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82-Year-Old Coder Trumps BT's Hyperlink Patent

Posted by timothy on from the old-ways-are-best dept.

grendelkhan writes: "According to Wired News, 82 year-old programmer, Bob Bemer, claims his creation of escape invalidates British Telecomm's hyperlink patent. He has no intentions on cashing in, he just wants BT to quit suing people and prove, in his own words: 'All this new patent stuff is crazy and counterproductive.'"

25 of 269 comments (clear)

  1. Old-Timers strike back by lord_ashaman · · Score: 4, Funny

    That'll show big business what the old-timers can do! I reckon as punishment, BT should have to listen to one of his stories about either his long walks to school, duking german bullets and hiding from japanese commandos, or about the time he took a walk in the park, then went on the ferry and found a dime, that dime looked......

    The Pain will be never ending... Death to Stupid Lawsuits!!!!

    1. Re:Old-Timers strike back by m_chan · · Score: 4, Informative

      I can imagine grandpa's voice.. The fax machine is nothing but a waffle iron with a phone attached..

      But...

      Mr. Bemer really does have a fascinating background. Read a bit about him here.

    2. Re:Old-Timers strike back by sphealey · · Score: 5, Interesting
      Nah, he can hit them with a, "Back when I invented COBOL" story.
      Ha ha. Except that Adm. Grace Hopper, who did invent Cobol (as well as the idea of the assembler, which she didn't patent) was going full steam ahead (pun intended) in her 80's as a consultant for the Navy right up until her death. Or as the editor of Data Communications magazine once said to a 20-something web programmer designing a new subscription form: "Where is the radio button for 50+ years in experience in the industry?".

      sPh

    3. Re:Old-Timers strike back by m_chan · · Score: 5, Interesting

      Off-topic? Moderator, follow the link.

      Anyway, here is more on Mr. Bemer for others who do not follow the link:

      At Lockheed, he devised the first computerized 3-D dynamic perspective,
      prelude to today's computer animation.
      At IBM, he developed
      PRINT I (the first load-and-go computer method),
      FORTRANSIT (the first major proof of intercomputer portability,
      and the second FORTRAN compiler),
      Commercial Translator (a COBOL input), and
      XTRAN (an ALGOL predecessor).
      In 1957 March he was the first to describe commercial timesharing,
      which you now see as the Worldwide Web.
      In 1959 his internal IBM memo proposed word processing.
      The Identification and Environment Divisions of COBOL are due to him,
      as is the Picture Clause, which could have avoided the Year 2000 problem
      if used correctly.
      He coined the terms "COBOL", "CODASYL", and "Software Factory".
      He was the major force in developing ASCII (contributing 6 characters --
      ESCape (see that key), FS, GS, RS, US, and the backslash). He invented the
      escape sequence and registry concept, and is called the "Father of ASCII".
      He wrote the original scope and program of work for international and
      national computer standards, and chaired the international committee for
      programming language standards for eleven years.
      He was Program Chairman for ACM 70, promoter of National Computer
      Year (when the Y2K problem should have been solved), and edited the
      proceedings as the book "Computers and Crisis".
      Three Pioneer Days have honored him -- SHARE, COBOL, and FORTRAN.
      As editor of the Honeywell Computer Journal (the first A4-size publication
      [1971] in the U.S.) he innovated fiche-of-the-issue and multimedia publishing.
      He has published more than 110 articles in technical journals.
      In 1995 he received the Albion College Distinguished Alumnus Award.
      In 2000 he was named in the Delta Tau Delta "Rainbow" as one of the "100
      Most Influential Delts of the 20th Century".
      He is recognized as the first person in the world to publish warnings of the
      Year 2000 problem -- first in 1971, and again in 1979.

    4. Re:Old-Timers strike back by PurpleBob · · Score: 4, Funny

      Not just that... without his backslash, the spinning ASCII progress indicator |/-\ could only wobble sadly back and forth.

      --
      Win dain a lotica, en vai tu ri silota
    5. Re:Old-Timers strike back by Untimely+Ripp'd · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Miscellaneous comments have referred to the women who did the ballistics programming on the ENIAC. One person noted that the work was left to women because it was considered "secretarial".

      In fact, the women were not ordinary individuals, but were chosen for their mathematical aptitude. History largely ignored them. I read once that there was a big project reunion PR event, and none of them were invited, at least not until someone noticed and made a fuss.

      The real question is whether the work was considered secretarial because women could do it, rather than the other way around. My own observation is that quality secretarial work requires an astonishing level of skill. Behind every 5-million-dollar-a-year executive is a 35K/year secretary who actually has most of the responsibility for doing the executive's work. I would argue that the general contempt for secretarial work derives from a general contempt for women and anything they do.

      Anybody who has ever been in academia knows that the departments would collapse quickly and entirely without the cadre of highly-skilled and effective departmental secretaries.

      Oh, here's a link to a pdf. It took more work than I had time for to locate a really complete history of the women on ENIAC. I did however find this slashlink to a glowing Jon Katz review of a book that claims to tell the whole ENIAC story.

      --

      And let the angel whom thou still hast serv'd tell thee ...

  2. He oughta get the patent... by ConceptJunkie · · Score: 5, Funny

    ...and license it to everyone in the world for nothing, except BT which would have to pay $1 billion.

    --
    You are in a maze of twisty little passages, all alike.
  3. questions by geekoid · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I'd like to get /. to do a question and answer with this guy.
    Programming since the '40s!

    --
    The Kruger Dunning explains most post on /. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect
  4. Your homework assignment... by Masem · · Score: 5, Interesting
    (I have submitted the following link, but since this was posted first, I expect it to be rejected..)

    Find the parallels between this (the BT case) and this patent lawsuit that SightSound is bringing against CDNow but potentally all music/video sellers. (SightSound claims they own the common methods of selling music and video over the Internet, and the judge has allowed the case to go to trial).

    --
    "Pinky, you've left the lens cap of your mind on again." - P&TB
    "I can see my house from here!" - ST:
    1. Re:Your homework assignment... by WNight · · Score: 4, Insightful

      I wonder if the patent office will ever be sued (though there are some hoops to jump through to be able to do this) for gross negligence, or something. Some of the patents they're letting through are fraudulent, in a way that should be obvious to a member of the profession, let alone a supposedly skilled examiner.

      I can picture a company like AOL or Microsoft having the money to sue the PTO for reimbursment of their court costs against SightSound, or some other jerkwater company consisting of a patent and a flock of lawyers.

      While I'm sure big companies like IBM have patented their share of obvious gadgets they've also got some real patents and this general weakening of patents (what's a patent worth, every idiot can get one) stands to hurt them a lot.

      I'd love to see the government called to the carpet for their failures and the consequences those have had on the populace.

  5. Invented the escape key huh? by goten · · Score: 4, Funny

    Next thing you know, he'll be making other outragous claims, such as he invented the question mark and will accuse chestnuts of laziness.

  6. Can't be said enough by 2Bits · · Score: 5, Insightful
    "Advanced technology only happens when people take a basic idea and add to it," Bemer said. "All this new patent stuff is crazy and counterproductive."


    This can't be said enough. Read my other post here

  7. Good quote by hether · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I loved this quote from the article:

    "Technology develops through decades of work by many people. That's why I put my work into the public domain whenever possible."

    Why can't everybody think more like this old guy??

    --

    Most people would die sooner than think; in fact, they do.
  8. old school hacker. by Restil · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Back in the day, when programmers didn't even ponder the possibility of owning code, or patenting ideas. Back when multiuser operating systems had no passwords, and a commands called "KILL SYSTEM" that strangely enough, although being accessible to everyone, was never abused.

    How things have changed.

    -Restil

    --
    Play with my webcams and lights here
    1. Re:old school hacker. by haruharaharu · · Score: 5, Funny

      What OS?

      The ITS at MIT. (lameness filter cram cram stuff adding more words so taco won't get pissed at me and ruin his engagement high)

      How was it interpreted?

      It crashed the system. (crash crash boom click whirrrrr...)

      Where did you type it?

      On the command line, where else? (lameness filter cram stuff wodge spank spank WHUMP!) (byt the way, the lameness filter really bites.

      --
      Reboot macht Frei.
  9. No, Out of Band / Metadata is the concept by A+nonymous+Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    Both markup languages (HTML; embedded link) and escapes are out of band metadata. Escapes allow an xterm, a real terminal, etc, to show bold, underline, and so on. I believe some data terminals use escape to mark protected fields for "editing" a page on the screen, then hitting SEND to send the unprotected fields, or maybe the entire screen, back to the computer. And of course you know all about HTML markup :-)

    In both cases, the escaped / embedded metadata is not visible on the screen, yet has important information about the page. It is not far fetched at all to consider escaped data as a link. I don't know if it has ever been done, but it could be.

    --
    Infuriate left and right
  10. Re:How is this relevant to BT's patent? by elmegil · · Score: 5, Interesting
    It's not the escape KEY, it's the concept of an escape SEQUENCE. I.E. a character or characters that modifies the meaning of the following characters so that they do something meaningful with the computer. In the "old days" (perhaps not the original old days, but 20+ years ago when I started programming) this was mostly used for cursor positioning on dumb terminals; esc[12;25 would put your cursor at line 12 column 25 or some such.

    Today it's more abstract, http:// is an escape sequence indicating that the following characters are to be interpreted as a hostname followed by a path name, which make up a hyperlink aka URL.

    --
    7 November 2006: The day Americans realized corruption and incompetence weren't addressing 11 September 2001
  11. You all have it wrong by Sarcazmo · · Score: 4, Insightful

    And so does wired.

    If I read it right, he invented the escape sequence. Like in a shell when you type

    rm Stupid\ File\ that\ a\ window\$ lu\$er created.mp3

    Those kinds of escapes, the ones that are used to within normal text to denote something to be handled non-literally. In other words, he is actually claiming that HTML uses escape sequences &lt and &gt to denote special handling of hyperlinks, same with the ampersand escaped characters, like I just used.

    The escape key has nothing to do with this.

  12. Re:My Grandma by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Insightful

    But she had a daughter/son who then had you, a loving grandson.

    This is infinitely more important than a name.

    Maybe she did things like this guy, from who we never heard before. This is truly being geek: doing things because they are cool, not because of fame or money.

    Congrats on your grandma.

  13. Author is wildly confused... by lkaos · · Score: 5, Interesting
    This author absolutely does not know what he's talking about (or there's no merit to this man's claim - which I think is unlikely).

    He mentions then term 'escape sequence' and then somehow binds that to the escape key. The only relation between an 'escape sequence' and an escape key is that the begining on the traditional ansi escape sequence starts with the same code the escape key generates.

    An 'escape sequence' according to Webopedia is:

    A sequence of special characters that sends a command to a device or program. Typically, an escape sequence begins with an escape character, but this is not universally true.


    The fact is that the escape sequence in a traditional hyperlink is the information encoded after the filename (that's encoded with URL-encoding). It's all those neat %20 characters.

    Check out this quote:

    Escape's powers are huge but at its most basic level, it is a command that tells a computer to make a shift in its processing - allowing a user to move up, down or sideways through files, programs or networks. For example, every press of a phone key that allows a user to move through an automated information service is an invocation of Berner's escape principle.

    This is just absurd. Escape sequences special sequences encoded other data. A telephone navigation system is merely a command driven system. Nothing is escaped. By this logic, every time anyone tells anything to do anything they are invocating Berner's escape principle.

    I understand the guy's position, but Wired really blew it on this story. I'm suprised this made it past the technical editors...

    BTW: The article mentions the '/' character as being an escape sequence, but this is not true. If they are referring to the href of a URL, then since the protocol preceeds the '/', this would not be an example of an escape sequence. I think the real issue is the escape sequences preceeded by '%' signs.
    --
    int func(int a);
    func((b += 3, b));
    1. Re:Author is wildly confused... by zurab · · Score: 5, Interesting

      Escape sequences special sequences encoded other data. A telephone navigation system is merely a command driven system. Nothing is escaped.

      Go back and read your own escape sequence definition that you got from Webopedia, as long as it is a "sequence of special characters" that send a command to a device or program it is an escape sequence. Then you have to get into the argument of "pressing 4 on the telephone dial is not a special character". What is a special character by the way? Would pressing #4 while interrupting phone message recording (to take you back to the main menu) be considered as a "sequence of special characters"? IOW, fighting over definitions does not make sense.

      What is rightly an issue, is that the BT patent on hyperlinks was not an invention when it was approved. And, one of the examples of similar practices is dated from way long ago, and you can call it escape sequence, or call it something else if you like.

      URL, then since the protocol preceeds the '/', this would not be an example of an escape sequence. I think the real issue is the escape sequences preceeded by '%' signs.

      All those can be escape sequences, including an HTML tag on a web page since it modifies the meaning of a regular text and, instead, sends a "command" to the browser ("device or program") to interpret the included text otherwise.

  14. This guy is amazing. by phoenix_orb · · Score: 5, Interesting

    He put the slash in Slashdot (a slash being an interupt, i.e. http\

    He put the backslash in ASCII code (without it, where would DOS be now.... oh, I mean.. nevermind)

    He Texas Plates are "ASCII". That just rocks in itself.

    He helped invent COBOL. I learned to program on COBOL. I can't even imagine the fortitude trying to make an entire programming language. The old programmers had it really tough. Imagine wanting to program in a high level, so you have to design and implement a high level language yourself.

    The whole reason this got out is simply because he is fed up with all of these outrageous patents. Hyperlinking... bah, One click purchasing.

    He is one of us (albiet probably the oldest)

    Slashdot would do good for itself to do an interview with him, maybe even make him the honorary "grandpa" of slashdot.

    --
    Blah Blah Blah.
  15. Re:What the hell? by Xerithane · · Score: 4, Insightful

    RTFA.

    His discussion about prior art is talking about the use of escape sequences to link term A on computer A to data B on computer B.

    The talking of escape sequence is just a premise of what it is. It's a vague abstracted concept that basically equates to user-defined interrupt calls that can happen at any time, inserted by the end user or the program.

    Hyperlinks as a concept, are innovations build upon actual escape sequences as used previously. I'm wondering when we are going to start seeing classes coming up that deal with Computer History were people can learn about Berner, Hooper, Lovelace and the rest of the bunch.

    In a nutshell: Everything we have done since 1957 is based upon the work they did before.

    --
    Dacels Jewelers can't be trusted.
  16. The Role of Government by MadFarmAnimalz · · Score: 5, Interesting

    It occurs to me that it is a sad thing that we have to rely on someone like Mr. Bemer to do the job of the government and protect the hapless consumer from the wrath of the corporation and its bevy of lawyers.

    There was a post on here which expressed optimism that Mr. Bemer seemed like a responsible enough person to grant the patent. What patent? Why should this be patented to begin with? The system should be rigged such that philanthrophic caretakers should not have to appear; what happens next time when BT decides to patent the power button?

    The system is failing the consumer/citizen here. I think deeper introspection is required of the legal system and the IP code.

    --
    Blearf. Blearf, I say.
  17. Ted Nelson: Non-British Non-scientist Yes-Genius! by jonathanpost · · Score: 5, Informative

    Ummmm... Ted Nelson is neither British nor a scientist. He merely invented hypertext and hypermedia.

    "Other examples of hyperlinks also predate BT's patent, including a 1965 book by British scientist Ted Nelson..."

    How do I know? Because I co-implemented the first working hypertext and hypermedia on personal computers, for Ted, and demo'd it at the world's first personal computer conference, in Philadelphia, in -- was it 1976?

    That was before Radio Shack, IBM, or Apple even made personal computers...

    Ted Nelson is merely a grandfather of the World Wide Web. Remind me -- what exactly did BT do except shove electrons through wires?

    Wired and BT are BOTH wrong.

    I say: fly Ted Nelson by Concorde to the trial and treat him as the VIP he is, pay hom $1,000 and hour as an epert witness, and then give him a share of the winnings in court!