I'm not necessarily saying this patent is valid. What I am saying is that the fact that a computer automates a task can be very ground-breaking. Not necessarily this patent. But didn't VisiCalc "merely" automate something that accounts did for a long time. Doesn't a spell checker "merely" automate something that people do anyway? When a computer copies a file from one disk to another, isn't it "merely" doing something that could be done by hand? When you use Photoshop to brighten a picture aren't you "merely" automating something you can do in a darkroom?
There may be plenty of reasons to knock this patent. The fact that it automates something isn't one of them.
All Amazon did was create an algorithm to automate the process.
Why damn "automation" as if it were nothing? All Henry Ford did was automate the construction of automobiles. All James Watt did was automate the production of power.
What's really interesting is that a bunch of non-lawyers are going up in arms over a decision they haven't read, relying solely on a couple of articles written by journalists, who often do not know the difference between a patent and a copyright.
Go to SCOTUSblog for a reasoned discussion by actual law professors who have actually read the opinion (warning: PDF file).
The Roku Soundbridge is a system that solves some of the problems mentioned in the comments. 1) No amp, just provides RCA jacks to integrate with your current stereo. 2) Cheap. $150 to $400, depending on the size of the screen.
It solves some problems of the AirPort Express (no display, no ability to control the host computer).
Has anyone here used it?
(And to answer the question of why get this instead of an actal computer--some people have home theaters or stereos and want something that integrate with that, instead of having another computer.
Ebay is not very good for CDs. You have to list the item and hope it sells. When I first started to sell my CDs, I used Ebay. I barely sold any of them. I switched to Amazon. Much better response.
Theory: people just don't surf Ebay to find a CD. People stumbling upon your Amazon listing are already looking for a particular CD. When they see the used section, they figure that they might as well save a few bucks on the CD.
The sneaky part isn't that they do this. The sneaky part is that they don't tell you, the seller. I have a small business there, selling CDs. They take their cut, then they give you $1.42 for shipping reimbursement. So if you sell a CD for $9.47, they'll take their 15% cut of $1.42, but give you $1.42 for shipping. So you still get $9.47. Seems like a good deal, right? What they don't tell you is that they charge the buyer over $3 shipping. You only get $1.42 of that.
I'll agree with the other poster who said/. is not the place to ask A/V questions. Try DV Info, which is a DV site frequented by a lot of professionals.
Even the bottom of the line Canon DV camcorders (the ZR series) have RCA/S-Video inputs. Well, they have S-video inputs. For RCA, you need an adapter that comes with the camera.
You are overreacting. Such a reaction may be warranted if this guy succeeds. But all he has done was file a law suit. Considering the entire patent talks about controlling an external device, they may have a hard time proving that the iTunes infringes it. Let the lawsuit run its course. THEN criticize the result.
A friend of mine does that but says there is a bad side to it--when I grew up, cartoons were only on at certain times, mainly on school day afternoons and Saturday mornings. So I only watched TV those few times and didn't watch at other times. So prime time was the time for "adult" shows and I did other things.
But some kids in Tivo households expect Dora (or whatever their favorite show is) to be on at all times. There is always something to watch because it is on the hard drive.
I think the/. overestimates the number of people who "obtain" their movies for free. Admittedly, some people are a little reluctant to admit that they do something that is illegal. But I've never met a person in real-life (as opposed to on-line) who admits to downloading movies off of the internet. I would guess that the average Joe Internet User has no idea where to go to get free movies, because there is no site called www.getfreemovieshere.com.
NF allowed me to make a list of all the TV shows and Movies that I wanted to see. I was able to make sure that I would see those random movies that people always recommend, but i never remember when i get to the video rental shop.
Aside from selection, that is the best part of Netflix. Now, when I read a movie review that makes me want to see it, I just open a new tab and put it in my queue.
The offer on Resiware's site seemed to good to be true (unlimited storage and bandwidth for $12/month). So I googled them and came up with this page noting that they got out of the hosting business. Do you know anything about that?
Vinyl is still valuable for several reasons: 1) a small, but vocal group of people insist that they sound better than CD; 2) DJs, particularly hip-hop DJs, use vinyl; 3) there is still music that is only available in vinyl. None of those factors apply to cassette tapes. 1) nobody thinks cassettes have great sound; 2) nobody DJs using cassette; 3) might be true, but not to the extent of vinyl.
A long, long time. When people talk about the death of the CD, they always point to the 5.25" floppy. But the fact is that the cassette was used as a computer storage medium at the same time as the 5.25" floppy. I remember because my Atari 800 had both. Higher capacity floppies (and random access) killed the cassette as a computer storage device. But the fact that it was still used for music distribution means that the cassette is still viable today. (It is trivially easy to find a cassette deck to play music).
I predict the same will be true of the CD. Because it is used as a music storage medium, it's life will far surpass compact flash, USB drives, ZIP drives, etc. Moreover, even when CD dies, it looks like manufacturers want to maintain backwards compatibility. For example, even though I don't own any working CD players (that is, CDs only) in my house or office, I can still play CDs through my PS2, my DVD player, or my computer's DVD+/-R drive.
We don't know this, but we can fairly quickly realize he's with Dooku, who's background we know from Ep 2
Why does the Trade Fedreation even WANT to kidnap the Senator?
We know who the Fed is from Ep 1 and 2. We know who Palpatine is from Ep 1 and 2. If the author's point was that we can't understand the movie without watching Clone Wars, he is wrong. Would Ep 3 have been better if we knew how Grievous got the other light sabers? Yes. But we already know he is bad because of who he is allied with.
Stephenson's point is that the important back story for this section of the movie is only explicitly (and only partially) explained in the text prologue. Further, the viewing audience doesn't seem to care much whose ship it is, and happily make the movie a blockbuster without understanding the important plot points. In other words, the plot is secondary to the action sequences in the new movie, and it doesn't matter (the geeks get their background elsewhere, and the non-geeks get to veg out and watch cool f/x).
Stephenson is wrong. The correct answer is, it doesn't matter who owned the ship. The ONLY thing we need to know is that Palpatine was kidnapped by Dooku and Anakin rescued him. It doesn't matter if it was on a specific ship or if it happened on an obscure planet that only one of the novel readers know. In the big picture, the owner of the ship is an insignificant detail. What's important is that Anakin killed Dooku. It's like the briefcase in Pulp Fiction. What's in it? It doesn't matter.
BINGO! Pricegrabber has its purpose. But then I have to always sift through who is actually reliable and who is a bait switcher. Newegg, while not always THE cheapest, is usually very close and has a great reputation. I thought I'd ask here to find out what people like, in addition to using pricegrabber star ratings.
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I wasn't talking about this patent specifically. OP basically said that automating something shouldn't be patentable. That is wrong.
There may be plenty of reasons to knock this patent. The fact that it automates something isn't one of them.
Why damn "automation" as if it were nothing? All Henry Ford did was automate the construction of automobiles. All James Watt did was automate the production of power.
Norman Koren links to several test images on his site.
Go to SCOTUSblog for a reasoned discussion by actual law professors who have actually read the opinion (warning: PDF file).
Still doesn't change the fact that Stevens is considered the most liberal member of the Court.
The TV show was the Simpsons.
Regardless of who appointed him, Stevens is generally considered the most liberal member of the Court.
It solves some problems of the AirPort Express (no display, no ability to control the host computer).
Has anyone here used it?
(And to answer the question of why get this instead of an actal computer--some people have home theaters or stereos and want something that integrate with that, instead of having another computer.
Theory: people just don't surf Ebay to find a CD. People stumbling upon your Amazon listing are already looking for a particular CD. When they see the used section, they figure that they might as well save a few bucks on the CD.
The sneaky part isn't that they do this. The sneaky part is that they don't tell you, the seller. I have a small business there, selling CDs. They take their cut, then they give you $1.42 for shipping reimbursement. So if you sell a CD for $9.47, they'll take their 15% cut of $1.42, but give you $1.42 for shipping. So you still get $9.47. Seems like a good deal, right? What they don't tell you is that they charge the buyer over $3 shipping. You only get $1.42 of that.
I'll agree with the other poster who said /. is not the place to ask A/V questions. Try DV Info, which is a DV site frequented by a lot of professionals.
Even the bottom of the line Canon DV camcorders (the ZR series) have RCA/S-Video inputs. Well, they have S-video inputs. For RCA, you need an adapter that comes with the camera.
You are overreacting. Such a reaction may be warranted if this guy succeeds. But all he has done was file a law suit. Considering the entire patent talks about controlling an external device, they may have a hard time proving that the iTunes infringes it. Let the lawsuit run its course. THEN criticize the result.
But some kids in Tivo households expect Dora (or whatever their favorite show is) to be on at all times. There is always something to watch because it is on the hard drive.
I think the /. overestimates the number of people who "obtain" their movies for free. Admittedly, some people are a little reluctant to admit that they do something that is illegal. But I've never met a person in real-life (as opposed to on-line) who admits to downloading movies off of the internet. I would guess that the average Joe Internet User has no idea where to go to get free movies, because there is no site called www.getfreemovieshere.com.
If one is a a camcorder snuck into a movie theater and the other is an official release, it's easy to see what I would pick.
Aside from selection, that is the best part of Netflix. Now, when I read a movie review that makes me want to see it, I just open a new tab and put it in my queue.
The offer on Resiware's site seemed to good to be true (unlimited storage and bandwidth for $12/month). So I googled them and came up with this page noting that they got out of the hosting business. Do you know anything about that?
Vinyl is still valuable for several reasons: 1) a small, but vocal group of people insist that they sound better than CD; 2) DJs, particularly hip-hop DJs, use vinyl; 3) there is still music that is only available in vinyl. None of those factors apply to cassette tapes. 1) nobody thinks cassettes have great sound; 2) nobody DJs using cassette; 3) might be true, but not to the extent of vinyl.
I predict the same will be true of the CD. Because it is used as a music storage medium, it's life will far surpass compact flash, USB drives, ZIP drives, etc. Moreover, even when CD dies, it looks like manufacturers want to maintain backwards compatibility. For example, even though I don't own any working CD players (that is, CDs only) in my house or office, I can still play CDs through my PS2, my DVD player, or my computer's DVD+/-R drive.
We know this from Ep 2.
Who is this General Grevious guy, anyway?
We don't know this, but we can fairly quickly realize he's with Dooku, who's background we know from Ep 2
Why does the Trade Fedreation even WANT to kidnap the Senator?
We know who the Fed is from Ep 1 and 2. We know who Palpatine is from Ep 1 and 2. If the author's point was that we can't understand the movie without watching Clone Wars, he is wrong. Would Ep 3 have been better if we knew how Grievous got the other light sabers? Yes. But we already know he is bad because of who he is allied with.
Stephenson is wrong. The correct answer is, it doesn't matter who owned the ship. The ONLY thing we need to know is that Palpatine was kidnapped by Dooku and Anakin rescued him. It doesn't matter if it was on a specific ship or if it happened on an obscure planet that only one of the novel readers know. In the big picture, the owner of the ship is an insignificant detail. What's important is that Anakin killed Dooku. It's like the briefcase in Pulp Fiction. What's in it? It doesn't matter.
BINGO! Pricegrabber has its purpose. But then I have to always sift through who is actually reliable and who is a bait switcher. Newegg, while not always THE cheapest, is usually very close and has a great reputation. I thought I'd ask here to find out what people like, in addition to using pricegrabber star ratings.