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Blackberry Future Uncertain
Dave White writes "Research In Motion and NTP have failed to reach a settlement in the Blackberry case. It looks like the door has been opened for NTP to be granted an injunction blocking the sales of Blackberry wireless messaging devices in the US. The New York Times (free registration yadda yadda) has the scoop on this interesting development."
We need a hundred of these types of losses -- where patents directly affect the public. Let the public get comfortable using a very necessary and nice technology, and then let some crappy company come out of nowhere and extort their way into an injunction and removal of the widget from the marketplace. The company (RIM in this case) should then perform a recall on all devices that infringe on that patent - notifying the users of their equipment exactly WHY they are being forced to give up their Blackberries.
Then we'll see how long it takes to reform the patent system!
"To make a mistake is only human; to persist in a mistake is idiotic." Cicero
Doesn't matter -- the Treo 650 is killing the Blackberry anyway. Once I found I could manage my servers with PalmVNC on the Treo, that was it for me.
Well Tom, in the real world, you need to have the ability to work under pressure. You need to be a well rounded person that can admit that you don't know everything.
That's what the RIM interview is meant to test, along with technical knowledge, they want to know if you are actually capable of working in the real world. You could be a genius in your specific area, but if you don't listen to your supervisor simply because he's not as specialised as you are, then you would be a useless employee.
I used to work at RIM (back when they only owned 2 buildings). They are not a bunch of smartass punks, they're a bunch of intelligent people looking to hire other people who are intelligent and not smartasses such as yourself (I'm basing this on your own admission to your behaviour in the interview, if you say that to the interviewer, what will you say to your boss?). A few words of advice, if you think you're all that, and RIM's interview process upset you, I wouldn't recommend applying to Microsoft or Google, or any big tech company... they make everyone do puzzles... and not every interviewer is as specialised as you are, that's why they're looking for someone with those skills. But I guess that would have required some sort of thought process outside of crypto-math to figure out... my bad...
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Programming is like sex... Make one mistake and support it the rest of your life.
The thing is, they have to give you a bunch of extra tests during the interview. They are just trying to find the best person for a job. Granted, I find many employers take a little far, but they are just looking out for their own interestes. I'm sure most companies have ran into a problem of hiring completely the wrong person after a not thorough enough interview process. They put you through a series of tests, in order to see not only if you can do the job, but also handle the pressure. This is important when you are working on a project that may have strict deadlines. The other, and probably most important thing they are looking for, is how well they will get along with you when working with you. They want to make sure you don't have a bad temper, and will be in a good mood on most days. The only thing worse than working with someone who has no idea what they are doing, is working with someone who's always pissed off, Or for that matter, someone whos personality just conflicts with the rest of the team, no matter the reason.
Anthropic principle: We see the universe the way it is because if it were different we would not be here to see it.
Final talks in a patent infringement lawsuit involving the popular BlackBerry e-mail messaging device have reached an impasse, the two companies involved said Thursday, raising the possibility that the BlackBerry service could be banned from the United States market.
What I don't get is how the Blackberry, being so popular with members of our legislature, wound up on the wrong side of a patent lawsuit. To wit: Legislative Branch Subcommittee Hearing on the FY05 Budget [2004]:
In the past two years, the Senate provided BlackBerry devices and updated electronic pagers to Senators and key staff. The number of BlackBerry devices in use at the Senate continues to expand. Every office has a Senate "Group Alert" telephone system and approximately 1,000 telephones throughout the Senate are connected to the System.
Can't imagine someone informing members of the Senate they have to turn in their favourite devices because they're no longer legal.
but a Blackberry is the only mobile device that actually adds-value to wireless communications. Really... who needs a cameraphone to communicate? Do we need MP3phones?
It is time for the US Gov't to use the power of Imminent Domain to put this rights case in the hands of the common good.
That's because the point of getting you to do puzzle is to see how well you handle wierd situations and/or a changing environment. Also shows how creative you are I guess, and how good of a team player you are (you'll be up for any challenges, regardless how ridiculous it is?) Some people would of probably acted very puzzled (no pun intended) towards being asked to assmble one, which would of not been the reaction the interviewer was looking for.
PS: Battery life is more like 5 days (although the site says 8) of standby, and 3hrs of talktime
RIM is an allright company and for folks like me in Canada, the only decent company where I could work. Now some stupid little american company is gonna hit on my employment. And that other company in Redmond is in the fray as well. How can a keyboard on a mobile device be proprietary to anyone ? isn't it part of say, common sense, or part of natural evolution of technology. Rot in hell NTP. But why did RIM have to depend on a proprietary hardware device anywayz...what's so innovative about THAT ? Rest in Peace RIM.
I'd like to see a law passed that says that while you may be granted a patent on an invention or idea, if you fail to produce a viable product based on it, the patent only lasts half as long.
Too many companies seem to be using their patents as blocking mechanisms to keep competitors out, or as a way to extort money from other, larger, firms.
Chip H.
Yesterday evening, I have attended to a play in Paris. My neighbor could not wait for the end of the play or for the interval: he had to check his blackberry often... Some blackberry users become slaves. I hope for them that 'blackberry' will disappear...
le souvenir d'une certaine image n'est que le regret d'un certain instant (M.Proust)
1. Dream up and outlandish idea you have no clue how to implement and patent in obscure wording
2. Go into coporate hybernation and wait until someone much smarter implements idea.
3. Sue smarter company for all their hardwork and ingenuity.
4. Profit!!!
I hate parasites.
The cancel button is your friend. Do not hesitate to use it.
Yeah, we understood every word of that. Completly coherent. ;)
Mobile friendly? Well, for reading...
I'm originally from Waterloo, Ontario, where RIM is located. They've grown at an incredible rate in recent years, but not in an "we'll eat your soul" kind of way. They've reinvested strongly in the community, and have donated a TON of cash to charity and other ventures. For example, the founder of RIM donated $100M to found The Perimeter Institute, a theoretical physics center where researchers and eggheads can basically sit around and think about cool stuff without worrying about budgetary or governmental pressures. A lot of what I see from RIM reminds me very much of Google. Become an industry leader, and STAY an industry leader for the right reasons. This story makes me somewhat sad, as the company suing them appears to have been "created" specifically for this reason, and they don't actually create anything that benefits anyone, except lawsuits that benefit themselves.e n/
Perimeter Institute can be found here:
http://www.perimeterinstitute.com/index.php?lang=
If you're ever in Waterloo, I suggest you check it out. One of the coolest buildings I've ever seen.
How is this insightful? I'm a Ph.D. computer scientist with more than 20 years computing experience in a variety of areas. I have a long list of employers who will talk glowingly about my problem-solving skills. If RIM or Google or Microsoft or whoever tried to give me a puzzle-solving test in a job interview at this point in my career, I'd walk out.
One of my closest friends walked out of Sequent on this basis some years ago. He's now one of the most successful (and employable) computer people in the industry. As for Sequent...dead dead dead. Speaking of which, how is RIM doing these days?
Puzzle-solving tests in interviews may be appropriate for folks who haven't already solidly demonstrated their problem-solving skills in their application domain in some other way. For the rest of us, IMHO it's really a bit insulting; on the order of a hazing exercise. A certain class of manager will predictably reject folks who are unwilling to be hazed. I don't have much interest in working for those folks.
Again, since it has to be said, the test is mostly not about your problem solving skills. From what you've said, you probably could solve the tests but it is your attitude that you're above doing what your (potential) employer asks you to do. Your expertise can likely be found elsewhere and as a small employer I'd rather have an employee that attacks a challenge than one that doesn't care all that much.
As to Sequent, both Google and Microsoft give these tests and they seem to be doing ok so there doesn't seem to be cause/effect between giving tests and not doing so.
It's about those that still have the spark and those that don't. It seems you've lost yours.
I have to agree... the idea of puzzles at an interview is insulting, and doesn't tell you anything about an applicant's ability to the the job.
There are many problems with doing a puzzle, anyway. What if you're not good at the type of puzzle, or hate puzzles, or your brain is a little fried after bad traffic getting to your interview? Now you're cast aside because while you can write great algorithms, you have trouble figuring out some stupid gimmicky puzzle on the spot.
This just makes it harder for people to get their foot in the door, and harder for an established person to get into a company. It might not kill a company, but it will keep out some of the best employees. This means that eventually, your competition will eat you alive.