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Stallman Critical of OSDL Patent Project
PatPending writes to mention a News.com article about Richard Stallman's objections to the OSDL patent project. He argues that the project may actually be 'worse than nothing', as it will undermine certain legal tactics. From the article: "'Thus, our main chance of invalidating a patent in court is to find prior art that the Patent Office has not studied,' Stallman wrote. Second, patent applicants could use the prior art uncovered by the OSDL to write patent claims that simply avoid the technologies used in the tagged software. 'The Patent Office is eager to help patent applicants do this,' Stallman wrote. Finally, he wrote, a 'laborious half measure' such as the Open Source as Prior Art project could divert attention from the real problem: that software is patentable in the first place."
if for no other reason than he hasn't (to the best of my knowledge) been wrong yet. In any prediction. Ever.
"640K is more memory than anyone will ever need" - Richard Stallman, 9/14/1988
If an emu defecates on your azaleas, do you run for President, or do you weep for all humanity?
Toronto-area transit rider? Rate your ride.
"We're gonna build this thing called HURD, and it's gonna be just like Unix, only it'll be GNU, and it's gonna run great and there will be developers and users and all that other stuff that real operating systems have." - Richard Stallman
...but with blackjack? And hookers?
Yeah, that's when Stallman said "In fact, forget the kernel!" and so we all had to use Linux instead.
Dude, cloning existing good software, assigning it a 0.1 version number, giving it away for nothing, and telling everyone they should be using the clone instead is what Open Source is all about.
So would I.
Ignore this signature. By order.
So, let's get the analogies straight: it's like if someone started a fire inside my computer, would I rather pour water on it or strengthen the fireproof sprinklers inside the computer?
Or is it more like starting a fire in my house without locks on the doors or windows?
Or, wait, maybe it's like setting my lock on fire and waiting for a bunch of people or organizations to pour water into new fireproofing techniques?
Or maybe it's more like a car where the hood is welded shut and a fire starts inside it and you have the Jaws of Life but no one is inside the car?
Or maybe it's like Blockbuster video but instead of renting things you set them on fire and the drama section is like Linux and the horror section is like Microsoft and the movie candy and paraphernalia at the counter are like prior art and your Blockbuster card is like software patents?
Oh! Maybe it's like a store where you set the merchandise on fire, but then you can rent it but still not own it, but if you buy the merchandise on fire, you can keep a man warm for his whole life?
I'm confused...
Did you ever notice that *nix doesn't even cover Linux?
Apparently 640K wasn't enough memory for the calculation to finish correctly.
I split the difference and weep for the Presidency.
Actually, I lost the exact code I sent out, but here's the original template I wrote. The Python program I wrote when my youngest daughter was born actually compiled and ran.
/* Ouch, that hurt */ /* Ounces */
---- baby.c ----
/* This code is distributable under the terms of the GPL. However, I *
* retain full rights to its output for up to eighteen years. */
#include <stdio.h>
#include <stdlib.h>
#include <unistd.h>
void main()
{
void *a = malloc((size_t) weight);
sleep(270 * 24 * 60 * 60);
if (fork())
{
free(a);
my.weight -= 20;
wait();
}
else
{
my.length = 18; /* Inches */
my.weight = 101;
printf("Hello, world!\n");
}
}
--------
Dewey, what part of this looks like authorities should be involved?