I don't think most people are wholly in favour of abolishing patents in the manner you suggest.
What they ARE in favour of is abolishing or diminishing the effects of patents on software processes, business methods and the like.
Reading some of the posts above (try this one) will show that these did not become patentable until about 20(?) years ago, due to one or two court cases.
Most of your argument is based on patents for what most of us still think of as "real" inventions, and only a few of the people here would disagree with your examples. But the examples you use predate the type of patents most of us are talking about (and largely(?) disagree with). If the patent situation was to return to the way it was in 1939, many of us would be happy with this (well, happier anyway).
Patents were designed to protect small inventors. But software patents and business process patents are not being used to protect small inventors - they are being used to allow large companies to lock out competition - perverting the idea of capitalism and the free market (unless your idea of capitalism is just to allow large corporations to do what the hell they like, and let the strongest survive).
It's called Prime Minister's Question Time, and it's once a week (used to be 15 mins. twice a week, but Tony Blair changed it to 30 mins. once a week - I think).
Slashdot Mirror
So they've increased the compression when downloading by upwards of 25%.
But how can they claim to have increased data throughput rates from 150-200 kbit/s to over 300 kbit/s ? This is a 50-100% speedup.
What they ARE in favour of is abolishing or diminishing the effects of patents on software processes, business methods and the like.
Reading some of the posts above (try this one) will show that these did not become patentable until about 20(?) years ago, due to one or two court cases.
Most of your argument is based on patents for what most of us still think of as "real" inventions, and only a few of the people here would disagree with your examples. But the examples you use predate the type of patents most of us are talking about (and largely(?) disagree with). If the patent situation was to return to the way it was in 1939, many of us would be happy with this (well, happier anyway).
Patents were designed to protect small inventors. But software patents and business process patents are not being used to protect small inventors - they are being used to allow large companies to lock out competition - perverting the idea of capitalism and the free market (unless your idea of capitalism is just to allow large corporations to do what the hell they like, and let the strongest survive).
If this manages to survive, manufacturers will rush to patent the next generation of memory.
It's happened before, and it'll happen again.
PS: It's British Telecom, not English Telecom. English Telecom would be ET, and he's got his own way of phoning home
I hope Turbo Linux and Red Hat never merge.
I'd be too embarrassed to run anything called Turbo Hat.
I believe there is a Mr. Hussain in Iraq who used to share your views on the UN.
It's called Prime Minister's Question Time, and it's once a week (used to be 15 mins. twice a week, but Tony Blair changed it to 30 mins. once a week - I think).
Mobile phones, laptops, personal organisers, radios, CD players.....
Does nobody read books any more ?