IANAMBA, but if I were inside Bill's head I would have already budgeted up to half of that huge MSFT cash stockpile for patent infringement judgments. Same if I were at any other big software company.
Sure, the patent system is a wonderful ancient system to stimulate Science & the Useful Arts, blah blah blah, and accordingly software companies often don't want to rock the boat.
But when you have a witches brew of: --9 to 5 gov't serfs at the PTO who would grant a patent for breathing air if you asked for one (ie, they often issue patents that should never be issued) --clever lawyers, and an unaccountable life-appointed judiciary, including many judges too old or out of touch to have any idea how software works; and judges equipped with a huge legal bag o'tricks to rationalize decisions and appeal results rooted in their political beliefs (all the way up to the supremes)......then any software business is potentially at risk of having to pay huge patent infringement damages at all times. If they are paying attention, they will plan/budget/insure accordingly. They aren't going to disclose the budgeted figures (could be used as an admission or to estimate their ability to settle), but they should have a rough estimate for any period.
So while Bill may be unhappy that he is losing $1 (bad), he shouldn't be surprised because he was expecting it all along --if not on this patent, then on some other.
In Hong Kong we use a smart card (stored value card) called the Octopus. I wear a waterproof Octopus watch, which contains the smart chip.
With the watch/card I can: --take a bus or minibus from home to the subway station --get coffee and sandwich at starbucks near the subway station --ride the subway to the ferry terminal --stop at 7-11 and buy a magazine --pay for the ferry to one of many smaller islands --get a coke from the vending machine at the ferry terminal --go to the beach at a smaller island, don't worry about my "money" getting wet -- but no, the seafood restaurants and island bars won't take the card...
The card is totally anonymous (or so they tell us). Downsides: it has an upper limit of HK$1000, good for cheap stuff but nothing big, has to be refilled in person for cash, and isn't accepted at many places other than the ones just mentioned. The local McDonald's stopped taking them about a year ago. The Octopus was originally developed by the HK subway system (govt owned, now partially privatized) "from Australian technology" and was then extended to some retailers "near" subway facilities. I have a feeling the banks and bank regulators wouldn't let them go any further -- way too threatening.
The upshot is that, except for the fact that you are required by law to carry your ID, you can basically spend a whole day outside without having to carry a wallet. Now, try to do the same thing in most other countries. Why hasn't anyone rolled this out in the US?
[By the way, the HK govt is now phasing in smart card ID cards -- haven't heard what they plan to do with the info. Big bro has a new toy!]
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IANAMBA, but if I were inside Bill's head I would have already budgeted up to half of that huge MSFT cash stockpile for patent infringement judgments. Same if I were at any other big software company.
...then any software business is potentially at risk of having to pay huge patent infringement damages at all times. If they are paying attention, they will plan/budget/insure accordingly. They aren't going to disclose the budgeted figures (could be used as an admission or to estimate their ability to settle), but they should have a rough estimate for any period.
Sure, the patent system is a wonderful ancient system to stimulate Science & the Useful Arts, blah blah blah, and accordingly software companies often don't want to rock the boat.
But when you have a witches brew of:
--9 to 5 gov't serfs at the PTO who would grant a patent for breathing air if you asked for one (ie, they often issue patents that should never be issued)
--clever lawyers, and an unaccountable life-appointed judiciary, including many judges too old or out of touch to have any idea how software works; and judges equipped with a huge legal bag o'tricks to rationalize decisions and appeal results rooted in their political beliefs (all the way up to the supremes)...
So while Bill may be unhappy that he is losing $1 (bad), he shouldn't be surprised because he was expecting it all along --if not on this patent, then on some other.
Personally, I prefer to use cowrie shells.
In Hong Kong we use a smart card (stored value card) called the Octopus. I wear a waterproof Octopus watch, which contains the smart chip.
With the watch/card I can:
--take a bus or minibus from home to the subway station
--get coffee and sandwich at starbucks near the subway station
--ride the subway to the ferry terminal
--stop at 7-11 and buy a magazine
--pay for the ferry to one of many smaller islands
--get a coke from the vending machine at the ferry terminal
--go to the beach at a smaller island, don't worry about my "money" getting wet -- but no, the seafood restaurants and island bars won't take the card...
The card is totally anonymous (or so they tell us). Downsides: it has an upper limit of HK$1000, good for cheap stuff but nothing big, has to be refilled in person for cash, and isn't accepted at many places other than the ones just mentioned. The local McDonald's stopped taking them about a year ago. The Octopus was originally developed by the HK subway system (govt owned, now partially privatized) "from Australian technology" and was then extended to some retailers "near" subway facilities. I have a feeling the banks and bank regulators wouldn't let them go any further -- way too threatening.
The upshot is that, except for the fact that you are required by law to carry your ID, you can basically spend a whole day outside without having to carry a wallet. Now, try to do the same thing in most other countries. Why hasn't anyone rolled this out in the US?
[By the way, the HK govt is now phasing in smart card ID cards -- haven't heard what they plan to do with the info. Big bro has a new toy!]