You might recall all the warnings from the health sciences community and from manufacturers themselves about the possible damage 3D TVs could have on developing vision in kids. Shortly after that episode, all of the 3D TV gear and their hype, disappeared. Did anyone else notice an absence of 3D TVs in recent weeks?
You're kidding, right? If anything, it's the other way around. Many patentees are attempting to use the work of others by claiming infringement and seeking royalties or injunctive relief to stop other people from practicing the patents. The problem I have with patents is that they allow a patentee to tell me what I can or cannot do with my own property. That is hardly a free market idea.
You might want to read up on Jefferson. Here is a relevant quote: "If nature has made any one thing less susceptible than all others of exclusive property, it is the action of the thinking power called an idea, which an individual may exclusively possess as long as he keeps it to himself; but the moment it is divulged, it forces itself into the possession of every one, and the receiver cannot dispossess himself of it."
It seems such a shame that the life of the American economy has in part devolved into a fight over the ownership of ideas.
There is nothing in life that says that investors should be guaranteed a return on their work via government intervention in the market. The problem is not the ethical notion that researchers and the investors who finance them should be rewarded for their work and risk taking. The problem, as you are well aware, is that software patents are patents on math.
Besides, as you said, On2 made a lot of money on their patents. How much money did they make from implementation and support of the software they wrote? No one ever mentions that. The First Mover Advantage is a real advantage. Just ask McDonalds, AT&T and YouTube. As you have probably guessed, I'm against patents entirely. I haven't seen one single study which says that they encourage innovation or are a net benefit to society. As a matter of fact, there is a very recent, very interesting paper on the subject. You can check that out here.
While you may find reason to disagree with the paper, it's a pretty accurate assessment of the patent law here in the States. To me, this is the best explanation in a short, concise essay that what is wrong with patents.
Wow. Thanks for dropping by. That's one thing I really enjoy about slashdot - seeing an author come by to post a clarification. Indeed, that really helps me to understand the process better.
Thanks for the clarification. You've made this a lot easier for me to follow. There appears to be a lot more maintenance going on at the back end than I thought. But that still leaves the question for me open. Does this mean data recovery is harder or easier? Based on what you're saying there, it'd be harder to recover data after an erase.
I agree with you but wanted to add and maybe emphasize a point: open standards. I can't think of another big company that is pushing open standards in the same way with the same enthusiasm as Google is. They are helping to foster diversity in the browser market in a way that no other for profit company has done before (if you can think of a better example, let me know, really). Whether or not Chrome takes the lead in browser market share doesn't matter to them. What mattered to them, and me, is that they made open standards an important part of the debate over internet standards. I consider their actions regarding open standards to be an offering of goodwill that tends to get overlooked.
I think that attitude will extend the life of the company and very likely point the way towards better days ahead.
Looking at the article again, I don't see any byline. Just a posted date and that's it. If this is really big news, no one wants to take credit for it.
Of course, I might have missed it. Did anyone else see it?
I've found a bank that works pretty well on Chrome on Linux and have had no problems so far. As to the straight-jacketed banks, I agree with your assessment. Perhaps they can find other tools that give their customers a bit more peace of mind.
I see that Google is asking the PTO to re-examine 4 of the patents in question and will probably ask for a stay of the proceedings until that is done. That should be good for a delay of 3-4 years, ten years tops. And there are 3 more in the wings that Google is likely to throw into the re-examination bin. If the PTO says yes, Oracle is going to have find some other way to expedite things if they want to see any money soon.
I guess what concerns me the most about SSDs is data recovery. Is that any harder on SSDs than regular disks? Or is data recovery a moot point since there are no moving parts?
Perhaps. But that depends on whether or not these people think they have nothing to lose. A man with nothing to lose, or even the perception that he has nothing to lose can be a lot more dangerous than a man who already has what he wants and is afraid to lose it. In the former case, prison or fines might not be much of a deterrent. The most likely outcome is that they cool their heels as they have kids, buy a house, and prepare for retirement - but that would have to happen before they get caught in order for them to decide to stop.
Sort of reminds me of the Briar Rabbit story. It's not that they can't be touched. It's that they can't be touched without tar.
It's possible that this could work. But given the track record of partners with Necrosoft...I mean Microsoft, I think this is the start of a much faster decline for Nokia.
I've heard "there are good people who work for Microsoft" so much that I figured that it was just Ballmer and Gates promoting that attitude. It never occurred to me that the entire company is like that.
Ballmer seems more concerned with a "scorched-earth" competition ethos than to actually compete. He seems to sincerely believe in destroying the competition to own the market. The problem is that he doesn't seem to notice that when the dust settles his competition is still standing if not charging him.
Slashdot Mirror
The MS track record of killing partners is pretty consistent. Think Sun and Novell. I give Nokia maybe 5 years before they are "subsumed".
You might recall all the warnings from the health sciences community and from manufacturers themselves about the possible damage 3D TVs could have on developing vision in kids. Shortly after that episode, all of the 3D TV gear and their hype, disappeared. Did anyone else notice an absence of 3D TVs in recent weeks?
He makes sense to me. What else do you need?
You're kidding, right? If anything, it's the other way around. Many patentees are attempting to use the work of others by claiming infringement and seeking royalties or injunctive relief to stop other people from practicing the patents. The problem I have with patents is that they allow a patentee to tell me what I can or cannot do with my own property. That is hardly a free market idea.
You might want to read up on Jefferson. Here is a relevant quote: "If nature has made any one thing less susceptible than all others of exclusive property, it is the action of the thinking power called an idea, which an individual may exclusively possess as long as he keeps it to himself; but the moment it is divulged, it forces itself into the possession of every one, and the receiver cannot dispossess himself of it."
It seems such a shame that the life of the American economy has in part devolved into a fight over the ownership of ideas.
There is nothing in life that says that investors should be guaranteed a return on their work via government intervention in the market. The problem is not the ethical notion that researchers and the investors who finance them should be rewarded for their work and risk taking. The problem, as you are well aware, is that software patents are patents on math.
Besides, as you said, On2 made a lot of money on their patents. How much money did they make from implementation and support of the software they wrote? No one ever mentions that. The First Mover Advantage is a real advantage. Just ask McDonalds, AT&T and YouTube. As you have probably guessed, I'm against patents entirely. I haven't seen one single study which says that they encourage innovation or are a net benefit to society. As a matter of fact, there is a very recent, very interesting paper on the subject. You can check that out here.
While you may find reason to disagree with the paper, it's a pretty accurate assessment of the patent law here in the States. To me, this is the best explanation in a short, concise essay that what is wrong with patents.
Wow. Thanks for dropping by. That's one thing I really enjoy about slashdot - seeing an author come by to post a clarification. Indeed, that really helps me to understand the process better.
Thanks for the clarification. You've made this a lot easier for me to follow. There appears to be a lot more maintenance going on at the back end than I thought. But that still leaves the question for me open. Does this mean data recovery is harder or easier? Based on what you're saying there, it'd be harder to recover data after an erase.
You're welcome. I've been using them for years with Jamendo being the newest addition. Enjoy...
Here are some interesting alternatives not mentioned so far:
Jamendo (CC music)
SomaFM (streaming)
BlueMars (streaming music for the space traveler)
I use the bottom two every day and go to Jamendo when my eMusic account runs dry for the month.
I agree with you but wanted to add and maybe emphasize a point: open standards. I can't think of another big company that is pushing open standards in the same way with the same enthusiasm as Google is. They are helping to foster diversity in the browser market in a way that no other for profit company has done before (if you can think of a better example, let me know, really). Whether or not Chrome takes the lead in browser market share doesn't matter to them. What mattered to them, and me, is that they made open standards an important part of the debate over internet standards. I consider their actions regarding open standards to be an offering of goodwill that tends to get overlooked.
I think that attitude will extend the life of the company and very likely point the way towards better days ahead.
Looking at the article again, I don't see any byline. Just a posted date and that's it. If this is really big news, no one wants to take credit for it.
Of course, I might have missed it. Did anyone else see it?
I've found a bank that works pretty well on Chrome on Linux and have had no problems so far. As to the straight-jacketed banks, I agree with your assessment. Perhaps they can find other tools that give their customers a bit more peace of mind.
Agreed.
Ooops.
Uh, thanks for the lucid clarification. :) For a moment there, I was genuinely worried about geothermal energy wonks cooling the earth's core.
I see that Google is asking the PTO to re-examine 4 of the patents in question and will probably ask for a stay of the proceedings until that is done. That should be good for a delay of 3-4 years, ten years tops. And there are 3 more in the wings that Google is likely to throw into the re-examination bin. If the PTO says yes, Oracle is going to have find some other way to expedite things if they want to see any money soon.
I guess what concerns me the most about SSDs is data recovery. Is that any harder on SSDs than regular disks? Or is data recovery a moot point since there are no moving parts?
Perhaps. But that depends on whether or not these people think they have nothing to lose. A man with nothing to lose, or even the perception that he has nothing to lose can be a lot more dangerous than a man who already has what he wants and is afraid to lose it. In the former case, prison or fines might not be much of a deterrent. The most likely outcome is that they cool their heels as they have kids, buy a house, and prepare for retirement - but that would have to happen before they get caught in order for them to decide to stop.
Sort of reminds me of the Briar Rabbit story. It's not that they can't be touched. It's that they can't be touched without tar.
After "Psycho" Steve Ballmer? Perhaps.
It's possible that this could work. But given the track record of partners with Necrosoft...I mean Microsoft, I think this is the start of a much faster decline for Nokia.
I've heard "there are good people who work for Microsoft" so much that I figured that it was just Ballmer and Gates promoting that attitude. It never occurred to me that the entire company is like that.
One can only hope then, that saner minds prevail.
Ballmer seems more concerned with a "scorched-earth" competition ethos than to actually compete. He seems to sincerely believe in destroying the competition to own the market. The problem is that he doesn't seem to notice that when the dust settles his competition is still standing if not charging him.
Probably one that got smacked by reality.
How brave of you to speak up, anonymous coward.
Ignorant, maybe. Crazy, probably not. But there are websites tracking that stuff anyway.