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CueCat Patent Granted, Finally

Posted by timothy on from the you-lose-even-if-you-win dept.

RobertB-DC writes "Who could forget the :CueCat, the amazing device that would bring 'convergence' between the real world and the online marketing Utopia of the late '90s? Belo, the Dallas-based newspaper and TV conglomerate, spent millions of dollars on the project, only to be ridiculed from the start and eventually becoming a sort of poster kitty for the Dot-Com Bust. Well, the device's inventor and chief cheerleader, J. Jovan Philyaw, didn't forget. His patent application, in progress since 1998, has finally been granted. The story comes from a Dallas alternative weekly, since the local Belo paper is still smarting from its $40-million-dollar black eye."

9 of 184 comments (clear)

  1. Schrodenger's cueCat by Majik+Sheff · · Score: 5, Funny

    So, the cueCat was in a box (the patent office) and its state was unknown for years until someone finally opened the box and looked at it? I can only assume the cueCat was dead, but that assumption probably changed the outcome.

    First again?

    --
    Women are like electronics: you don't know how damaged they are until you try to turn them on.
    1. Re:Schrodenger's cueCat by hansamurai · · Score: 4, Funny

      First again?

      You assumed you were first, and by doing that, you changed the outcome.

      --
      Reviewing just the first hour of video games.
  2. Brilliant!! by TheDarkener · · Score: 4, Funny

    A barcode scanner at every normal person's PC that "allows" them to view advertisements on products they've already purchased? Count me in!

    --
    It is pitch black. You are likely to be eaten by a grue.
  3. A day late and $40 Million Dollars Short by timpintsch · · Score: 5, Funny

    Does anyone know if I can still pick these up for free at Radio Shack? I remember having a stack of them but my Grandma threw them away because she thought they were pens that were defective. No, really, she did.

  4. I didn't get one by Conspiracy_Of_Doves · · Score: 5, Funny

    The plastic bag that my copy of Wired came in had a big hole in it when it got to my house. The CueCat was either stolen or it fell out.

    /not really disappointed

    --

    Technoli
    1. Re:I didn't get one by Stele · · Score: 4, Funny

      Perhaps it became self-aware and clawed its way out. Did you ever think of that?

  5. Re:I used one by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

    What happens when your Access DB is what needs to be recovered from the backup tapes? What then?

  6. i still have mine by circletimessquare · · Score: 4, Funny

    it looks like a sex toy

    all its good for anymore

    i guess

    i said i guess!

    --
    intellectual property law is philosophically incoherent. it is your moral duty to ignore it or sabotage it
  7. Re:Maybe I should take advantage of the situation. by netglen · · Score: 5, Funny

    Oh no! Are you saying that the book that I read "Writing Dummy Books for Dummies" was inaccurate on how much money I can make?