The idea is to create a virtual being that can visit the neighboring cubicle for a live telephone chat even as its owner is traveling thousands of miles away
I have a device that allows me to do that already. It's called a telephone.
They're not capable of setting a global economic precedent except for maybe the price of coffee.
Nope. Right now there's a world-wide glut of coffee and the price coffee end-growers are getting for their crop is rock-bottom. But you knew that from the way the price of your Grandé has plunged at Starbucks... right?
A few years ago, they allowed lots of spammers to off-shore there. Since all their Internet access is via the national monopoly, it wasn't hard to just block them at the router to fix the problem. The problem of the people being spammed, that is. It left the non-spammers in Costa Rica high and dry since there was no reasonable ISP that they could move their business to.
You'd think they'd have learned something from that about monopolies.
The poster did say she was in her "late 40s". How about "I guess they didn't have manners in the 50s when you were growing up"? You might get out the door before it sinks in.
"Subtlety is the art of saying what you think and getting out of the way
before it is understood."
That's taking the speculation by Faultline to the maximum. This isn't even to the lawyer trash-talking stage yet, much less over in court or a settlement deal.
Those IP vulture companies like going after the little guys first. Many of the sleeper patents they aquire cheaply are from failed companies, and aren't too strong. (If they were strong, why did the company fail? [Simplistic, I know.]) They like to try them out in the minor leagues and build a track record before playing with the big boys.
Strong patents will tend to come from companies that actually do R&D, and MS certainly pumps enough money into that to have patent cards worth trading.
Odds are, Microsoft has enough patents in their arsenal to do a deal and get cross-licences. This isn't dying by the sword, this is more like a paper-cut even if they have to pay cash.
Of course, the little guy who isn't a member of the nuclear MAD patent club is screwed, but what else is new?
*ahem* If they operate in England and Wales, you mean.:) Scotland has different laws about that. (Not a recent nationalism thing, dating back to the Union.)
Aye, there's the rub. There's a pseudo-religious organization that operates in the UK as an Australian charity under a reciprocal tax agreement. (Their charity application was turned down in England, Wales, and probably Scotland in 1999.) They slide between the cracks in the laws of both countries that way.
Groups with a dodgy off-shore charity registration should be looked at closely before donating.
On their web site, if they thank L. Ron Hubbard for something, then they are not a charity! (Although they can apparently fix shattered arms in 45 minutes and raise the dead, their help is usually handing out other people's supplies, Scientology leaflets, "pull my finger" healing, and getting in the way.)
Slashdot Mirror
Just whatever you do, never never install the Shining theme pack on it, m'kay?
They could combine spinoffs from their iLoo Microsoft potty. (Sure, they denied that it was a real project.)
(Remember that Robocop boots in DOS.)
I have a device that allows me to do that already. It's called a telephone.
Yeah, that's only six hours per spam.
Firefox 1.0.1? What the..?! Windows Update never mentioned a thing about that, must be broken!
He didn't want to ruin his reputation.
Don't cross the plot streams. It'd end with the last Ent being knocked down by a Delorean.
His metaphor lives on Endor!
No need to wonder about his alignment. They never occur as chaotic-good.
Don't you need that Ancient gene to make it work?
Nope. Right now there's a world-wide glut of coffee and the price coffee end-growers are getting for their crop is rock-bottom. But you knew that from the way the price of your Grandé has plunged at Starbucks ... right?
You'd think they'd have learned something from that about monopolies.
Definitely one heck of a lot of Evil Bits!
"Subtlety is the art of saying what you think and getting out of the way before it is understood."
Your ear-worm is ringing!
That's taking the speculation by Faultline to the maximum. This isn't even to the lawyer trash-talking stage yet, much less over in court or a settlement deal.
From Hamlet. (Good thing Shakespeare didn't get language patents back then or Mickey Mouse perpetual copyrights.)
Strong patents will tend to come from companies that actually do R&D, and MS certainly pumps enough money into that to have patent cards worth trading.
Of course, the little guy who isn't a member of the nuclear MAD patent club is screwed, but what else is new?
I doubt it was 12am in their timezone. And regardless of their physical location, I'm sure they'd will willing to colonize other timezones as needed.
*ahem* If they operate in England and Wales, you mean. :) Scotland has different laws about that. (Not a recent nationalism thing, dating back to the Union.)
Aye, there's the rub. There's a pseudo-religious organization that operates in the UK as an Australian charity under a reciprocal tax agreement. (Their charity application was turned down in England, Wales, and probably Scotland in 1999.) They slide between the cracks in the laws of both countries that way.
Groups with a dodgy off-shore charity registration should be looked at closely before donating.
If it really was a parallel, it would have disappeared three days later, leaving behind the petri-dish of Turin.
On their web site, if they thank L. Ron Hubbard for something, then they are not a charity! (Although they can apparently fix shattered arms in 45 minutes and raise the dead, their help is usually handing out other people's supplies, Scientology leaflets, "pull my finger" healing, and getting in the way.)