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Apple Forces Google To Degrade Android Features
walterbyrd writes "The latest in the ridiculous saga of the patent dispute between Apple and Samsung, which has resulted in Samsung phones and tablets being banned from sale in the U.S. is that Samsung, with the help of Google, has been pushing out an over-the-air software update to make its phones worse. Yes, the OTA update is designed to take away a feature, in an effort to convince the judge that the phones no longer violate Apple's patents. The feature in question? The ability to do a single search that covers both the local device and the internet."
You'd have to pay to be de-graded!
Time to kill off the patent system. It has become absurd.
I actually prefer separate web searches and local searches. I find it annoying that the default Android search sends query terms over the web to Google, and I rarely if ever find the mixed searches useful.
As far as I can tell, I can turn off mixed global/local search, but I end up having to choose one or the other with the Google search app. Or is there some way I can get separate shortcuts for local and web searches?
Google desktop search had this feature long before iPhone came along. A search box on the windows desktop that searched both the local drive and the computer. Migrating this feature to mobile seems obvious.
Is there anything more to this patent? Otherwise, this is the perfect examples of how the patent system can be easily abused for software patents
It's not nice to say this about Google & Samsung.
But they should really licence the patents required to keep the full functionality of the phone and not take away features from the end users.
If Samsung's profit margins are so slim on those devices that they cannot afford a few pennies for this patent, they are doing something wrong.
1% APY, No fees, Online Bank https://captl1.co/2uIErYq Don't let your $$$ sit in a no-interest acct.
Did they license it, or is there more to this story?
Just maybe I can buy a device that's been 'degraded' into being just a phone. Think of it as a good way to get rid of bloat, where you turn the device on, not boot it up.
“He’s not deformed, he’s just drunk!”
This is just the kind of software patent that really strikes fear into smaller developers, since it's a technique that comes to mind naturally (I've had search boxes that have done mixed kinds of searches for decades).
I have never cheered "victories" even from companies I like, for any software patents... these truly are things that need to be abolished as patentable.
At this point though, I do not think the international community will allow it unless we get some REALLY strong support from government...
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
If Samsung's profit margins are so slim on those devices that they cannot afford a few pennies for this patent, they are doing something wrong.
Can you be a bit more explicit about what you think this license fee is? And preferably cite a source for it? Because my understanding - and I'm happy to be shown wrong - is that Apple is suing not for a fee but to prevent the features being used.
paying for a valid innovative licence yes I agree.
BUT a patent exists for a single search of local AND internet?
This is classed as logical development and in any sane country isn't patentable. Searching local has existed for ages (but if a patent existed for that sure licence it), searching the internet is what google does... todo a search checking local and net is a logical evolution.
Best thing is people just stop selling in america leave the locals to Microsoft and apple
Is there a feature with this automatic software push on an Android to get prompted if you want to install this or is it choice-less?
LOL; Gotta laugh when a search patent is being used against Google. Not saying anything on the merits, but still...
More fuel for the "patents are garbage and the whole system should be scrapped" crowd...
I would feel sorry for Android users, but then I remember that iPhone has not voice directions. Android does on Google Maps. iPhone does not. Allegedly Apple pys more in license fees to Google than Google gets from Android. We know that MS probably gets more from Android than Google does. Google seems to playing an aggressive game, which is looking like a rear action. Bing is becoming acceptable. Apple is going to fight hard on maps, and probably give features that Google will not. Google is a trusted necessary brand for many people, no matter the platform. As it becomes platform specific, Chrome, Android, who knows what will happen.
"She's a scientist and a lesbian. She's not going to let it slide." Orphan Black
We all love you really, now die in a fire!!!
As far as I know, no Apple products support simultaneous online and offline searches...So whats the bug ruckus about? iOS search shows local results and a link to do a Google search (oh the irony) in Safari when you search for something.... Makes me so angry that Apple can block a feature that they don't even implement in their own OS. fah!
Apple is pathetic.
this TED talk.
http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/en/johanna_blakley_lessons_from_fashion_s_free_culture.html
I think it's time to start calling technology utilitarian and start removing protections before this sector crashes...
......as bad as the handset makers/carriers for Android phones are at getting updates out, most of these handsets will be obsolete by the time this 'update' gets pushed out.
Needs to be said: Apple must die. I don't want an all Apple world; they don't deserve a good number of the patents that they have been erroneously granted; and it they were gone they would be little missed by many many people because they, their always high prices and overly generous profit margins, and their walled-garden beliefs, aren't what many of us want in our devices.
"It's the height of ridiculousness to say for those 9 lines you get hundreds of millions."
If you have ever used any of Apple's products (especially OS X, iTunes or iOS) you know how great they are. They are also innovative to no end. Windows and Linux shows that innovation requires hard work and only Apple magically manages to do it. Apple is fantastic for this and deserves all the credit and patent fees.
Shouldn't the patent be on how it's done and not that it's done at all? That's like patenting the concept of a machine that seperates fibers from its seeds and not actually patenting the cotton gin itself.
Especially since the article in question doesn't use it. Apple didn't "force" Google to do anything, Google gave up a feature to avoid a patent fight. Not that the actual article is much better. I hate most of these stupid patents, but don't go around like Apple was whacking Google with a stick to remove a feature. Blame the judge for his ruling, if anything.
And I don't even have an iPhone. I don't even have a smartphone.
Vote monkeys into Congress. They are cheaper and more trustworthy.
god is it that hard to actually follow the law. apple uses tons of "other people's patents" but guess what they actually pay for them! Duh!
Apple chooses to do the deed. No one is forcing apple to do this but the end result is Google is forced to do something they don't want to do. Legal? Probably. Moral? I wouldn't even start there. Apple doesn't have morals but of course most companies don't either.
"Samsung, with the help of Google, has been pushing out an over-the-air software update to make its phones worse."
The connotation of "worse" is that it was already bad to begin with.
Does it make you happy you're so strange?
A futile attempt to make Android worse than Apple. But a successful attempt to leave Apple's engineering reputation in tatters.
When all you have is a hammer, every problem starts to look like a thumb.
I posted this on the site that is linked to from /.
It's ridiculous, and Apple even being allowed to get an injunction for "slide to unlock" is horrendous. The English courts showed that this patent was absolutely useless since it was already in use by another company before Apple. So, Apple should never have even been allowed to get that idiot of a case into court.
Also, now we see Apple has been granted a patent on AR glasses. Again, this is stupid since Google are actually one of the first to market with an actual real thing, and even if they weren't I can point Apple to several films I worked on during the 90s and early 200s in which we not only done this, we basically had the concepts and ideas all over cinema screens around the world!
It's ridiculous that Apple might try to use this patent to stifle others from launching their AR glasses, but prior art should basically kick Apple in the teeth once and for all.
This dispute is entirely about what will happen to the Apple share price if Samsung's higher end phones overtake Apple's sales. US shareholders don't seem to care about the world market, only the US one. Therefore, Apple executive bonuses depend largely on keeping Samsung out of the US.
This may be partial truth and an oversimplification, but I think there is merit in the argument. Currently HTC is struggling, so is Motorola, but Samsung is a huge threat not to Apple (the market is expanding) but to its share price.
From scarped cliff or quarried stone she cries "A thousand types are gone, I care for nothing, no not one."
Because my carrier, for some reason, hasn't put out ANY of the Galaxy Nexus updates at all. Why does this yakju/yakjux BS even exist I wonder?
You don't know what you are talking about. In Florida, like most states, you can only shoot someone when in fear for your life. If someone comes in your house, you can probably shoot them, but if they are just trespassing in your yard, you will most likely go to prison.
"in any sane country isn't patentable", indeed it shouldn't be.
I'm sick of all these blatantly obvious ideas being used in court, it's about time resources were directed at innovative new ideas and products, not silly obvious ideas (Method_of_exercising_a_cat) or next logical steps in technology.
didn't google desktop also do searches for both ?
how a post this dumb got modded +1?
prior art should basically kick Apple in the teeth once and for all.
Rather a bad metaphor since all prior art does is allow everyone to do something instead of just one company.
To date competition has not hampered Apple.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
didn't google desktop also do searches for both ?
Yeah, it did - and I found it quite annoying. And (tangentially related), before that, I remember Internet Explorer trying to blur the line between what was on the local machine and out on the web.
I'm not an anti-patent zealot; but it seems pretty obvious ALL software patents need to be invalidated. I don't care what kind of capital Apple, Google, Microsoft, et. al. have wrapped up in them - this has gotten ridiculous.
#DeleteChrome
While the subject is interesting, the article holds very little information for discussion and does little more than link a previous article from The Verge.
Anyhow, here's the patent in question: http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PALL&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsrchnum.htm&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=8086604.PN.&OS=PN/8086604&RS=PN/8086604
I'm not qualified to judge its validity, but it seems to encompass more than "the ability to do a single search that covers both the local device and the internet" as stated by the article.
Fuck Apple
Google Chrome and Firefox at the least, before the iPhone ever did it, allowed you to search your own local history AND the internet from the URL bar. Local searches showed up in the preview, but if you hit enter, it would pass the search onto your favorite browser. Software patents should all be invalidated, IMO.
Siri.
and it's being used against Google to stop them from selling phones. Yep. I agree. Apple really does not innovate. I mean, it takes quite a bit of imagination to come up with this argument.
Any guest worker system is indistinguishable from indentured servitude.
Wrong.
Does Siri really allow you to search your local device? Or launch apps?
Possibly in iOS6, but not in 5 as far as I know...
Still, touché I suppose.
And the feature will not be missed... If I could disable the useless search on the iphone I'd do it in a second.
Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
Apple thinks they're winning, when in reality they're losing.
Take a look around. I see more and more people complaining about Apple. I know someone who had a macbook pro that just broke. Apple wanted him to buy another. He looked at PC laptops and asked a friend of mine why PC laptops were so much cheaper and had the same if not better specs.
He now owns a pc laptop. He was a die hard mac user.
Apple is ridiculously controlling and overpriced. Users dont want that. Users want cool, so they put up with the fist fucking you get as an apple customer.
Glad you could join our discussion Mario. You guys at Nintendo hve as much to lose over software patents as Google and other decent companies.
Give my love to Miyanoto when you see him.
Mod me down, my New Earth Global Warmingist friends!
Aww, poor Apple, unable to compete in the stores and real world, so they have to stifle competition through the court.
It's also bad from a security perspective, because it provides a channel that leaks information about local files to whoever is providing the Internet part of the search, and (if they're not using SSL) anyone who happens to be able to listen in on any network between the two of you.
I am TheRaven on Soylent News
i took a cgi suite made for web forums and turned it into a search engine on the local device for use on the internet.....
SO your all saying i should sue apple?
how the hell does that NOT reflect exactly what Google Desktop already did - search locally and search internet in same results set?
nevermind the obviousness of such an idea...
but then again, it isn't THAT obvious given that I don't think i've ever actually searched my phone before except while it was mounted as a filesystem on some other O/S...
"But remember, most lynch mobs aren't this nice." (H.Simpson)
-- Joe
why not try refuting it if it is wrong instead of demanding someone downmod them?
---Saying gnome 3 is better than windows 8 not so much a compliment as it is damning with light praise.
Windows has done this for years when searching for device drivers...
"Wait. Something's happening. It's opening up! My God, it's full of apricots!"
Just wanted to say hi before a million people start telling us that Mac products are actually the same price, and then give a bunch of excuses about why the price tag just looks so much higher.
Weird. I know four people who just bought their first Macs because of the new display. Since I have more anecdotal evidence than you, that means Apple is winning.
Seriously, though - nobody but geeks cares if a tech company is abusive. Most people who buy products couldn't care less about Microsoft back when and they couldn't care less about Apple now. Hell, companies have literally killed thousands of people before and nobody except crusaders gave a damn.
This is not to say I think Apple is behaving well, but that unless Tim Cook literally eats a baby during halftime at the Super Bowl not may people will care, and even then probably not for long.
But to say they're losing? They are making vast profits with a higher mark-up on products that really are fairly commodified now... That is hardly losing and that a few nerds are butthurt over their bad behavior isn't gonna change that.
Since I can't tell them apart, I treat all ACs as the same person.
So watch the feature appear in the "play store" with a name that makes it obvious that it's an existing technology deployed to smaller computers.
who owns the patent on searching (in general), because i guess that is where the real money is. /sigh
...
What the fuck does it have to do with the idiotic liberal vs. conservative division of society? Do you fucking have to cry liberals every fucking time you fucking do not like something?
I was in this boat. I was never a die hard Apple fan, but I did like their products. I had a MacBook Pro, an iPhone, an iPad, and two different models of iPod. Eventually, I just got tired of it. I got tired of the expense, I got tired of the smug "Just Works" banter even though I constantly had problems keeping everything synced up, I got tired of being told that I don't have rights to play such-and-such on so-en-so device, and so on.
The straw that broke the camel's back was when I decided I wanted to write a little iOS app and applied to the Apple developer program. I sent my application and my $99. They sent me an e-mail saying they needed proof of my identity. I didn't like that--what the hell difference does it make?--but went ahead and sent them a copy of my driver license with the license number blacked out. (It's none of their damn business what my license number is.) They sent me another e-mail saying they wanted an unaltered copy of my id, and it has to be notarized. That was around the same time that a bunch of stories were hitting Slashdot about developers complaining about how long it was taking apps to be approved, about Google Voice getting smacked down, and Apple demanding that all of its apps be developed in Objective C.
At that point, I'd had enough. I demanded by $99 back in a note telling them I'd decided to develop for Android instead and sold my MacBook Pro. I held on to my iPhone until the contract ran out, and last December, I bought a Samsung Galaxy Nexus, which which I have been absolutely giddy--it's a much better device, in my opinion. I still have the physical iOS devices (the iPhone and iPad) that I use to make sure web sites I work on work in iOS's Safari browser, but at this point, I'm not looking back.
Apple lost a customer and a developer over their shenanigans, and furthermore, I recommend against buying Apple to my friends and family. I still think the company is very innovative and they have top-notch design teams. They're able to accomplish a lot of amazing things. But other companies these days are accomplishing amazing things too, and in the end, it's just not worth it.
Android salse have definitely exploded in past year period, leading up to 1 million activated devices _daily_. Android surpassed Apple's initial lead in total number of devices on the market, apps available (although the significance of that is disputable), and there are mobile phones that are on par or better than Apple's offerings (I mean SG3).
While the iPhone 5 is going to get them back on the competing track in the flagship domain, the cheaper devices are those that will decide which system will dominate the market in the future (for decades).
Apple's strategy was competing on grounds on best software (Google just closed that gap with the 4.1), hardware (left behind since the launch of SG2) and patent suits (not producing desired result I'm afraid).
The only thing left now is to be able to block Android products. So far, they managed to get Google to remove a few minor features, but this did not turn down the appeal of the platform. Unified search? Well they will just provide search box for what's local and what's elsewhere. So far no thermonuclear charges were detonated. Most other Apple patents were worked around (sometimes even resulting in improvement as with the gallery app or "slide" to unlock), invalidated in courts, pushed back in court schedules enough to surpass the lifetime of a certain model (Apple didn't dare to sue Google directly, speculatively because of the GMaps contract), or just refused by court (as the recent trial managed by Posner). The other attack vector coming from Oracle also utterly failed, and it was known that Ellison and Jobs were friends.
Steve Jobs has been building and preparing patent stronghold for a decade just to prevent another "Windows" taking over the market, thinking that the problem was only in not patenting enough in the early 80's, but he wrongly assessed how his patents might fare in trials. The strategy he chose to follow was based on the judicial system providing the protection, but fortunately (for everyone else except Apple) it doesn't seem to work that way. Maybe because Android caought traction so fast that judges got faced faced with the mainstream adoption, and a new culture forming around devices that they were supposed to ban.
i see that jobs reality distortion field is starting to fade. good maybe we will get some people realizing they don't have to pay 3 times more for a stable OS.
---Saying gnome 3 is better than windows 8 not so much a compliment as it is damning with light praise.
Some people pay the mob. Some people fight the mob. Samsung - and now Google - has chosen to fight the mob. I think they are right in doing so. When it comes to paying the danegeld, rule one is 'never pay the danegeld'. Just ask Shakespeare:
"We never pay any-one Dane-geld,
âfâfâfNo matter how trifling the cost;
For the end of that game is oppression and shame,
âfâfâfAnd the nation that plays it is lost!"
--frank[at]unternet.org
Of course the real question here is how long before someone hacks it so that the full functionality is restored?
I'd like to think that that could be open to negotiation between Samsung and Apple, if Samsung's lawyers were to present the topic to Apple's lawyers, both for purchasing the rights to it and so in order to end the continuing case (and - implicitly - its resultant legal fees, etc).
Then again, if it could possibly be that easy to resolve, I wonder how the courts might feel about how their time has been spent, on the case?
Am I the only one who remembers AltaVista desktop search where you would see local and internet results in the same browser window?
I left the job where I used that in October 1998, so I know I used it before then. I'm *guessing* it was around 1995-1996.
You could say they do have a software bundle that compensates for the price, but software is also high margin. Some stuff that is valuable to some people, like Garage Band, is pretty much useless to me, since I have pretty much a professional studio setup already, complete with sound absorbing wall panels. I couldn't justify another $3000 to replace my B&W G3 and refused to go iMac with an underpowered graphics card, so I left the Apple fold... incidentally, the B&W G3 still runs, though I can't run MacOS on the internet anymore since they don't support it (I DO run Linux on it - it is my web server).
Really? If you think Samsung is some kind of angel then you're sadly mistaken because they've demanded their fair share of danegelds - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samsung#Price_cartels
Not Shakespeare, Rudyard Kipling:
Get off my lawn.
Apple thinks they're winning, when in reality they're losing.
Take a look around. I see more and more people complaining about Apple.
You need to step outside the slashdot echo chamber and look at reality.
http://www.asymco.com/2012/05/03/the-phone-market-in-2012-a-tail-two-disruptions/
HTC is next to go in the red.
The new retina display MacBook Pro is still listed as 3-4 weeks shipping time because they are selling so many of them.
Just make it an US-only "update" and don't bring this bullshit to the rest or the world, where the patent system isn't (completely) torn to hell.
We need more software patents limiting everybody. Maybe then people will finally take action.
Democracy Now! - uncensored, anti-establishment news
Windows updating would also be forbidden over Wifi/3G?
This move by Samsung and Google just confirms that they KNOW and should have known they were infringing and went ahead and did it any way. It's one thing to not like the rules of the game but quite another to violate the rules then cry because you get caught.
Users dont want that. Users want cool, so they put up with the fist fucking you get as an apple customer.
When was the last time you compiled the latest version of rsync on Windows?
Think of Macs as the best UNIX experience you've ever, ever had. Fuck the hardware, I just love OS X.
With the first link, the chain is forged.
Licensing fee? For what? License fee to search your local device? This is patentable?
Good fucking grief! This reminds me of Amazon's patents on single-click ads.
The rotten bastards at Apple have patented ordinary concepts that they have no business patenting. There needs to be patent reform.
Next those bastards will patent the word "phone" so that anybody selling one has to pay fees to Apple.
Mobs sometimes fight each other.
Dilbert RSS feed
How many patent wars are there over other household appliances and how vehement are they? Do LG, Samsung and GE lock horns over refrigerators and stoves every time they introduce a new model? I'm thinking, some, but not so much, even though vast numbers of current patents exist for these technologies. The "information wants to be free" crowd is all over this, but it just sounds like the sour grapes whine of an over-tired three-year-old to me. Either that, or a bunch of jackals howling about the lion-kill they can't successfully steal. Grow up kids! Competing globally requires a great deal of forethought and some cooperation with the other players in the same market. Adults recognize this and behave accordingly. They negotiate cross-licensing agreements before committing an idea to mass production. To do less is to invite justifiable wrath.
Unless they've changed position after Jobs died, their policy is "Even if we go bankrupt, we will DESTROY Android, we will put every manufacturer out of business. We invented cellphones and we will not negotiate with thieves and pirates". Jobs himself is on record saying he would rather die than allow Android to exist. And let nobody say he doesn't accomplish what he sets out to do.
ASCII stupid question, get a stupid ANSI
I guess there is no way to not accept this update?
Oh but don't forget. It's on a phone.
So with whom should people do business if a single firm or a cartel of firms takes advantage of the system unfairly and has been successful at shutting out other firms?
Surely the local searching could be handled locally and integrated into the search results without involving the server?
Would you like a slice of toast?
if only there was a device that had this functionality as prior art. This hypothetical device would have to be centered around the web as well as it's own internals, for search reasons, I guess you could call it a "web" OS. When you needed to search, apps, contacts, google, wiki, etc, you could Just Type your query in an ever present search box......... Nah, surely no one could possibly come up with any idea before apple, what was I thinking? Just had a bad realisation - if apple is originator of all ideas, surely they know about the one I just told everyone about... Note to self - buy moar tinfoil.
Price cartels are bad, but they aren't by any convincing metaphor about extortion.
xkcd is not in the sudoers file. This incident will be reported.
As CronoCloud loves to tell me: "You are an edge case."
...holy fuck
Table-ized A.I.
having been an Apple fan for many years, owning multiple iMacs, Macbooks, iPod devices, and iPads, I am through with buying their products. Perhaps I should have stopped earlier but it just seems 2012 is the year when Apple jumped the shark.
* Winners compare their achievements to their goals, losers compare theirs to that of others.
Unless they've changed position after Jobs died, their policy is "Even if we go bankrupt, we will DESTROY Android, we will put every manufacturer out of business. We invented cellphones and we will not negotiate with thieves and pirates". Jobs himself is on record saying he would rather die than allow Android to exist. And let nobody say he doesn't accomplish what he sets out to do.
Clearly, the gods don't understand idioms...
"Winning" for a public company is profitability and market cap. Apple makes over 70% of all mobile phone profit and has the highest market capital of any company.
Shakespeare, Kipling, whoever. All dead white guys, fully interchangeable!
You will see. they are losing
the times are a changing.
I have used OSX. IT sucks. Big time. Really a poor excuse for an OS. Unless all you know how to do is click on an icon and open something.
And corporate greed rears it's ugly head yet again. Instead of letting inovation run wild, it screws it's customers. How? By charging 10 times what it's worth and cornering the market on... what? A search? U have got to be kidding.
Not that they're the only ones. Everyone in this field is guilty but Apple seems to be the worst. And getting worse by the minute. And the mac users are sitting back and smiling without a clue as to how it makes a mess out of everything. And ends up costing them even more.
I don't recall Aple offering a license.
Even before that, there was WAIS. Wide Area Information Server was a distributed search engine in which it actually indexed your machine that it searched first and then went to other systems close by, and continued on. And that was around long before MS was doing searches on the net.
I prefer the "u" in honour as it seems to be missing these days.
Just kill the method patents. The fact is, that patents make good sense for mechanical items. But method patents? Most stupid idea that I have EVER heard.
I prefer the "u" in honour as it seems to be missing these days.
I'm not so sure patent reform is the fix. I think firing the people who give the OK its patented is the answer get rid of the incompleteness.
Jack of all trades,master of none
I'm sorry, but... fuck off. You lost me at "Apple feels with some justice".
Apple is not "innovative"; they're good at stealing ideas, repackaging, and selling them. Steve Jobs, in his own words said: "We have always been shameless at stealing good ideas" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CW0DUg63lqU Yes, the selling is doggone hard work, and Steve Jobs was one of the best salesmen this planet will ever see. And I will concede that other companies do their share of stealing too. Examples can always be found if you dig hard enough. But in this case, with such an obvious idea that a patent should never have been granted for, it's "pot kettle black" to Apple, as far as I'm concerned.
I'd say this constitutes "some justice."
You know, any single feature, it's easy to think, "Well, there are only so many ways of doing things, a pad has to be sort of rectangular, an so forth." But looking at them in combination, I think there is some justice for Apple to feel that Samsung is copying their products. Whether patent or copyright law actually protects Apple from this sort of "look and feel" imitation--or whether it should--are of course two different questions.
Maybe it wasn't the gods who were listening. What makes you think he went to "Heaven"?
9/11 Eyewitnesses to Explosive WTC Demolition 1 of 2
So are you predicting a year over year decline when Apple reports its earnings?
Yo, Google:
I paid for that feature when I bought my phone. You owe me.
Widening search parameters never should have been given a patent.
That is absurd. They are not a "sore loser", they literally cannot be since they are currently whining by any measure.
There, fixed that for ya. Your're welcome.
Sounds like Amazon's one-click bullshit. The whole computing industry was built on the fact that software was NOT patentable in the 70s and very limited in the 80s. The industry grew in leaps and bounds during those decades. The companies that benefited the most from the old (no patent) system are the ones that are now locking the system to try and keep everyone else out of the game. Unbelievable.
> Apple thinks they're winning, when in reality they're losing.
Well, I guess I can be glad this got modded "Interesting" and not "Informative." This post is such the perfect evidence of the saying "The plural of 'anecdote' is not 'data'."
Apple IS winning. They have the highest market cap of any company on the planet. They recently had one of the most profitable quarters in world economic history. It is going to be a LONG time before they start "losing" in any meaningful way. Your PC-buying friend is NOT the canary in Apple's coalmine.
During the 90s (yes, I was there) Microsoft was the scourge of Slashdot. Everyone here hated them and everyone predicted their downfall. But look how they did from 1995-2000. They antitrust case started in 1998 and their stock just kept going up and up. It didn't go down until the whole market imploded in 2000.
Dear Slashdot: next time you want to mess with the site, add a rich-text editor for comments.
They should introduce a three strikes system, if you get injunctions and three or more of your patents are struck down, you don't get any more injunctions. You can still sue for damages after the fact, but no more blocking competitors with irrelevant tat.
I think that solves 90% of the problems with the current system. There's still the issue of needing the EFF to provide lawyers to people that aren't able to fight Apple/Oracle etc.. but they're not really that interested in those suits anyway, there's not enough money in the individual's accounts to pay the legal fees.
I find it telling that Christians also use the term "Haters" to describe those who point out the obvious problems with their particular cult and flawed belief system.
Patent examiners are not stupid. But their performance reviews hinge on the number of patent application cases they were able to close. Rejecting a patent is much more time consuming than accepting it, because one has to justify it towards the applicants who are most certain to appeal the decision anyway, creating even more paperwork. So there is a strong incentive for any patent examiner to just rubber stamp with approval, resulting in the mess we currently observe.
The reason behind this lies in the fact that it is politically desired to artificially inflate the numbers of patents granted in a country, because that is widely seen as an indicator for innovation. And of course, that is just another instance of Campbell's law.
OS Reviews: Free and Open Source Software
I'm not against software patents on principle, as some folks are, but I'm more or less de facto against them because I have yet to see one even slightly deserving of enforcement. Maybe that's selection bias on my part. Anyone care to point out some software patents that involving something that actually should be patentable?
"The Greens lynched a hacker in Chicago. Last month, but I think the body's still hanging from the old Water Tower."
Except here, the Danes (Apple) aren't asking for gold. They're asking for heads. I.e. Apple has no interest in licensing their patents, but rather using the patents in order to try to get the competition banned.
Steve Jobs, in his own words said: "We have always been shameless at stealing good ideas"
He equally have said "we have always been shameless" and stopped right there.
When all you have is a hammer, every problem starts to look like a thumb.
If Apple actually offered Samsung a (reasonable) fee, I bet they'd paid regardless of how inane the patent is - it's still cheaper than litigating. Heck, that's pretty much why all Android manufacturers are paying MS these days. My understanding of the immediate problem here is that Apple doesn't care about money, they just want to run Android into the ground - and so they sue to block competing products using "their" features altogether.
Stealing Ideas? Touchscreens would be great on phones! Yep, stole the idea, the implementation is where they were innovative.
The cesspool just got a check and balance.
Samsung is paying MS for the patents - because the cost really is trifling enough to not worth fighting it in court, and business is business ("shame"? what's that?). It's not paying Apple because Apple is not asking for money, it's just demanding that Samsung stops using the features.
If you have ever used any of Apple's products (especially OS X, iTunes or iOS) you know how great they are. They are also innovative to no end.
I've used Apple products. I'm still trying to figure out how great they are. The iPad is nice for it what is, plays some good games, and I can read the newspaper in it. Some of Apple's hardware is innovative, there software not so much. So I'm not sure what your point is.
Good story.
I like my Galaxy Nexus too.
Do none of the users of these phones have the source to what they bought? I would have thought people would load multiple versions and could boot into whichever one suited the mood..
Android salse have definitely exploded in past year period, leading up to 1 million activated devices _daily_.
I was one of them. I bought a cheap Android phone for a stay in europe.
But the deal there is a LOT of those Android devices are not really smartphones, they are basically dumb phones with Android tacked on. Mine was barley usable as a smartphone, basically what you could do with it was turn on tethering so an iPhone could work with data that didn't cost a million dollars.
It's absurd to claim those activation numbers mean ANYTHING when all other signs point to Apple dominating. Developing applications? You'll make 4-10x more developing an app for iOS. Accessories? Look at iOS accessories in any store compared to Android accessories. The list of real-world points of data that scream Apple's success is everywhere, yet the only thing Android champions can see is activations.... the most meaningless stat there is.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
Shakespeare, Kipling, whoever. All dead white guys, fully interchangeable!
Steve Jobs is a dead white guy, irreplacable. Maybe the Apple board should take some of those billions and attempt to revive him.
When all you have is a hammer, every problem starts to look like a thumb.
It is sore loser syndrome. They know that products are going to be refined and easily compete with and make the iPhone indistinguishable from other phones on the market. THIS IS A GOOD THING. This is what is supposed to happen as a consequence of capitalism. It is why washing machines do not cost $10,000. Apple should have planned for this.
I object to power without constructive purpose. --Spock
Apple are upset that Samsung have a vastly superior product. So they try to block it from competing, this is the move of a sore loser.
An SQL query goes to a bar, walks up to a table and asks, "Mind if I join you?"
Hell, companies have literally killed thousands of people before and nobody except crusaders gave a damn.
For some reason this is funny as hell.
I object to power without constructive purpose. --Spock
I just got a Verizon foldout today trying to sell me their shitty data plan (with no data plan details btw) and all of the featured devices were Android based--HTC, Motorola, LG. The writing is one the wall. Apple is alienating people and most people I know are happy to get a "droid." They are quite popular with users, they cost less, and carriers are featuring them like crazy. Didn't see a Samsung though. I don't really like Samsung as a company, although they do have some good products they are usually overpriced and their printers suck ass--rip off junk.
I object to power without constructive purpose. --Spock
OS X is awesome. It will probably get dumped.
I object to power without constructive purpose. --Spock
I'll predict that in 10 years Apple is on the ropes coughing blood.
I object to power without constructive purpose. --Spock
Perhaps you misunderstand the nature of business today and the government that... scuse me... regulates it... Hahahahaahahahaahahahahhaha... oh my, that is good. Every system and structure now exists to support, empower and reinforce the wealth and power of those who have wealth and power starting with businesses. Patents exist to allow businesses to own basic and fundamental ideas so you can't have a thought or perform an action that isn't controlled by another and for which you'll have to pay a licensing fee. In fact my lawyer says we shouldn't even be discussing this.
...have been around since the 1980's. They indexed and catalogued both books and periodicals inside the local library, AND were able to also include materials available in other libraries in a SINGLE, combined search result.
I also seem to recall a later version (but still before MacOS 9) that integrated web-pages into the search results as well... electronic card catalogues are something Google might want to look into, in terms of prior art...
You're missing the fact that this is a FEATURE not a problem... they can search you're information as you search theirs. They've got you by the short and curlies... you are precisely as secure as they want you.
It's also the law, it's not just the USPTO ignoring basic tests of inventiveness and non-obviousness.
If you recall the patent reform? That was hijacked by the USPTO and patent troll lobby, changing the definition of inventor, from the person who invents something to the person who first files the patent request. Effectively letting them eliminate one of the tests.
They claimed a tradeoff, by eliminating this test, there would be more time to do the other tests PROPERLY. Of course they planned no such thing, they're empire building, the patent office patents more and more stuff and can literally steal the income from the inventor and hand it to any patent troll they choose. I bet, like Goldman Sachs/Federal Reserve, there will be a steady stream of USPTO management who 'retire' into cushy patent troll jobs, and who transfer from patent trolls to USPTO.
Excuse my bitterness, how can we ever reform this mess when the parasites hijack every reform effort?
Apple chose to be a patent troll. You only try to blame the patent system to try and misplace the blame.
Rotten Apple: Apple's lousy design patent lawsuits
By Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols | July 5, 2012 -- Updated 23:47 GMT (16:47 PDT)
> Summary: If Apple continues to have its way it will be illegal to buy anything that looks like a tablet because it will infringe on Apple's “design” patent.
> In the last couple of months a boycott Apple movement has started. It started as a protest about working conditions in Apple's Chinese partners factories. But the banning of the Galaxy Tab seems to have given it new life.
http://www.zdnet.com/rotten-apple-apples-lousy-design-patent-lawsuits-7000000356/
Apple Granted Patent for Head-Mounted Display
By Christina BonningtonEmail Author July 3, 2012
> Google’s been flaunting its Google Glass prototype left and right, but it may not be the only company getting into the head-up-display business. Apple was granted a patent for a head-mounted display apparatus on Tuesday.
http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2012/07/apple-patent-hud-display/
Google Jellybean smokes Apple Siri
By Joe Wilcox | July 7, 2012
> But there's a strange twist here. Google removed important search functionality from Android 4.1 in response to US Patent 8,086,604, which Apple successfully used to gain preliminary injunctions against Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 and Galaxy Nexus.
http://betanews.com/2012/07/06/google-jellybean-smokes-apple-siri/
Federal Court of Appeals denies Samsung’s stay request on Galaxy Tab ban
Kevin Krause | Jul 6th 2012 at 4:30pm
> After Samsung was denied a temporary lift of a ban on their Galaxy Tab 10.1 earlier in the week, the news isn’t getting much better. The US Court of Appeals has denied the Korean mobile manufacturers request for a stay on the ban issued by US District Judge Lucy Koh. With the ruling, Samsung’s only hope to get the tablet back on the US market is to reach some sort of licensing deal or settlement with Apple, an avenue that is reportedly being explored jointly with Google.
http://phandroid.com/2012/07/06/federal-court-of-appeals-denies-samsungs-stay-request-on-galaxy-tab-ban/
Android Win: Apple Blasted for Trolling, Sees EU Patents Decimated
Jason Mick (Blog) - July 5, 2012 3:10 PM
> "Obvious" patents should never have been granted, given prior art
> Apple, Inc.'s (AAPL) international quest to kill Android, not by competition, but by lawsuits hit a roadblock in the United Kingdom when a Judge ruled Apple's patents to swipe-to-unlock patents to be invalid due to obviousness and prior art.
http://www.dailytech.com/Android+Win+Apple+Blasted+for+Trolling+Sees+EU+Patents+Decimated/article25104.htm
Apple pulls out of EPEAT green registration, may not be able to sell computers to federal agencies
By Steve Dent posted Jul 7th 2012 2:18AM
http://www.engadget.com/2012/07/07/apple-pulls-out-of-epeat-green-registration/
How Steve Jobs Fooled the Leader of the Free World and His Opponents
In 2006 Samsung released the SGH-Z610, a phone that had a gesture based touchscreen, app drawer, front and rear facing cameras – the works.
http://theworldwarrior.com/?p=614
LG Prada
The LG KE850, also known as the LG Prada,[1] is a touchscreen mobile phone made by LG Electronics. It was first announced on December 12, 2006.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LG_Prada
A cave man was resurected today, and he claims that he has a stone tablet showing how to make the wheel and he wants to patent his design, what do we do?
Way to go AC... you've angered the liberals.
He looked at PC laptops and asked a friend of mine why PC laptops were so much cheaper and had the same if not better specs.
Oh dear, are you saying that he didn't know.
Sent from my macbook pro...
Seriously, though - nobody but geeks cares if a tech company is abusive.
They do, but only after they've been directly abusive to them. So the more it happens to individuals, the more they lose.
And people predicted that 10 years ago. And 10 years before that. And 10 years before that. And they were all wrong.
Those that don't learn from history are doomed to repeat it.
You have a significant lack of understanding how this works.
Local results are indexed by the local OS, that index is queried by the local OS and the results of that query are returned to the search results. The query is also submitted to the internet, where the internet search server checks its index and returns those results to the client. At no time do your local results get transmitted to the internet search server.The only thing that is transferred is the search query, if you do not want to search the local device, you can disable this feature.
Keep on knockin'
https://robbiecrash.me
I think with the recent SOPA/PIPA and ACTA situations the general populace is beginning to become more aware of the whole area of patent/copyright abuse, and as more people are told "Sorry, you can't buy that phone in this country" it's going to increase. Only geeks care now because only geeks are aware, but I think that is slowly changing.
Think of Macs as the best UNIX experience you've ever, ever had. Fuck the hardware, I just love OS X.
You love it but plenty of other people like me really dislike the interface. I "think of" OS X as the nastiest BSD (not UNIX) experience I've ever had, kind of like Windows but with a tiny fraction of the compatibility and zero control over anything. (The best UNIX-like experience I've had by far has been in Linux, and no, I'm not a supergeek, I'm a mostly-average user.)
Users dont want that. Users want cool, so they put up with the fist fucking you get as an apple customer.
When was the last time you compiled the latest version of rsync on Windows?
I've never compiled rsync, but I still find the situation Apple puts its consumers in unacceptable. Even if I liked their Mac/iOS products and was rich, I wouldn't want to buy a device that I'd be expected to junk & replace entirely over something like a failing battery or to be banned from upgrading simple parts like RAM.
Now mostly at Usenet:comp.misc & SoylentNews.org (it's made of people!)
I also find this quite annoying. So thanks Apple, for adding a feature.
While I don't think OS X is awesome, I agree that it will likely get dumped... Before he died, Jobs' plan had been to strangle the Mac line to death, much in the same way he did to the Apple IIgs back when he got a hard-on for the (then-inferior) Macintosh. I think that his death probably greatly slowed that plan, but I'd be surprised if it doesn't still happen in the next few years, especially with Apple semi-subtly pushing users to switch to iOS devices.
Now mostly at Usenet:comp.misc & SoylentNews.org (it's made of people!)
Patent reform IS a fix, because there are already tonloads of silly and damaging patents granted.
Simply firing people wont change a bit, because those patents wont be revoked and still can do their demolition work.
The only solution is to get rid of software patents, and back to copyright to protect only the software itself.
Software patents are the most damaging things ever seen daylight in computer technonlogy.
One search for the net and the device. I always know where the information I'm
seeking can be found. Nothing was lost on this downgrade.
I'm not going to find Gina Gershon's age on my phone, (50 as of last month, btw)
and while I may find that file I that I know is on my device on the internet... why
would I want to download it again if I know it's on my phone?
I have a feeling the typical Android user won't even know it is gone.
-AI
For me, it is far better to grasp the Universe as it really is than to persist in delusion
Google and Samsung should start dumping Android phones on the market at every price point. I mean you're already pretty fucking stupid to pay $500-$600 for an iPhone (directly or via subsidized, expensive plans) when you can get a better Android phone (Galaxy Nexus) for $359 but make that value proposition even worse.
Oh, don't technically dump. Just sell for razor thin margins. $1 a phone, or they can sell for a loss and claim advertising revenues will make up for it if regulators and Apple whine about dumping.
I think if Samsung/Google/HTC/others tried they could sell something like the Galaxy S3 for $300 and fuck up Apple's program. And this should be obvious, but manufacture and ship them to the US in _ridiculous_ numbers so they're already here when Apple tries to sue to stop them.
I always joked that you could get a patent on walking and chewing gum at the same time. Guess it's not a joke anymore.
And apple fuckers, you can take away every feature you dont like, we android true geeks, true nerds, true enthusiests , not rich yuppies , will just put back every single feature as a free app to download.
Oh and theres more than one app store thats outside Evil USAs territories, and USA doesnt own earth yet, so eat that.
Liberty freedom are no1, not dicks in suits.
Of course thats not what he ACTUALLY said any more than Gore said he invented the information super highway and global warming, but don't let that stop you.
Persistent Volume manager for Kubernetes - https://github.com/dwimsey/openshift-pvmanager
Which is exactly what it does. It intercepts your Google.com search requests, does them itself, adds your stuff to the results and returns that to the web browser. Nothing was ever 'sent to google' to be leaked.
Knowing how something actually worked has never stopped anyone on slashdot from talking about the flaws it has.
Persistent Volume manager for Kubernetes - https://github.com/dwimsey/openshift-pvmanager
Your search queries are sent to the remote server. These provide information about the content of your local documents because you are only likely to be searching for something that you know is in a local document when you want to find one.
I am TheRaven on Soylent News
The RDF never existed, but it was a nice decoy so people would not start looking for the real reasons why Apple succeeded.
Now go troll BMW forums that they don't need to pay 3 times (a cheap Fiat) to get a stable car.
... so when Nokia sued Apple in 2009 the iPhone was superior to everything Nokia had? When Motorola... nah.
The point is: Patents are weapons. Not using them is like not using drones against the Taliban just because the Taliban don't have drones too.
It seems to be one of the patents they got with the SRI (of Siri fame) acquisition.
Could google just remove the feature and then offer the user a yes/no dialog to add it back to the OS?
Hurray!
I disabled that feature as soon as I could anyway as I want to decide where to search.
I know perfectly well if I am looking for something on the internet or on the phone, in fact, the way I store stuff on my phone I *never* have to search for it. I know where I put it!
Useless feature - useless patent - useless case.
What, exactly, constitutes abuse in this case and will the people being abused really notice it or think anything of it?
How many customers did Apple lose over antennagate? Not enough to stop the next version of the phone from selling in record numbers even though it was just a minor bump.
Higher prices for limited specs and restricted utility obviously haven't made people stop buying (and the higher price argument is pretty much wrong now, when talking about kit of similar gear), even if the person I initially responded to claims to have a friend who left Macs because of that.
In my experience, and history backs me up on this, abuse needs to be pretty flagrant to get people to notice it, let alone do anything about it. Compared to real corporate abusers out there, Apple is small time to the point where most people can't get worked up about it.
Since I can't tell them apart, I treat all ACs as the same person.
"Just wanted to say hi before a million people start telling us that Mac products are actually the same price, and then give a bunch of excuses about why the price tag just looks so much higher."
Well, hello! I just wanted to say why is it that whenever I get the chance to replenish my laptop at work the listed prices for Macs and Dells are about the same? Actually, the Dells are just slightly more expensive.
And here's a nice chart with a side-by-side comparison of features versus price: https://kb.wisc.edu/showroom/page.php?id=3045
http://www.rootstrikers.org/
However, this ... as well as many other features ... even though very useful ... are NOT INNOVATIVE ... not even in the slightest. Almost ANY programmer could do this if they were working on this part of the code. Apple's entire argument is total BS. Unfortunately, BS works in court if the judge is not knowledgeable in technology and the other side doesn't (get to) present an argument that Apple is BS.
now we need to go OSS in diesel cars
Unfortunately, too many people think "innovation" means "first to make it". And that is not true at all. Those who do real innovation just happen to be first. But there are things that are not innovation, even though someone does it first. Whether something is or is not innovative is often a subjective matter. Innovating is creating something others generally CANNOT create. It is NOT creating something others just happened to not create (because they were busy creating something else). The test ... put some number of engineers who have never seen how Apple made their feature work, and give them the requirement to make that. If MANY can, then there is no innovation because we would have had this feature if we wanted it even if Apple did not. If NONE can, then it could well be innovation. THIS feature is so obvious and so simple it would most likely end up with ALL (the number of engineers) can make it. It is so fucking far from innovation that it should be a textbook example of something that cannot possibly be innovative.
now we need to go OSS in diesel cars
Another Apple fanboy - just what the world needs...
Why, thank you for that link.
2Gb more RAM, faster HDD, a bit bigger screen, 2 year longer warranty ("3 Year warranty available with AppleCare currently priced at $183"), more ports and still Dell's $20 cheaper. Nope, no sucker^Wpremium brand mark-up on Mac's at all.
do not buy apple products. simple easy to accomplish. purchase Samsung or any others that will put apple out of business.
Monopolies are bad for technology and for the economy, but Apple apparently thinks that monopolies are good for them. I hope they are proven wrong, and soon.
I'll never buy another Apple product, until they learn to play nice. Sure, no company is perfect, they all make mistakes and can get involved in silly litigious dilemmas. But I cannot, in good faith, back a company that is seeking a monopoly in this fashion. Go Fuck yourself Apple!
Gimme a break! Steve Jobs and everyone else all over the world go to "Sourceforge.org" for apps. You've got thousands of thousands of young kids eating pizza, their only pay, for the hours spend producing "jelly-beans" apps etc check it out. So where do they get it that its theirs, they better read that opensoftware agreement and read it right.
i hope Google and Samsung paid the fees for "A System And Process For Removing Useful Features Via Auto-Update". that one's owned by a consortium of Apple, Sony and Adobe.
MS have a similar patent on moving things you use all the time around between versions.
don't you know that apple holds worldwide process patents on pushing out software updates that cripple shipped software and devices?
Wait a minute, my Nokia N8 (Belle) can do this (single-search of both the local device and Internet) no problem.
And Vlingo is a halfway decent alternative to Siri. I can do more on my non-iDevices than most people I know with an iDevice.
What has this got to do with Android? Sweet bugger all, but I have to wonder why Nokia is allowed to get away with it and Android (Samsung) is not? More to the point, what about other Android-heavy manufacturers like HTC? Is this just a case of the two megaliths battling and everyone else sitting on the sidelines waiting for an outcome or what?
Founder & COO, Hayai India (hayai.in) / USA (hayaibroadband.com)
Apple is just a shining example of what's wrong with the U.S. altogether. The Republicans are a mess and so your stuck with Obummer. I'm glad I moved to Asia, and here...Samsung, Linux, Ubuntu etc., are starting to gain position, its Singapore, South Korea, India, China, Taiwan etc., where innovation etc.,is happening.
What's not showing in that list is how much better built the Mac case is. But if you're into creaky plastic I guess that might not be such a plus.
I wonder if you can really compare the Dell and Apple warranties based on price alone? I know that with Apple (from personal experience) they are very responsive to warranty issues. From reviews of Dell service it doesn't look like people are too happy with it. If something is cheaper but you can't really use it then it's not really cheaper.
http://www.rootstrikers.org/
I searched my bookshelf, the local library and the book store for a book I needed... I violated Apple's precious patent. OH WAIT, I did this two decades ago. Prior art fuckers! I used the "searching multiple places" idea long before Apple made a patent for it. I'm sure we all did.
> Who gives a shit?
Is that a rhetorical question? Or are you just being obtuse?
Obviously, when it comes to *smart* phones, people give a shit. A "whole lot a shit" regardless of how screwed up the patent system is.
That's the *biggest* reason why Apple have the *lion's* share of the profits---from *all* phone sales.
Most "Android" phones sold are *cheap* ones, btw.
When it comes to smart phones, people seem to be buying either a) an iPhone or b) just about anything else running just about any version of Android.
If Smart Phones were colas, half the cola sold would be "Coke" and there would be *no* Pepsi---just dozens of "no name" generic colas all basically the same. Cheaper. Less brand appeal. And less pricey, no doubt. And "Google" would be selling the "syrup."
But, don't be naive; when it comes to smart phones (and the "iPad," I mean, "tablet" market), Apple have become obscenely (or wonderfully, depending on your "fanboi" status) profitable *because* people give a shit.
I know *I* do.
Personally, I don't think Apple *needs* to abuse the system. Their insanely great products still will kick others' asses.
The system is there for the abusing.
Apple just happens to be the most successful company (by at least a few objective measures, btw) "abusing" it.
The fact the overwhelming majority of Apple's customers *love* their Apple products really is irrelevant. Except [winking] to Apple-haters, of course.
Maybe it wasn't the gods who were listening. What makes you think he went to "Heaven"?
OTOH, the situation what Jobs has left us, with all these patent litigations and whatnots, is very, very far away from "heaven"
Muchas Gracias, Señor Edward Snowden !
I'm sure iOS only got that with Siri, but Android has had it form 1.0!
The USA has demonstrably reached toxic levels of stupidity / corruption-disguised-as-stupidity. It should be cut off from the rest of the world to prevent us from being infected.
Requiem for the American Dream
Thanks Apple, without your high levels of investment to invent this amazing and innovative idea to search both the Internet and your local device at the same time, where would we be? We all know this couldn't have been invented without massive and huge investment and for this, I feel we should all take the time to thank Apple for increasing human knowledge and technology..
Oh wait, they didn't really invest that much to think of this rather obvious (and never once used by me) idea, what was I thinking...
Perhaps there may be an unexpected upside to the duopoly of MS and Apple. Most of these patents are being invalidated outside of the US, when court cases are coming to fruition. Perhaps when the US loses it Silicon Valley inhabitants, electing to go elsewhere due to restrictive development from patent infringement, the Gov may decide (and I mean MAY), they are on a unsustainable path, losing development to China, EU etc.
May be too late before congress gets off their ass to solve this, however, companies leaving or threatening to leave may get some action on the patent changes. Who knows.
I just dropped cygwin/X on it, problem solved.
Ridiculous! Check out this video that is on the same subject: http://youtu.be/POqBS94mXOM
The issue is not simply one of innovation. Innovations are common, inventions, a subset of innovations, somewhat less so.