02:03:26:43 : KC9XG]APRS,PCSAT2*,qAC,KC9XG:] IGNORE ALogger A side test digi packet
02:03:26:44 : PCSAT2]APRLTM,SGATE,qAO,KC9XG:T# IGNORE ALogger A side test packet
???
Profit!
Of course, if you're talking about some "thing" intelligently designing life on Earth, why can't we discuss as part of that concept the idea that alien (or, "extraterrestrial," for you political correctness wonks) visitors to our planet seeded it with the life forms that initiated life here on Earth? It seems a valid extension/interpretation of ID, yet I have a funny feeling that nobody promoting ID would ever include a non-God entity in their list of possibilities.
And no, I don't personally think that's true...just pointing out a different perspective. Imagine how "intelligent" our President looks if we interpret it this way: "Pres. Bush advocates teaching of alien visitation in public school science curricula."
Wow...cool. I had no idea I was a hacker...will have to add that to the resume. Now to go get a lifetime supply of black t-shirts with obscure *nix jokes on them, throw away my shaver, and stock up on Mt. Dew.
Feh, if every company tried to impose its ideas of social justice on the governments it does business with, we'd have one monster of a mess on our hands. Leave the companies to make money and the voters to tell the government how to behave.
An important claim of Google's patent application is targeting -- directing only certain ads at certain types of customers. I don't think/. did that, did they?
I disagree (respectfully, of course). Patent examiners aren't just randomly allocated applications to review. They are given applications in specific, and often fairly narrow, categories, so the potential scope of relevant information is much narrower (just like in medicine, where not every doctor needs to know every piece of healthcare-related knowledge).
If the kind of burden you describe IS actually being put on patent examiners then (a) it's no wonder they're leaving in droves and (b) the PTO is even more broken than we thought.
In the past 2,000 years, there have been millions upon millions of healthcare-related innovations, policy changes, new medicines, etc., yet most physicians seem to be able to do their jobs pretty well after just 6-7 years of training.
Nobody's going to convince me that some electrical engineer turned patent examiner is going to know, or even needs to know, the details of all patent-related lawsuits just to do his job. That's what processes are for: simplifying otherwise complex jobs so they become actually doable. Maybe the PTO's real problem is a lack of process, not a lack of people. Just speculating.
Re:New raffle -- Mars Rover Lake Thaw Drop
on
Ice Lake on Mars
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· Score: 1
This post was moderated "Off-Topic"? Wha?!? Wait...what website am I on again?
Re:New raffle -- Mars Rover Lake Thaw Drop
on
Ice Lake on Mars
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· Score: 1
Excellent book...excellent.
New raffle -- Mars Rover Lake Thaw Drop
on
Ice Lake on Mars
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· Score: 2, Funny
OK, taking entries now for when the rover will drop through the ice during the Spring thaw. Please format entries to indicate specific time, day, month and eon.
Nicholas Godici was the Commissioner for Patents, the dude responsible for all aspects of the patent-granting process for the US (no, I wasnt' able to ask him why it sucks so much) from 2000 to 2005. He gave a short talk at my employer last month about patents and innovation and some interesting tidbits came out that help illustrate/explain some of their problems:
- Over half of all patents being applied for now are in the areas of electronics and related technologies, so they are trying like mad to hire electrical engineers and train them as patent reviewers. This takes 4-5 years of training unless the reviewer has a legal background already. (Personally, I can't imagine what about the patent process could take 4+ years to learn when most medical residencies aren't even that long).
- "Prior art" is not limited to just prior patent filings, but can include a variety of publicly available pieces of information. However, finding those items outside the PTO's own database can be impossible for someone who doesn't know the field (I think this implies that a public review step might be necessary in the future).
- The growth in patent applications, especially those coming from foreign entities, is over 30% a year, and the approval rate has been declining (but not as fast as the submission rate growth, so we're still seeing more patents per annum approved).
Anyway, I thought it was interesting. Clearly, his job was more political (fighting for resources/funding from Congress, etc.) than operational, which seems to be where most of the PTO's problems are now.
Of course, most of that expense is on CD-Rs and DVD-Rs, but hey, consumerism is consumerism, right?
More seriously, my wife's and my music purchasing really picked up after we discovered Napster all those years ago. Sampling a couple of songs from an artist often convinces us we want the whole album, and we still really enjoy the permanance of physical media (yes, we rip all our CDs, but I think of the collection of actual media as an aesthetically interesting, if not large, physical backup).
"Apple was tired of losing the gigahertz competition to the PC world."
I think we're all well beyond that, what with AMD and Intel now successfully battling each other on chip features far more important than clockspeed (e.g., dual core, specialized instruction sets, heat generation, power use, etc.). It just doesn't seem that too many people are making PC purchase decisions based mostly, or even partly, on clockspeeds. Thankfully, we now have a much richer assortment of attributes upon which to base our selections.
Maybe Apple just wanted to tap into a better (i.e., cheaper and more rapidly innovating) market for important parts. Can't blame 'em...same thing drove me to Firefox.;-)
And I gotta say that a lot of things have improved. When it comes to PC games, I'm a cheap bastard and easily amused by something a few years old -- hell, I still enjoy Quake III Arena, and compared to BF2, it looks like a 2nd grader with ADHD drew the graphics with Crayolas. Or maybe it's just that I now have a decent video card. Or maybe I stopped using peyote.
Anyway, what was I saying? Oh, right -- BF2 is an incredibly complex affair when you're used to run-around-and-shoot-people type FPS games. But, the complexity actually makes *strategy* a viable thing. Nobody is going to complain about "campers" in BF2, since camping is exactly what several of the player profiles are supposed to do. And that is refreshing.
If only they included a blood-caked dog-tag in the box...you know, just for realism.
"Cringely and PBS say that noncommercial use and redistribution will be allowed."
Excellent! Now the nattering naybobs of negativism here at work, who currently have conniptions whenever I try to use something from TV in the classroom, can't complain. Well, they can still complain, I just won't have to comply.
Even though the skin can benefit from moderate sunlight exposure, current medical thinking is that the retina is easily damaged by sunlight (especially the blue light component). Long-term/daily exposure to sunlight over many years without sunglasses or a hat is thought to be a contributor to macular degeneration, which sucks mightily if you have it.
Now to go drill out those damnable blue LEDs in my computer case.
While the Treo 650 can certainly do a *lot* more than what it might be replacing, I think you'll find it has many of the same great qualities. It's small (easily slipped into the front pocket of jeans) and my battery lasts easily 4 days with moderate use. 30 minutes of topping off every other day or so (just sit it in a cradle while you're at your PC) will keep it full and happy. I believe (but don't quote me) that the connector on the Treo 650 is dual-mode (USB and serial) so your connection spec should be satisfied as well. Give it a look...I think you'll be impressed (everyone I know who has one would rather give up one of their kids than go back to their previous handheld/phone).
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02:03:26:43 : KC9XG]APRS,PCSAT2*,qAC,KC9XG:] IGNORE ALogger A side test digi packet
02:03:26:44 : PCSAT2]APRLTM,SGATE,qAO,KC9XG:T# IGNORE ALogger A side test packet
???
Profit!
And no, I don't personally think that's true...just pointing out a different perspective. Imagine how "intelligent" our President looks if we interpret it this way: "Pres. Bush advocates teaching of alien visitation in public school science curricula."
They sold the lightsaber because in the next version of Star Wars, all the lightsabers will be replaced with flashlights.
Now I can buy a bigger house!
Wow...cool. I had no idea I was a hacker...will have to add that to the resume. Now to go get a lifetime supply of black t-shirts with obscure *nix jokes on them, throw away my shaver, and stock up on Mt. Dew.
Oh, wait.
An important claim of Google's patent application is targeting -- directing only certain ads at certain types of customers. I don't think /. did that, did they?
Which is why, I guess, probably most things shouldn't be patentable.
If the kind of burden you describe IS actually being put on patent examiners then (a) it's no wonder they're leaving in droves and (b) the PTO is even more broken than we thought.
Nobody's going to convince me that some electrical engineer turned patent examiner is going to know, or even needs to know, the details of all patent-related lawsuits just to do his job. That's what processes are for: simplifying otherwise complex jobs so they become actually doable. Maybe the PTO's real problem is a lack of process, not a lack of people. Just speculating.
This post was moderated "Off-Topic"? Wha?!? Wait...what website am I on again?
Excellent book...excellent.
OK, taking entries now for when the rover will drop through the ice during the Spring thaw. Please format entries to indicate specific time, day, month and eon.
- Over half of all patents being applied for now are in the areas of electronics and related technologies, so they are trying like mad to hire electrical engineers and train them as patent reviewers. This takes 4-5 years of training unless the reviewer has a legal background already. (Personally, I can't imagine what about the patent process could take 4+ years to learn when most medical residencies aren't even that long).
- "Prior art" is not limited to just prior patent filings, but can include a variety of publicly available pieces of information. However, finding those items outside the PTO's own database can be impossible for someone who doesn't know the field (I think this implies that a public review step might be necessary in the future).
- The growth in patent applications, especially those coming from foreign entities, is over 30% a year, and the approval rate has been declining (but not as fast as the submission rate growth, so we're still seeing more patents per annum approved).
Anyway, I thought it was interesting. Clearly, his job was more political (fighting for resources/funding from Congress, etc.) than operational, which seems to be where most of the PTO's problems are now.
More seriously, my wife's and my music purchasing really picked up after we discovered Napster all those years ago. Sampling a couple of songs from an artist often convinces us we want the whole album, and we still really enjoy the permanance of physical media (yes, we rip all our CDs, but I think of the collection of actual media as an aesthetically interesting, if not large, physical backup).
I think we're all well beyond that, what with AMD and Intel now successfully battling each other on chip features far more important than clockspeed (e.g., dual core, specialized instruction sets, heat generation, power use, etc.). It just doesn't seem that too many people are making PC purchase decisions based mostly, or even partly, on clockspeeds. Thankfully, we now have a much richer assortment of attributes upon which to base our selections.
Maybe Apple just wanted to tap into a better (i.e., cheaper and more rapidly innovating) market for important parts. Can't blame 'em...same thing drove me to Firefox. ;-)
Anyway, what was I saying? Oh, right -- BF2 is an incredibly complex affair when you're used to run-around-and-shoot-people type FPS games. But, the complexity actually makes *strategy* a viable thing. Nobody is going to complain about "campers" in BF2, since camping is exactly what several of the player profiles are supposed to do. And that is refreshing.
If only they included a blood-caked dog-tag in the box...you know, just for realism.
My daughter is 8 months old -- now I neither go out nor watch TV. :-/
Ouch, that hit kinda close to home.
Of course, with TiVoToGo, "watching TV" is just another label for me sitting in front of my laptop. *sigh*
But seriously (?), the new show is excellent -- give it a try if you can find the spare hour here or there.
Excellent! Now the nattering naybobs of negativism here at work, who currently have conniptions whenever I try to use something from TV in the classroom, can't complain. Well, they can still complain, I just won't have to comply.
Now to go drill out those damnable blue LEDs in my computer case.
So some planets have candy instead of peanut butter or nougat inside them...interesting.
While the Treo 650 can certainly do a *lot* more than what it might be replacing, I think you'll find it has many of the same great qualities. It's small (easily slipped into the front pocket of jeans) and my battery lasts easily 4 days with moderate use. 30 minutes of topping off every other day or so (just sit it in a cradle while you're at your PC) will keep it full and happy. I believe (but don't quote me) that the connector on the Treo 650 is dual-mode (USB and serial) so your connection spec should be satisfied as well. Give it a look...I think you'll be impressed (everyone I know who has one would rather give up one of their kids than go back to their previous handheld/phone).
Ahem, yes, I've felt them get there many a time and not even K-Y Jelly helps any more.
We might as well ask Detroit to design vehicles that don't fall apart.