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Suddenly a JPEG Patent and Licensing Fee
Michael Long writes "Forgent Networks (www.forgentnetworks.com) has announced that it owns the software patent on JPEG compression technology, and has stated that it is "in contact" with computer, software, camera, and other digital imaging product manufacturers regarding licensing terms. This ambush of the digitial imaging industry will probably stand as the worst public relations nightmare a company can inflict upon itself."
A caveman dreams of being us, the incalculable power and riches. We dream of being Q, then what?
Hot coffee, anoyone?
The McDonalds hot coffee incident was much worse than it was played out to the media. McDonalds had been told by many people that their coffee was FAR too hot to be served to people. They consistently kept their coffee 20-30 degrees hotter than everyone else. The woman who had it spilled onto her groin had third degree burns over the majority of her groin. This was not just some case where someone got a little hurt because they spilled hot water on themselves.
Reparations for the ancestors of the slaves?
No one in modern times has ever received money for slave reparations (nor should the in my opinion).
Come play Heroes of Might and Magic Mini online.
I assume that the royalty must be paid whether or not terrorist information is encoded in the JPEG, right?
If this were easy, they wouldn't need us to do it!
As I remember, it was even worse than that. I understand that McD's kept the coffee super-heated because they found out it was cheaper to keep the temperature above humanly-tolerable levels. I can't remember the specifics of how it was cheaper, though.
And because of her stupidity (Remind me - did McDonalds put a gun to her head and tell her to pour it over herself? I thought not.)
She didn't pour it on herself, she spilled it. And it was too hot to be safe. Thank God it was on her crotch, and not her grandson's face.
everyone who gets coffee from McDonalds gets cold coffee (or at least, coffee which becomes undrinkably cold much faster)
IMO, anyone who is too lazy to brew coffee deserves what they get. No one is holding a gun to your head, telling you to drink McDonald's coffee, are they?
Yes, personal responsibility has value. However, companies have an obligation to make products that are safe.
If you fall off a building, go real limp, because maybe you'll look like a dummy and people will be like hey, free dummy
There are risks involved when using most products in a manner that was not intended, driving a car and drinking coffee is not safe for reasons other than 3rd degree burns and cannot be considered as intended use.
The woman had 3rd degree burns on her crotch. The location is a result of what "cannot be considered intended use". The burns themselves are not. If she had tried to drink the coffee, she would have had 3rd degree burns on her mouth ( and probably still her crotch, due to pain-reaction reflex).
All products have a degree of unsafety, but for each product there is an expectation as to what tha degree is, and a product that exceeds this can be called "unsafe". Cars are unsafe, but few people expect their tires to undergo sudden and dramatic self-destruction. Thus the Firestone/Ford debacle. Similarly, while coffee directly out of a brewer is generally considered hot, when someone hands you a cup of coffee few would expect that cup to be so hot that actually trying to drink it would result in severe burns. If you don't know how long ago the coffee was brewed, or how hot it is maintained in the pot, you have no way of knowing when it is safe to contact with your skin. Thus the McDonald's lawsuit.
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