind of ridiculous don't you think, considering that any conce

The metal rim around the side on the iPhone through iPhone 3GS is essentially flush with the surface of the device. I think you can agree that's a very different design than:
http://c2499022.cdn.cloudfiles.rackspacecloud.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/palm-centro-bell.jpg

I agree the Prada phone you showed looks pretty close to the iPhone 4. Did Prada apply for a Design Patent on it?

so you o and build a mercedes benz that has a star on its front which has a different size?

How could I be so blind, the back clearly has a slightly modified Apple logo. Indeed, anyone would be confused by the shiny plastic back with near identical logo, why it looks exactly like the matt metal of the iPad.

Adrian Lamo and Kevin Poulsen are rats and not to be trusted, and Wired is no longer the magazine of record for the technology industry. I have officially cancelled by subscription, and I seriously suggest that anybody who is interested in such a trashy rag read Vallywag for free.

For more evidence of Adrian Lamo being a lying rat bastard, listen to him try to explain himself as following his conscience in Informants Panel at The Next HOPE.

PS: He also lies about never having been controlling or being the subject of a restraining order. He is a real piece of trash.

may be found here http://c0182732.cdn1.cloudfiles.rackspacecloud.com/fcic_final_report_full.pdf

They already have those in Vietnam.

I would have thought they could have contracted with a cloud provider located within the state.

There are plenty of data centers:
http://www.google.com/search?q=data+center+minneapolis

Surely, somebody's doing cloud stuff there (and Rackspace just released their cloud platform as open source).

Having the data in-state means a world of difference when it comes to sticky legal issues.

Is MS losing money ? retrenching ? no longer the biggest software company in the world ? I wish I could lose the way you say they've lost !

They've done well so far, but look closer at the past. A decade ago, if you wanted a personal computer, you pretty much got a PC with Windows. Only the truly hardcore went any other way. If you used a browser, it was almost certainly IE. Or if you were into graphics or a couple other niche areas, you'd get a Mac. Mac and Linux are serious alternatives now, and were not previously. Software development for portable touch screens like the PocketPC used to be a big deal, but it's pretty much irrelevant now.

In around 2004 I started my own business, and I needed database software and front end software. In my day job, I was developing using MS SQL and ASP.NET in C#. I knew the tools, they were what I was most productive in. But I had a choice: drop a bunch of cash for Microsoft tools, pirate it all from work, or go totally legit and figure out how to do it with free software. I chose to go legit, and I won't ever turn back. They had the free developer version of MS SQL, but it felt like crippleware to me. And I was in a situation where I'd need to deploy before the revenue came in, so I chose to go with real software instead of shelling out a grand for software before I had any revenue.

Wouldn't you make the same decision, too?

I submit that most people who wouldn't make that decision lack confidence in their ability to come up to speed quickly on new technologies. Plus, the free software development tools are better today than they ever were before. Also it's cheaper to deploy code that doesn't need Windows to run.:

Linux machine at Rackspace Cloud, 1.5 cents/hr for 256m, 3.0 cents/hr for 512m.

Windows machine at Rackspace Cloud: 256m *not available, needs more memory*, 4.0 cents/hr for 512m.

The key reason to use Microsoft if you're starting from scratch is if you can't step up to the plate and retool yourself. And if so, be careful-- there were a lot of guys I saw growing up that wouldn't do anything other than COBOL, Fortran, and RPG/3, and didn't think they'd ever need to learn anything new.

Is MS losing money ? retrenching ? no longer the biggest software company in the world ? I wish I could lose the way you say they've lost !

They've done well so far, but look closer at the past. A decade ago, if you wanted a personal computer, you pretty much got a PC with Windows. Only the truly hardcore went any other way. If you used a browser, it was almost certainly IE. Or if you were into graphics or a couple other niche areas, you'd get a Mac. Mac and Linux are serious alternatives now, and were not previously. Software development for portable touch screens like the PocketPC used to be a big deal, but it's pretty much irrelevant now.

In around 2004 I started my own business, and I needed database software and front end software. In my day job, I was developing using MS SQL and ASP.NET in C#. I knew the tools, they were what I was most productive in. But I had a choice: drop a bunch of cash for Microsoft tools, pirate it all from work, or go totally legit and figure out how to do it with free software. I chose to go legit, and I won't ever turn back. They had the free developer version of MS SQL, but it felt like crippleware to me. And I was in a situation where I'd need to deploy before the revenue came in, so I chose to go with real software instead of shelling out a grand for software before I had any revenue.

Wouldn't you make the same decision, too?

I submit that most people who wouldn't make that decision lack confidence in their ability to come up to speed quickly on new technologies. Plus, the free software development tools are better today than they ever were before. Also it's cheaper to deploy code that doesn't need Windows to run.:

Linux machine at Rackspace Cloud, 1.5 cents/hr for 256m, 3.0 cents/hr for 512m.

Windows machine at Rackspace Cloud: 256m *not available, needs more memory*, 4.0 cents/hr for 512m.

The key reason to use Microsoft if you're starting from scratch is if you can't step up to the plate and retool yourself. And if so, be careful-- there were a lot of guys I saw growing up that wouldn't do anything other than COBOL, Fortran, and RPG/3, and didn't think they'd ever need to learn anything new.

Fact is, if your website is mission-critical you shouldn't be going with shared hosting anyway - but for my purposes (personal and a not-for-profit club site) it's been just fine

I'll second that - I use Dreamhost for my web hosting... Google Apps for email. I also keep a VM online with Rackspace Cloud (when I'm not using it, I think it ends up being about $11/month).

They had a promotion happening a while back... it was essentially $20 for two years of hosting. And then you can just not have them rebill you if you don't like it. So if I weren't paid up through the beginning of 2011, I would probably just host my stuff on my own.

I like Dreamhost because of their tech support. I have had one or two issues relating to their control panel. I hate control panels, but at least theirs sucks far less than cPanel. Each of those issues were very minor, but I filed a ticket with tech support and had resolution within an hour each time. Not bad for not having an SLA. I know I can't expect that from them and the past is no indicator of the future, but hey, for my website that nobody gives a shit about... not bad!

If I didn't use Dreamhost, I would probably host everything on a VPS. Rackspace Cloud Servers is who I have my VPS through right now (I was running mail and DNS through it... right now it's just chilling). I've also heard good things about Slicehost. The thing I like about the Rackspace product is that you can add/resize/delete cloud servers very quickly and easily, which sounds like it would be very useful if you have a website that will need to scale.

I guess since I used the word "ecological" you're under the impression that I care about "saving the animals".