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Can Lotus Notes R3 Prior Art Save The Browser?

Posted by michael on from the ozzie-wan-kenobi-you're-my-only-hope dept.

theodp writes "Apparently stunned by the implications of Eolas vs Microsoft, Ray Ozzie of Lotus Notes and Groove fame offers up Notes R3 as prior art for the notorious Eolas patent. To bolster his argument, Ozzie used the Notes R3 feature set to recreate a scenario close to what was described in the patent. After the hard part of putting together a Notes R3 computing environment that included MS-DOS 6.22, Windows for Workgroups 3.11, and a circa-1993 copy of Excel 5.0 obtained from eBay, it only took Ozzie about 15 minutes to knock out a demo without any programming using the out-of-the-box UI of Notes and Excel."

4 of 522 comments (clear)

  1. I hope by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    He has valid licenses for DOS 6.22, Windows 3.11 and Excel! Otherwise, he could be in some trouble with Microsoft.

  2. Re:You got the magnitudes wrong by SILIZIUMM · · Score: 5, Funny

    yeah but why billions when we can have... millions ?

  3. From Ebay!?! by christophe · · Score: 5, Funny

    >copy of Excel 5.0 obtained from eBay,

    Does that mean that Microsoft did refuse to send any free copy of an obsolete software to anybody who may spare them half a billion dollars?!

    --
    Christophe (Don't hesitate to point out my spelling and grammar mistakes, I want to learn - Thanks).
  4. Have slashdotters do it! by beej · · Score: 5, Funny
    We obviously know what's obvious and what obviously isn't. There should be a meta/moderating system for patents. This way we slashdotters can vote on new software patent applications, like so:

    • This was obvious in 1974
    • Completely obvious
    • Still frickin' obvious
    • Obvious
    • Clever
    • Cowboyneal

    Tell me we wouldn't do a better job than the patent office...