Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Rambus Patent Claims Dismissed

Posted by CowboyNeal on from the momentary-setbacks dept.

Gogo Dodo writes "The patent infringement claim by Rambus, the SCO of the chip world, against Infineon have been dismissed by a judge in Virginia due to Rambus destroying documents relating to the lawsuit." Of course, Rambus is already planning an appeal, so this may not be over just yet.

149 comments

  1. SCO of the chip world by serutan · · Score: 0, Redundant

    Priceless!

    1. Re:SCO of the chip world by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

      no, not priceless, just $699

    2. Re:SCO of the chip world by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Insightful

      To be fair, it's really an unfair comparison.

      SCO is a IP litigation company which purchased a company with many valuable copyrights (IE: Code) to sue others into oblivion.

      Rambus is a technically adept company with many valuable patented technologies, which squandered what advantages they had by trying to lock everybody into their tech and sueing anybody who competed...

    3. Re:SCO of the chip world by Tuqui · · Score: 2

      Come on, Nobody hates Rambus that much.

    4. Re:SCO of the chip world by sharok · · Score: 1

      Wrong. I hate RAMBUS with a passion.

    5. Re:SCO of the chip world by PartyBoy!911 · · Score: 1

      SCO is not just IP litigation company, they started out as a UNIX porting and consulting company.
      The analogy is very similar IMHO.

      From the site of the devil himself: http://www.sco.com/company/history.html

      1979 SCO founded as The Santa Cruz Operation by Doug and Larry Michels as a UNIX® system porting and consulting company.

      1983 SCO delivers the first packaged UNIX System (called SCO® XENIX® System V) for Intel® 8086 and 8088 processor-based PCs. It provides small businesses with the first affordable business-critical computing system.

    6. Re:SCO of the chip world by FuzzyBad-Mofo · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Rambus basically sat in on industry meetings, then pre-emptively patented the technologies which were under proposal. Their methods were no more than extortion toward companies which implemented the (supposedly open) standards the industry had agreed upon. As far as I know Rambus doesn't actually employ many (any?) engineers, they are primarily in business to make money from "intellectual property."

    7. Re:SCO of the chip world by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

      I have to post anonymously, because I actually KNOW something about this. I was a Rambus licensee, and did a Rambus-based design. I have been to Rambus headquarters. I also know people who were at the JEDEC meetings at the time in question.

      IMHO, your first two sentences are absolutely true. The third is/was false.

      At the time I dealt with Rambus, they had competent engineers and really did have some decent IP. When I was there, I saw a 50-50 mix of engineers and managers, but on my way through the building saw a decent number of CAD-equipped cubicles.

      IMHO, all the litigation is based on what WAS a decent patent application. They just extended it and drew claims on it that they had no business doing.

    8. Re:SCO of the chip world by squiggleslash · · Score: 5, Informative
      Nope. That company, today, is called Tarantella. The company called SCO today used to be called Caldera. They owned SCO for a few years at a time when SCO's core Unix business was failing, and had the SCO part of the business concentrate on their Tarantella administration suite. SCO was then spun off, renamed to Tarantella, with only the Unix IP "assets" and the SCO name kept by Caldera.

      Caldera was previously best known for buying Novell/Digital Research's anti-trust lawsuit against Microsoft for the numerous abuses Microsoft made against DRDOS. Once Caldera won that one, they spun off what was left of the DRDOS development team in the form of Lineo.

      It's fair to say they are, for the most part, an IP litigation company. They've had some good people (good in the sense of not evil) people running them for the times they've been Caldera + Some Company With Something Real For Sale, but they keep returning to a theme, spinning off the companies that do the real work and keeping the lawsuit material.

      --
      You are not alone. This is not normal. None of this is normal.
    9. Re:SCO of the chip world by PartyBoy!911 · · Score: 1

      Argh they tricked me!

    10. Re:SCO of the chip world by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I hate Rambus that much. Of course I work for Micron Technology. ;)

    11. Re:SCO of the chip world by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Just curious to see so much Rambus hate on slashdot. I am new here may be you can tell. As far as I know Judge Whyte in California gave a summary judgement that Hynix infringed Rambus IP. I believe Rambus IP had been infringed and I can't think of any sort of document destruction that they could they have possibly done, that can make some one take away their IP rights. I think ultimately Rambus will prevail in court, it could be years though.

    12. Re:SCO of the chip world by einhverfr · · Score: 1

      Technically, Caldera v. Microsoft was settled out of court. However, Microsoft had *badly* lost (IMHO, IANAL) the pretrial arguments and it was not looking good for them.

      I actually felt that in 1999, Caldera v. Microsoft was the most potentially damaging antitrust suit facing Microsoft at the time. It was also very clear from doing any reasonable research into thinks like the AARD code, that Microsoft had engaged in inexcusable and predatory behavior.

      Note that at the time I was temping at MS. As I began to read the judicial rulings and documents, I was really truely sickened. I guess it didn;t really affect me because I later went to work as a full-time employee of Microsoft.

      --

      LedgerSMB: Open source Accounting/ERP
    13. Re:SCO of the chip world by sharok · · Score: 1

      Given that judge Robert E Payne has decided that Rambus is guilty of non-disclosure, it follows that Rambus IP is non-existant and therefor cannot be infringed upon.

      I believe the Whyte judgement is in great risk of being overturned in an appeal, based on this decision.

      As for Rambus hatred, if you really are new here, then you should know that any playground bully is a normal target for loathing. Rambus most definitely qualifies, since they tried to hijack DDR with baseless accusations and after the fact. Rambus also forged a deal with Intel to shove RDRAM down everyone's throat (the "technology of the future"). The thing that irked us geeks to no end was the fact that RDRAM was a possible contender to DDR only in its most expensive variant, detail that was thoroughly hushed by Intel and Rambus alike.

      Unfortunately, benchmark numbers were published in too many reviews to allow people to ignore the fact that RDRAM was a lame duck. When the realization finally dawned on the industry, Rambus made a big mistake and accused Intel of not knowing how to make motherboards. That was a big no-no, and Intel promptly pulled out the rug from under the deal. After two years of touting RDRAM as the way to go, Intel switched all its boards to DDR faster than you could blink.

      Add to that the irritating behavior that Rambus executives displayed all over the world, being smug and superior, and attacking anybody who wouldn't kowtow immediately with outrageous license fees, and you get a strong following of geeks who simply cannot stand the board's behavior.

      Add to that the fact that Rambus demonstrated how to become a (moderately) successful IP litigation industry, example which SCO promptly followed, and you get the perfect item for focalising hatred from any truth-loving geek.

      Have I been clear enough ?

  2. Enron and Arthur Andersen by fembots · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I think after Enron and Arthur Andersen, if you touched the documents you're gone.

    --
    Rock that crushes, Paper & Scissors that don't matter.
    1. Re:Enron and Arthur Andersen by clickety6 · · Score: 1

      Shouldn't that be "torched the documents" ?

      --
      ----------------------------------- My Other Sig Is Hilarious -----------------------------------
    2. Re:Enron and Arthur Andersen by mboverload · · Score: 2, Informative

      Destroyed documents? Ha! Enron was making freaking snow with its documents, I didn't see any charges against them.

    3. Re:Enron and Arthur Andersen by miu · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Of course there are some benefits to being old frat buddies with the president aside from fond memories of keggers and coke.

      --

      [Set Cain on fire and steal his lute.]
    4. Re:Enron and Arthur Andersen by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Offtopic

      Right, because Bush waved his magic stick of justice and used his god-given powers to detect the truth and personally uncovered the Enron scandal....

      no wait, it collapsed because the CxO's fucked up and couldn't hide it anymore.

      Be a Bush apologist all you want, but at least admit the truth.

    5. Re:Enron and Arthur Andersen by miu · · Score: 1
      can't you people give it the fscl up

      You're right, I've wasted my life in senseless opposition to Bush, from this minute on I'll spend my every waking moment helping other deluded victims of the liberal media overcome their dislike of the smirking fratboy that inhabits the white house.

      --

      [Set Cain on fire and steal his lute.]
    6. Re:Enron and Arthur Andersen by dpilot · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Martha Stewart gets out of prison today, and starts her house arrest.

      and AFAIK, there's only been one Enron defendent that has actually gone to prison - two if you count that the courts were going to let the man and his wife (names forgotten) server their terms serially, so the other could keep the home with the kids.

      Good to know that justice was swift with a $60k problem that really affected no third parties, and nice and slow (slow as in never?) on a multi-billion dollar problem that bilked thousands out of their retirements and/or life savings. IMHO the noise against Martha last year was a sideshow to divert us from Enron. Last I heard, Ken Lay was putting together a web site to tell "his side of the story."

      --
      The living have better things to do than to continue hating the dead.
    7. Re:Enron and Arthur Andersen by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      No... because Clinton wasn't in office to cover for Enron anymore.

      See... isn't the conspiracy game fun? Anyone can make up anyhing and it'll be touted.

    8. Re:Enron and Arthur Andersen by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I like this game.

      May I suggest that the gay pornstar who was given journalist credentials got them from Bush Jr. in trade for sexual favors?

      At least Clinton was getting his blowjobs from a member of the opposite sex.

    9. Re:Enron and Arthur Andersen by glrotate · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Lea Fastow, who is actually just 2 blocks down the street from me in the Federal equivalent of county jail, is also serving a sentence for lying. In her case lying on her taxes.

      What would you charge Ken Lay with? How do you prove that Ken Lay or Jeff Skilling engaged in fraud when both their accountants, Aurthur Anderson, and their attorneys, Vinson & Elkins, said the deals were legit?

      It's one thing to say they were poor managers and didn't understand the businesses they were running, but to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that they what they did was illegal is a slightly higher hurdle.

    10. Re:Enron and Arthur Andersen by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It's one thing to say they were poor managers and didn't understand the businesses they were running, but to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that they what they did was illegal is a slightly higher hurdle.

      I'm convinced they knew exactly what they were doing, in general they understood their what their business units were doing, and they approved of it. However, the are still free largely because they managed to manipulate just enough of the paper trail to keep them from any real charges, but not enough to escape suspicion.

    11. Re:Enron and Arthur Andersen by miu · · Score: 1

      So says some random asshat. Listen dipshit, your president is in power what more do you want? I am not going to fall all over myself to agree with the popular opinion merely because 51% of America believes that Bush has the right of it. I think Bush is a bad president and I think people who voted for him made a bad choice, I'm not going to change that opinion because some anonymous fucktard on the Internet calls me names.

      --

      [Set Cain on fire and steal his lute.]
    12. Re:Enron and Arthur Andersen by Kyouryuu · · Score: 1

      And this is basically why Lay is still a free man. Although he and Skilling have been indicted on several counts, it takes a while to mount a case. A large corporation generates so much paperwork that to find the smoking gun can be very complicated. After all, you wouldn't want to bring a case against Lay and then lose due to lack of evidence. You'd want to make sure he spends the rest of his life behind bars and seize any assets he has.

    13. Re:Enron and Arthur Andersen by BoomerSooner · · Score: 1

      As a company you should always have a policy on document destruction and follow it very closely. That way if you ever are investigated documents can be proved to be destroyed based on company policy. It is only illegal to destroy documents if you are currently under investigation or are expected to be under investigation shortly.

      Arthur Andersen did have a document retention/destruction policy and we were kept informed about it frequently. Where they got in trouble was doing it after investigations were started. Andersen was the second best job I've had (of about 6 since college). Only second to working for myself.

    14. Re:Enron and Arthur Andersen by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The sad thing is: no matter how much peace and democracy comes to the middle east, not matter how much the US economy improves, not matter how much the Bush energy plan actually reduces pollution and global warming emissions, no matter what happens in the real world, you'll never leave your pretend world where we have an evil emperor.

      Now, don't get me wrong, I'm all for living in a pretend world if that's what makes you happy, but living in a fantasy land JUST SO YOU CAN BE UNHAPPY is stupid beyond comprehension.

    15. Re:Enron and Arthur Andersen by lgw · · Score: 1

      Lay and Skilling aren't in prison (yet), but they haven't exactly benifitted from the scam. They were both rich before Enron was dirty, and are less rich now. Neither will ever work in their chosen field again. Sure, more punishment may be fitting, but give it time, the court cases are still underway.

      Certainly their auditors, who committed the biggest crime IMO, paid quite a price: you can bet that had a deterrent effect on other auditing companies!

      Vengence may be fun, but it's not the primary goal of the system. As a result of Enron and similar scandals, corporate officers are *really* paranoid about keeping the books honest today. That's a win for society overall.

      --
      Socialism: a lie told by totalitarians and believed by fools.
    16. Re:Enron and Arthur Andersen by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      Haliburton, hate, coke-head, oil buddies... can't you people give it the fscl up?
      Right on. Emphasize that Bush is a callow, corrupt, incompetent liar who dropped the ball on terrorism and created a tremendous deficit by giving extravagant tax cuts to his wealthy supporters. Everything else is a distraction.
    17. Re:Enron and Arthur Andersen by UranusReallyHertz · · Score: 1

      Since these crimes affect so many people so seroiously and are so hard to actually punish appropiatly, I feel that the law should just be that if a company goes bad due to illegal activities and an executive SHOULD have known about it he automatically goes to jail. No need to actually prove any knowledge. Sure this may be unfair but it would probably motivate executives to be a lot more vigilant!

      --
      Smoking is an expensive, slow, and unreliable method of suicide.
    18. Re:Enron and Arthur Andersen by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You both need to chill out, guys.

  3. First Post... by LuYu · · Score: 2, Interesting

    It is about damn time that Rambus got punished for this. They have been deceiving the court since the beginning. They also lied about pending patents. They should have all of their patents (even the ones unrelated to this case) revoked as punishment for their abuse of the patent system.

    --
    All data is speech. All speech is Free.
    1. Re:First Post... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I'm sure we'll all be interested in hearing what acts of "abuse" you're referring to.

    2. Re:First Post... by virgil_attack · · Score: 4, Funny

      I'm sure we all are. Since this is Slashdot however I find no need to back up my wild claims with solid facts.

      --
      Fascinating Entendre
    3. Re:First Post... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I think patents should be revoked for their abuse of the patent system.

      This message brought to you by cut 'n' pastie.

      We've got nothing to hide.

    4. Re:First Post... by nutshell42 · · Score: 1, Funny

      So -in business-speak- you just pulled a SCO?

      --
      Don't think of it as a flame---it's more like an argument that does 3d6 fire damage
    5. Re:First Post... by TheWanderingHermit · · Score: 5, Interesting

      First, it's about time. I worked as a videographer in 2000-2001, and taped MANY Rambus/Infineon depositions. I was glad to be in the know about what was going on, but after a while it got quite boring -- except in situations where a lawyer was questioning an expert. I remember one time an Infineon lawyer was questioning a Rambus hired expert and asked him what a flip-flop was. He answered a switch, then the lawyer asked him if it could be used as memory, and the expert (rightly, if you remember your electronics) said in some situations. After an hour, the lawyer still wasn't clear on what a flip-flop was, but the expert had answered every question accurately!

      It was pretty clear, from the beginning (I think one deposition I had to do one Saturday morning was the first in the case), that Rambus was trying to pull a fast one, but all the technicalities let them keep doing it. Unfortunately, the Infineon lawyers were, almost every single one, rude, pompous jerks that reminded me of Commandant Klink swaggering around like they were important and the Rambus lawyers are calm, polite, and great to work for. It was a shame to see the nice guys on the side I hoped would lose.

    6. Re:First Post... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Perhaps all the good engineers from Infineon had better things to do than attend this silly court process. (for example engineering real chips and not file new patents.)

    7. Re:First Post... by ch-chuck · · Score: 1

      I remember one time an Infineon lawyer was questioning a Rambus hired expert and asked him what a flip-flop was.

      I would have answered, "British slang for a bi-stable multivibrator".

      --
      try { do() || do_not(); } catch (JediException err) { yoda(err); }
    8. Re:First Post... by pizzaman100 · · Score: 1
      the Infineon lawyers were, almost every single one, rude, pompous jerks that reminded me of Commandant Klink...

      They're Germans, they could be descendants of Klink. ;)

    9. Re:First Post... by TheWanderingHermit · · Score: 1

      Actually, no -- and, honestly, the German connection was not in my mind when I wrote that (although the image of them swaggering around back when I worked with them may have had some connection to that). Infineon had hired a New York law firm to handle their case. The law firm for Infineon was from the Southwest, somewhere from Texas to California (don't remember exactly, and don't remember the firm names).

      I remember only one German, either as a lawyer or a witness. He was being questioned about a meeting. Even though it was an "official" meeting, and minutes were kept (and he had his notes, on VERY old floppies, he said), he couldn't remember anyone there and basically wouldn't admit to being there, or knowing what was going on. I forgot the details, but it was all I could do to keep from laughing. It was almost as bad as Clinton and his, "I did not have sex with that woman" thing -- I expected the German, at any moment, to start saying something like, "It depends on what the meaning of 'is' is."

      This German was much more like Sgt. Schultz -- except we all knew he knew exactly what he claimed he didn't know.

    10. Re:First Post... by TheWanderingHermit · · Score: 1

      I don't think that was an issue. I think all the people being deposed from Infineon were mid to high level management (iirc). I don't think there was a single tech guy from Infineon at all.

      The engineer that was there, that I mentioned, was not an employee, though. He was a hired expert witness.

    11. Re:First Post... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      Infineon had hired a New York law firm to handle their case. The law firm for Infineon was from the Southwest, somewhere from Texas to California


      What the fuck? Which is it? Texas or New York? Perhaps they hired both law firms? Please; get your shit together and let the rest of us know!

    12. Re:First Post... by Overzeetop · · Score: 1

      I thought it's what you wear to the beach.

      --
      Is it just my observation, or are there way too many stupid people in the world?
    13. Re:First Post... by mdielmann · · Score: 1

      It was a shame to see the nice guys on the side I hoped would lose.

      I had to read that twice before I realized that the nice guys you were referring to were the lawyers. Even now I'm not completely sure.

      --
      Sure I'm paranoid, but am I paranoid enough?
    14. Re:First Post... by TheWanderingHermit · · Score: 1

      Sorry. My bad (I just found out I'm running a 101 temp, so maybe I'm having trouble focusing). Infineon hired the New York firm. Rambus hired the one from the Southwest.

  4. in addition by em0te · · Score: 2, Interesting

    yeah, they shred documents only when litligation is brought about...but it's all just coincidence. so none of it should be taken into consideration.

    1. Re:in addition by ravenspear · · Score: 4, Interesting

      The stupid thing is, litigation was not "brought about." They brought the damn litigation! I guess they just didn't realize how stupid their claims were until the ridiculousness of it all became apparant in court. Then they probably shredded the documents to cover their ass, avoid countersuits, etc.

    2. Re:in addition by mcc · · Score: 1

      Then they probably shredded the documents to cover their ass, avoid countersuits, etc.

      Is this actually going to work?

      I mean, wouldn't the knowledge they shredded documents be about the worst thing possible for them in a countersuit?

      --
      Irritable, left-wing and possibly humorous bumper stickers and t-shirts
    3. Re:in addition by ravenspear · · Score: 2, Informative

      I mean, wouldn't the knowledge they shredded documents be about the worst thing possible for them in a countersuit?

      Not if the documents contained more incriminating evidence. It's certainly a indicator of duplicity but you can't convict someone based on the hearsay of "I think this is what was in those documents."

    4. Re:in addition by JPriest · · Score: 0

      Like pleading the 5th.

      --
      Saying Java is nice because it works on all OS's is like saying that anal sex is nice because it works on all genders.
    5. Re:in addition by em0te · · Score: 1

      "Hey, we need to get back in the game...Quick bring about easisly dismissed claims to get us in then news then tomrrow we'll release something and everyone will think we learned from our 'mistakes'".

  5. Rambus rhombus by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    well well, rambus is so not square?

    1. Re:Rambus rhombus by The+One+and+Only · · Score: 1

      A square is a rhombus, you insensitive clod!

      --
      In Repressive Burma, it's not just your connection that dies. slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=314547&cid=20819199
  6. I Guess I Should Say It... by teddy9876 · · Score: 2, Funny

    Chip's Ahoy !!

    1. Re:I Guess I Should Say It... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

      ...or you could use proper grammar and say "Chips ahoy!"

      I'm not sure what this obsession with apostrophes is all about, but it seems to be a common love..

    2. Re:I Guess I Should Say It... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      That would be syntax. Grammar is


      ... Nevermind. You're already too full of yourself enough to group all spelling, grammar, usage, syntax, punctuation, and simple wrong word usage as grammar.

    3. Re:I Guess I Should Say It... by Ziviyr · · Score: 1

      Mod me informative! :-)

      --

      Someone set us up the bomb, so shine we are!
    4. Re:I Guess I Should Say It... by Anarke_Incarnate · · Score: 1

      I do believe that proper punctuation is indeed a grammar issue and not a syntax issue. Syntax is relative to the chosen words and their relation to the surrounding ones. Grammar comes into play with proper tenses as well as punctuation et al.

  7. In other news... Rambus faces patent infringement by AthenianGadfly · · Score: 5, Funny

    Rambus faces a patent infringement suite from SCO for using their business model and becoming the "SCO(tm) of the chip world"

  8. I wouldn't worry by ravenspear · · Score: 1

    I don't think the USPTO has granted that one yet.

    Last time I checked M$ and SCO were both engaged in fierce competition over it, but so far neither had provided all of the requisite slush money to the appropriate people.

  9. Legal Section by nacturation · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I, for one, think it's about time the slash overlords created a Legal section. This really doesn't have anything to do with online rights. Similar to the Politics section, a Legal section would hold stories like these, SCO's machinations, and any other article where it's two companies duking it out in court and where my rights aren't affected.

    --
    Want to improve your Karma? Instead of "Post Anonymously", try the "Post Humously" option.
    1. Re:Legal Section by Duncan3 · · Score: 4, Funny

      I'm sure that's on their list right under "stop posting dupes"

      --
      - Adam L. Beberg - The Cosm Project - http://www.mithral.com/
    2. Re:Legal Section by Neophytus · · Score: 3, Insightful

      And rename YRO into just YR, because it's clear that general rights issues do have a place here.

    3. Re:Legal Section by Spy+Hunter · · Score: 2, Funny

      And get some better colors too, as long as we're dreaming that the Slashdot editors actually care what our opinions are.

      --
      main(c,r){for(r=32;r;) printf(++c>31?c=!r--,"\n":c<r?" ":~c&r?" `":" #");}
    4. Re:Legal Section by ravenspear · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Actually I doubt that's on the list at all. Taco has said that he doesn't really care that much about the dupe thing and he thinks people who constantly complain about dupes are dumb.

    5. Re:Legal Section by fbjon · · Score: 1
      And he is absolutely, perfectly right. If slashdot was a site with just a few readers, they'd be dupes. But slashdot is big enough for them to be reruns, for the people who missed the news.

      And more importantly:

      It's only a dupe if you're dumb enough to read it two times!

      --
      True confidence comes not from realising you are as good as your peers, but that your peers are as bad as you are.
    6. Re:Legal Section by capt.Hij · · Score: 2, Informative

      Judging from all the links on slashdot to groklaw I just assumed that groklaw is the legal section. Groklaw usually has the legal stories first with better commentary from a person who has a pretty good idea of the law. (Not that that ever mattered on slashdot...)

    7. Re:Legal Section by NicM · · Score: 1

      And, while we're dreaming, occasionally let their readership actually know what is going on with the site...

      Haven't seen any stories from michael lately.

    8. Re:Legal Section by Alomex · · Score: 3, Funny

      Ahh, the Unix philosophy: it's the users' fault.

      Is the story duplicated? It's the users' fault.

      Can't edit a story to correct a typo? It's the users' fault.

      Can't understand arcane command syntax? It's the users' fault.

    9. Re:Legal Section by Quattro+Vezina · · Score: 0, Offtopic

      *sigh*

      We don't need another section. Hell, the IT and Linux sections are superfluous--there's almost nothing in the main index anymore. We need less sections, not more.

      --
      I support the Center for Consumer Freedom
    10. Re:Legal Section by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Hey, so long as we're dreaming - how about a yearly "/. Blackjack and Hookers Night"?

    11. Re:Legal Section by cortana · · Score: 1

      Linking to Mirrordot instead of the actual site in story summaries would be cool as well.

    12. Re:Legal Section by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      What, then, would they post under "The Courts"?

    13. Re:Legal Section by WoodstockJeff · · Score: 1
      Why bother separating them, when the "new and improved" Slashcode won't let you exclude sections from your main page anymore? If they decide it's a feature article, it's going to show up in your list, no matter what your settings.

      The section only decides which horrid color scheme it will be displayed in...

  10. Appeal by alset_tech · · Score: 3, Interesting

    You would think that when a company destroys evidence they lose the right to appeal. These are the times in which we live.

    --
    Standing on the shoulders of giants.
    1. Re:Appeal by Keeper · · Score: 4, Insightful

      You are assuming that they did destroy evidence. If you lost the right to appeal a decision based on findings in that decision, you'd end up with a catch-22 type situation that could be abused.

      They'll get their appeal. If the appelete court finds nothing wrong with the lower courts decision, they'll lose. If the lower court erred, they'll get a do-over, and they'll win or lose on the merits.

    2. Re:Appeal by uglyduckling · · Score: 1
      they'll win or lose on the merits

      Faith is alive in 2005!!

    3. Re:Appeal by PoopJuggler · · Score: 0

      No fair. No do-overs!

    4. Re:Appeal by Overzeetop · · Score: 1

      You pronouce "merits" as "most money to burn on lawyers", right?

      --
      Is it just my observation, or are there way too many stupid people in the world?
    5. Re:Appeal by Keeper · · Score: 1

      I would submit that Rambus probably has the least amount of money to spend on lawyers among the parties involved in the suit ...

    6. Re:Appeal by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      You are assuming that they did destroy evidence. If you lost the right to appeal a decision based on findings in that decision, you'd end up with a catch-22 type situation that could be abused. They'll get their appeal. If the appelete court finds nothing wrong with the lower courts decision, they'll lose. If the lower court erred, they'll get a do-over, and they'll win or lose on the merits.

      You had me all the way til "and they'll win or lose on the merits". That's the ideal, but I no longer believe that big-biz court cases are decided on merits. Indeed, I find the term "merits" almost an oxymoron when used in the sphere of so-called "intellectual property". But I agree that Rambus should have the right to appeal, for the reasons you lay out.

  11. Litigation by DenDave · · Score: 2, Insightful

    I think that consumers who own systems with rambus rimms should file a class action suit for damages incurred due to non-upgradability.. I have a buddy with Dell Systems stuck with 128 mb of ram 'cuz local vendors (dell included) no longer ship rimms...

    Sue the Fockers...

    --
    -if at first you don't succeed, stay the heck away from paragliding.
    1. Re:Litigation by Associate · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Buyer beware.
      I can't sue IBM because they soldered the procs into their early mother boards.

      --
      Someone hates these cans.
    2. Re:Litigation by Dachannien · · Score: 1

      I guess you could call that a rimm job.

    3. Re:Litigation by Detritus · · Score: 2, Informative
      Are your friends too lazy to use google to search for vendors?

      I've bought them from http://memorysuppliers.com in the past. They're available. They work. You might not like the price when compared to more mainstream products, but those are the breaks.

      --
      Mea navis aericumbens anguillis abundat
    4. Re:Litigation by Tim+C · · Score: 0

      Should I sue Sony because my old Betamax VCR is now all-but useless due to the non-availability of Betamax tapes?

      --
      It's official. Most of you are morons.
    5. Re:Litigation by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      I've bought them from http://memorysuppliers.com in the past.
      ROFL!! where d'ya get the time machine?
    6. Re:Litigation by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      >> I guess you could call that a rimm job.

      /rimm-shot

    7. Re:Litigation by DenDave · · Score: 1
      Should I sue Sony
      Without a doubt! Actually you got an economic lifetime out of the device.. not exactly what can be said about rimm-jobs as someone here elegantly put it..
      --
      -if at first you don't succeed, stay the heck away from paragliding.
    8. Re:Litigation by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      No lawsuit for you!

      (Yes, I know you were being sarcastic. I just wanted to see if you really could buy Betamax tapes :)

    9. Re:Litigation by Zemplar · · Score: 1

      Apparently your buddys never heard of "www.eBay.com"

    10. Re:Litigation by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I have one of those Dell machines. Dell support still has RIMMs for sale for my motherboard. So did a local (Raleigh, NC) computer shop, where they were much cheaper. Although I still paid around $120 each for two 256 RIMMs. I'd love to know where the earlier posted found 512MB RIMMs at $120. That's almost half the lowest of the low internet prices out there.

    11. Re:Litigation by SkankhodBeeblebrox · · Score: 2, Informative

      No offense, but you, sir, are a moron.

      I am a proud owner of an Asus P4T-E (with an i850 chipset), w/ 1gb of PC800 RDRAM memory. I specifically chose RDRAM when I built the machine back in 2001, because the only other choice at the time was DDR-200/266 w/ the original i845 chipset, or PC133 w/ the same chipset. (if you recall, performance of the original i845 was less than spectactular)

      All of my friends questioned my choice of RDRAM when building my system, saying I wouldn't be able to overclock (which i was, easily, P4 1.6a @ 2.3ghz w.o. any fantastic cooling solutions) and that I wouldn't be able to use that same memory when I upgraded (I haven't upgraded yet, but many of them have, and guess what? They purchased new 'go faster' DDR sticks when they bought their new board/cpu...)

      As for your buddy being stuck w/ 128mb of RDRAM because of no local availability... Have you heard of this website called 'eBay'?? I hear it's quite nifty.

      Oh, by the way... Dell still sells RDRAM

    12. Re:Litigation by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      Should I sue Sony because my old Betamax VCR is now all-but useless due to the non-availability of Betamax tapes?

      While I agree the grandparent post is stupid, your analogy doesn't work because Sony didn't do anything bordering on fraud and you can tell get Betamax tapes.

    13. Re:Litigation by DenDave · · Score: 2, Funny

      LOL
      What starts out a sarcastic jest turns into a flame war..
      Actually in some countries rimms are extremely hard to come by and they are disproportionatly expensive.
      C'mon, folks, rimms suck ass (ROFL) and so does the consortium who frauded on them!
      And yep, I am sure you could get a rimm on ebay.. if it hadn't been for ebay banning services you could probably get a rimm job..LOL!! Oh oh.. this is going awry .. next AC post will probably tell us who this has to do with a man and his goat.. ROFL!! LMAO!!

      --
      -if at first you don't succeed, stay the heck away from paragliding.
    14. Re:Litigation by HouseOfMisterE · · Score: 1

      It is odd that your friend can't find RDRAM for his Dell. I bought 512MB PC800 RDRAM (2x256MB modules) from a vendor on Pricewatch.com about 6 weeks ago. Memory was used to upgrade a Dell Dimension 8100 that originally shipped with 128MB. Oh, and I just now checked Dell's website. They most certainly do sell, and presumably ship, RDRAM memory upgrades (from PC800 to PC1066).

    15. Re:Litigation by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Actually: http://accessories.euro.dell.com/sna/DellItemsProd uctListing.aspx?Page=DellItemsProductListing.aspx& spagenum=1&items_per_page=25&orderby=&sortdirectio n=&image_flag=True&show_summary=True&category_id=4 325&brandid=&sku=&mnfsku=&SearchType=&Pageb4Search =&ModelSelection=29984&iCompatid=&selectiontypeids =&l=nl&c=nl&cs=nldhs1&SubmitSearch=&servicetag=&re set=True&k=&mnf=&prst=&prEnd=&InStock=&refurbished =&fe= in dutchland they don't

    16. Re:Litigation by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      http://accessories.euro.dell.com/sna/search.aspx?s =dhs&cat=snp&c=nl&l=nl&cs=nldhs1&category_id=2999& k=rimm
      They do! But check those prices... *whooosy*

    17. Re:Litigation by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yes. It is all about the goatse man... wanna see?

  12. leftist loser slashdotters by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Troll

    here we go again, same old crap about patents.

    get over it. They are here to stay, and the sooner you realise it, the better.

    From your friendly patent attorney.

  13. Read as Infinium.... by tod_miller · · Score: 0

    Then wonders why RAMBUS would be worried about suing a non-existent company!

    SCO, Infinium, in the same story, that would have been wierd!

    Sorry I should read slashdot more often... (is this good or bad news? I forget which side to cheer for sometimes!)

    --
    #hostfile 0.0.0.0 primidi.com 0.0.0.0 www.primidi.com 0.0.0.0 radio.weblogs.com
  14. Re:What is the problem by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
    As well the chip should.

    For the chip lives in the greatest country in the world. And he is exercising his rights under the constitution.

    FREE THE CHIP !!

  15. Priceless? by PornMaster · · Score: 3, Funny

    512MB R-DRAM RIMM - $120
    Legal fees to enforce your patent - $350000
    Being left out in the cold and compared to SCO - Priceless.

    --
    500GB of disk, 5TB of transfer, $5.95/mo
    1. Re:Priceless? by DarkMantle · · Score: 1

      Yeah, but remember, you need to run RDRAM in pairs. :s I made the mistake of getting a P4 with RDRAM. It was hard to find more for an upgrade. (Makes a good server tho)

      --
      DarkMantle I been bored, so I started a blog.
  16. Oh no! by null+etc. · · Score: 4, Funny
    "The patent infringement claim by Rambus, the SCO of the chip world, against Infineon have been dismissed by a judge in Virginia due to Rambus destroying documents relating to the lawsuit." Of course, Rambus is already planning an appeal, so this may not be over just yet.

    Man, I really hope they win the appeal. I'd hate to see them lose their ability to innovate.

  17. Re:Did they registered SCO..., by SolitaryMan · · Score: 1

    I wonder, did they register word "SCO" in relation with "evil"? SCO can sue this poor guy for writing this kind of stuff!

    --
    May Peace Prevail On Earth
  18. Rambus is not the SCO of the chip world... by sopuli · · Score: 1

    ...if they were, their shares would have gone up on this news.

  19. Slightly offtopic.... by Mercury2k · · Score: 1

    I know that this is slightly offtopic, but am I the only one that is getting sick of all the appeals? I am beginning to think that an appeal should be an automatic thing. After all, everybody else does it, why not just make it mandatory?

    My $0.02

    1. Re:Slightly offtopic.... by lokedhs · · Score: 2, Interesting

      It is pretty much standard practice in high-profile cases, which is why you notice them all the time. However, crimes such as speeding and rarely appealed. But then again, they don't end up on the front page of slashdot either.

  20. Ram busted by harvey+the+nerd · · Score: 4, Insightful

    It's about time. The courts need to begin to seriously sanction deceiptful and fraudulent behavior, otherwise, Chaos. This is a minimal sanction. Surely the judge recognized the previous fraud conviction, tossed but..., as well as clear document destruction makes this a no brainer. At all levels - Court of Appeals, Supremes, GWB, Congress - I think Rambus' credibility is SCO'd. Busted Rambus! Stick to your own inventions next time please.

    1. Re:Ram busted by forgetful_ca · · Score: 2

      Well, they *really* did invent the technology that they're protesting about. The trouble is, iirc, that they hoodwinked the rest of the industry into copying it just far enough before they split the consortium. (And commenced suing.)

      I wonder just how much money is involved. Other ram makers just caved in and started paying the royalties. Infinium didn't, but must maintain this ad nauseum court action. I wonder who's further ahead?

  21. OT: CmdrPot, meet kettle by Platinum+Dragon · · Score: 5, Insightful

    he thinks people who constantly complain about dupes are dumb.

    Oh really?

    I think dupes, especially ones posted within the space of a day, are an indication that the editors are not even reading their own site. There have been numerous recent examples of editors failing to check for working links and at least ensuring a hint of accuracy in submission text, along with proper attribution, before posting. If they're going to take the time to post something on a page viewed by millions, they can take a few extra minutes to make sure it isn't crap, or posted two hours earlier and three items down the page. Otherwise, wtf are they doing all day?

    Really, if the editors/authors can't live up to their self-granted titles, and can't give the viewing community--which is helping pay for the site either through ad views or subscriptions--a greater degree of oversight that they won't do themselves, I see no reason to ever subscribe. As it is, I'm pretty close to mapping slashdot.org to 127.0.0.1 in my hosts file and staying away for a while.

    --

    Someday, you're going to die. Get over it.
    1. Re:OT: CmdrPot, meet kettle by g0at · · Score: 1

      I agree. But over the past few years, I've come to the conclusion that the site management and "editors" are idiots and just don't give a fuck about what their readers think. Running a quality web log is just not a priority. So none of our complaining is going to change it. The only thing to which they might take notice is if everybody leaves, and /. stops getting any hits. Of course, that will never happen.

      -b

      --
      myselfmusic
    2. Re:OT: CmdrPot, meet kettle by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

      Slashdot has no real competition so there really isn't much incentive for the quality of service to improve. Most of the slashdot experience comes from flaming people on message boards so it doesn't matter that much that the story postings are low quality. The most important thing is that they generate discussion.

    3. Re:OT: CmdrPot, meet kettle by Speare · · Score: 2, Interesting

      I think it would be more appropriate to send your comments to CmdrTaco's bosses. It reflects poorly on all of the OSTG sites, to allow it to be run with such a cavalier attitude toward fairness, accuracy, and craftsmanship. CmdrTaco may have started the site as a "whatever I want" blog, but now it's got a life of its own, a responsibility to the community, and he's got a boss to whom he answers.

      --
      [ .sig file not found ]
    4. Re:OT: CmdrPot, meet kettle by Cigarra · · Score: 1

      Let me guess: You do complain constantly about dupes!

      --
      I don't have a sig.
    5. Re:OT: CmdrPot, meet kettle by Jason+Earl · · Score: 1

      Slashdot has no real competition so there really isn't much incentive for the quality of service to improve. Most of the slashdot experience comes from flaming people on message boards so it doesn't matter that much that the story postings are low quality. The most important thing is that they generate discussion.

      Fah, Slashdot has piles of competition. The reality is that the only people that care about dupes are the type of people that spend all day clicking on /. so that they can get a first post, or alternatively the type of people that act like a duplicate story is the end of the world and spend all their time writing on the message boards about how we already discussed this subject.

      Interestingly enough these folks never seem to just *go away*, and they always have plenty to say.

    6. Re:OT: CmdrPot, meet kettle by ChaosDiscord · · Score: 1
      As it is, I'm pretty close to mapping slashdot.org to 127.0.0.1 in my hosts file and staying away for a while.

      Close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades. Taco's right, constantly complaining about dupes is dumb. Dupes have been part of Slashdot for a long, long time. If you're repeatedly complaining you're a fool. After all, you keep coming back, so clearly it isn't bad enough and Taco has no incentive to change anything. Spending the additional time to reduce the number of dupes has no significant benefit to him or Slashdot.

      One suggestion is fine; a steady stream of suggestions from different people might change his mind. Deciding you can't stand dupes and not returning is another reasonable option. Complaining repeatedly is just silly. Your post says you can't stand it, but your repeated visits say you can't stand to leave.

      --
      Search 2010 Gen Con events
    7. Re:OT: CmdrPot, meet kettle by adric · · Score: 1
      That's Cowboy Kettle, you insensitive clod!!!

      (sorry... couldn't resist. ;-)

      --
      not plane, nor bird, nor even frog...
    8. Re:OT: CmdrPot, meet kettle by Platinum+Dragon · · Score: 1

      Your post says you can't stand it, but your repeated visits say you can't stand to leave.

      Ah, the old "put up or shut up" argument, or "love it or leave it".

      I've been a pretty regular visitor for, I think, five or so years now. In that time, I've watched it go from a heavily-visited geek site with influence and a vibrant community to Yet Another Tech Portal. It wouldn't be so bad if the editors seemed as interested in posting articles and coming up with fun new enhancements as they once did. However, I get the impression that some of the old-timers are tired of the whole thing, and less care is being taken in article selection and responsibility.

      I still visit to read the comments, but there has been a definite upsurge in complaints aimed at the editors in comments beyond the usual troll warz and the anti-slash jihad. If the paid staff don't seem as interested in providing a high-quality website, doing what I suppose many visitors here (not necessarily myself) would consider a dream job, then that lack of interest is going to generate a similar reaction among the users.

      That said, perhaps it is time for me to say goodbye for a while and see how things are in a few months. The parent comments make it pretty clear that Taco and crew are unresponsive to repeated complaints, even ones that have become pathetic running jokes which reflect negatively on the editors.

      G'bye for now, Slashdot. Hope something gets through to the editors before too many more users are alienated.

      --

      Someday, you're going to die. Get over it.
    9. Re:OT: CmdrPot, meet kettle by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Ever watch the popular media? They are doing multiple dupes per hour.

      Well, my point is: They are successful media.

    10. Re:OT: CmdrPot, meet kettle by iminplaya · · Score: 1

      If Slashdot stops getting any hits, the company will simply turn it off. No skin off their backs. We're probably fortunate that they've kept it up this long. So Slashdot dies, and another one pops up(get it?). It does appear that the maintainers are losing interest. This is how the Howard Beal show died. The investers are the thing. Viewers and subscribers? Bah!

      --
      What?
  22. Damn by dilby · · Score: 3, Funny

    I'd be scared if I was the judge...Oh wait sorry Rambus not Rambo's. Silly me.

    --
    This post patent pending.
    1. Re:Damn by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

      >Oh wait sorry Rambus not Rambo's

      it's ok. Put the crack pipe down, then we can help you

  23. Mushkin by Kobun · · Score: 0

    http://www.mushkin.com/ is your best friend in the whole world, maybe. I know they're mine. I'm so lonely...

  24. Double-duped by phorm · · Score: 1

    Actually, to be fair I don't mind dupes. If a story was up a week or a month ago sometimes it gives us a chance to discuss it fresh. However, all dupes are not created equal. Having a dupe story created within one day/hour of the original just shows laziness, and double-duping (a dupe of a dupe) is even more annoying.

  25. I for one am glad. by Benanov · · Score: 1, Funny

    So I guess the "RIMM JOB" is over and done with?

    >:D

  26. basic grammar. by /dev/trash · · Score: 1

    "The patent infringement claim by Rambus, the SCO of the chip world, against Infineon have"

    The patent infringement claim HAS not HAVE.

  27. Re:In other news... Rambus faces patent infringeme by sconeu · · Score: 3, Funny

    I think Rambus has the prior art.

    --
    General Relativity: Space-time tells matter where to go; Matter tells space-time what shape to be.
  28. Re:In other news... Rambus faces patent infringeme by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

    As much as I dislike Rambus, they really don't deserve to be in the same category as SCO. Rambus at least creates something themselves, even if they don't produce what they create.

    Rambus tricked a standards organization into accepting its patent-pending technology. While that is a dirty trick, Rambus did put in a lot of the work in creating the technology.

    OTOH, SCO is attempting to claim the work of thousands of others as its own by deliberately misreading a few ancient contracts. Neither they nor any of their supposed predecessors in interest had anything to do with the enhancements to Linux and AIX that IBM created that SCO now purports to control.

    Both companies are trying to use their "IP" to wring money out of other companies, but really SCO is so much worse.

  29. Under the first instance of stop posting dupes by blueZ3 · · Score: 1

    or the second?

    or the third?

    --
    Interested in a Flash-based MAME front end? Visit mame.danzbb.com
  30. Don't buy PS3 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    If you really want to stick it to Rambus, don't buy into PS3. The last thing we need is their litigation coffers full of Sony royalties.

  31. Some equalities by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
    You know the rule in math that says A=B, B=C, therefore A=C?

    Okay, so we know Rambus=SCO, and of course, SCO=douchebags. So Rambus=Douchebags.

    Then again, SCO aren't trying to sue, then destroying evidence. So perhaps that should be Rambus>Douchebags.

  32. Re:In other news... Rambus faces patent infringeme by vingt · · Score: 1

    becoming the "SCO(tm) of the chip world

    Wow. I read that as SCrO(tum) of the chip world". Apt.

  33. Not always true by trigggl · · Score: 1
    I'm running an i820 board with a slot 1, adapter populated by a P3 1 gig processor. Rambus is a serial memory that only needs to be in pairs on boards with dual Rambus memory busses. The P4 boards generally have 2 or 4 busses to help compete with the DDR boards. My board only has one serial bus which makes my 800 MHz board only slightly faster than a PC100 board. I used to have a pair of 64 Meg sticks in the board for 128 Meg, then I finally shopped ebay for a 256 Meg stick to replace one of the 64's with. So, now I have a 256 and a 64 on the board for 320 Meg total. It's a rare thing to find a P3 board that accepts Rambus and now that I have one, I can see why. The memory is too expensive and unless you shop for used stuff, you have to buy them in pairs. On the other hand, single sticks on ebay are much cheaper than pairs! :-D

    So, other than ebay, where do I find these phantom $125 sticks of 512 Meg?

    --
    Ops, I shuld have usd the prevuwe but in.