Slashdot Mirror
Microsoft's Bold Patent Move
theodp writes "On Thursday, the USPTO disclosed that Microsoft has a patent pending for displaying numbers in a box to make them stand out. " Check out the images to see the power of this breakthrough patent. That's almost impossible to do without patents.
I'm sure they are working on a patent that covers the process of applying for a patent.
One of the inventors is named -
Thiti Wang-Aryattawanich
I'd just like to know his nickname, is all...
You can't talk about Wikipedia's flaws on Wikipedia
Yep, this is right up there with the Lempel Ziv algorithms, definitely not something that could be done easily with a regex.
I am now dumber for the effort.
Great...thanks a lot. Now I've got the new Clutch song, "10001110101" stuck in my head...
Procrastination -- because good things come to those who wait.
Has anyone come up with a patent for bringing down a website by posting a link to it on another website and counting on thousands and thousands of people to click through, thus generating high but perfectly legal traffic?
If not, I'm filling out my forms right now, and someone around here's gonna owe me a lot of money.
-- The reason it's called the right wing? Irony.
Does it highlight the word 'thousand'. You young whippersnappers, you think you know it all. But it took billions of dollars for MS to figure out how to highlight numbers written as words.
Doesn't it make you feel good to know that our freedoms are protected by politicans, lawyers and journalists.
My guess is that the submitter looked at the pretty pictures and jumped to conclusions.
/. poster would ever do such a thing! Especially not if his first glance at the story could show microsoft in a bad light. /.'s fact checking department.
No
And even if a poster did such a thing, it would never get through
I wish Slashdot would put a "Fuck Microsoft" button on the comment submittal page - it would save sooo much time for all of us.
No folly is more costly than the folly of intolerant idealism. - Winston Churchill
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I can't really tell if the purpose of this post was actually to bash Microsoft, or an elaborate DDOS plot to take out the Patent system by putting a link to its website labeled "microsoft bad" on slashdot.
I've just patented using letters to form words.
That's right. For example, the military holds a patent on "A gene present in an Ancient space-faring culture, that is used as a security device for preventing alien access to sensitive technological equipment."
;-)
The claims made are:
"By inserting the gene into a compatible host via a retrovirus, that host becomes capable of using and activating advanced equipment left behind by our now dead anscestors who just happened to invent the Latin language."
I mean, does that sound rediculous or what? The patent office should go back to requiring working models of an invention as proof!
Javascript + Nintendo DSi = DSiCade
It may look ugly but it's quite simple.
Aren't the two mutually exclusive?
Of course it runs NetBSD. BTC: 1NT7QvbetmANwaMzhpVL6
The headline was generated using Microsoft's new technology for highlighting any words referring to 'numbers'. Course, there are still a couple bugs to be worked out.
Note to self: Never sign any public petition for fear of being stalked by creepy people on the net or their friends with access to Google.
If it's for-profit but free, you're not the customer -- you're the product (e.g., the Slashdot Beta's "audience").
I've got some bad news and some good news.
The bad news is that the USPTO granted Microsoft assanine patent.
The good news is that we slashdotted the USPTO (and I just saved a bundle on my car insurance)
-- If you try to fail and succeed, which have you done? - Uli's moose
It may look ugly but it's quite simple.
Aren't the two mutually exclusive?
It's Perl we are talking about here...
Stupidity is an equal opportunity striker.
Fellow slashdotter Bill Dog
Heh. A close friend of mine is a Canadian patent examiner. A month or two ago, I got an email basically complaining about how the USPTO site was slow. Coincidentally, there was a /. story on patents on the front page. A couple of weeks later, same thing happened. I mentioned it this time and /. gained a new casual reader.
Not 5 minutes ago, I recieved an email consisting of, and I quote, "Goddamned slashdot linked the USPTO again during work hours, guess I'm staying late today..."
I assert reality.
I'm with the other AC. Kill the bastards.
:P)
(No offense to any aforementioned bastards in the audience.
Homme petit d'homme petit, s'attend, n'avale
Hell, no, they aren't mutually exclusive.
Look at George Bush.
Richard Steven Hack - This sig is TOO GODDAMN SHORT TO DO ANYTHING USEFUL WITH! MORONS!
4. The method of claim 3, wherein the numerical data may be expressed in any of a plurality of natural languages.
At least binary and hex are still safe!
That is fucking beautiful, man.
Biggest lies ever told (apologies for off-color reference):
1. The check is in the mail
2. Don't worry, I won't come in your mouth
3. We're from the government and we're here to help
4. This patent is only for defense
ACHTUNG! Das computermachine ist nicht fuer gefingerpoken und mittengrabben. Ist nicht fuer gewerken bei das dumpkopfen.
they have a fact checking department.. can i meet them.. i have a few tools of distruction that they forgot to put on last weeks poll
'...if only "Jumping to a Conclusion" was an event in the Olympics.'
I for one welcome our new number-highlighting overlords.
Wait a second... Yiddish spelling Nazi?!?!?!
Godwin's law strikes again!
Uhhh, This thread's over now.
Yo mama's so ugly....
A perl regular expression beat her in a beauty contest!
No it isn't. Although, to be fair, it does have exceptional support for write only programmers
Don't let THEM immanentize the Eschaton!
i had that idea before you. my lawyers will contact you.
Next week, Microsoft will patent numbers, period.
http://home.att.net/~jbcole/humor/Microsoft_patent s.htm
It puts the lotion on it's skin, or else it gets the hose again.