To read the patent claims, it sounds as though Lockwood has patented a) the principle of RDBMS, b) the microcomputer, and c) the World-Wide Web. It also sounds as though certain aspects of the patent could be circumnavigated by using a monolithic binary to handle everything, and by storing the info on DVD (the only optical medium mentioned in the older patent is CD-ROM), but that's my uninformed opinion.
My more informed opinion is that we should assemble a group (like www.youmaybenext.com?) to sue the Patent and Trademark Office for issuing stupid patents, the recommended remedy being to shorten the life of technology- and pharmaceutical-related patents to six months. =P
Our machines are named after characters that've been played by Michael McKean: lenny (Laverne & Shirley), st-hubbins (Spinal Tap), vanderhoof (Best In Show), morris (the X-Files), and so on. He's such a bitchin' actor that we figured naming a small server farm after him was the least we could do. And when we run out of movies/TV shows that we remember him being in, there's always imdb.com...
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My more informed opinion is that we should assemble a group (like www.youmaybenext.com?) to sue the Patent and Trademark Office for issuing stupid patents, the recommended remedy being to shorten the life of technology- and pharmaceutical-related patents to six months. =P
Our machines are named after characters that've been played by Michael McKean: lenny (Laverne & Shirley), st-hubbins (Spinal Tap), vanderhoof (Best In Show), morris (the X-Files), and so on. He's such a bitchin' actor that we figured naming a small server farm after him was the least we could do. And when we run out of movies/TV shows that we remember him being in, there's always imdb.com...