I'd be surprised if any companies haven't been using tracking images as a matter of course for all their mailouts for the last 5 years.
Having spent 6 years working for web agencies I can tell you that marketing people love to see statistics on their mailouts, even if they do nothing more than get a rough estimate on number of views.
Without an actual implementation, a design-only claim is closer to my brief description than to an invention that should be protected with an exclusive monopoly.
As pointed out by other people requiring a working prototype would prevent small time inventors from ever being able to patent anything complex as they would never be able to afford the cost of building a full working model.
At any rate how do you know Microsoft didn't build a working prototypes to test different materials and techniques out?
MS certainly doesn't deserve a patent any more than I do
Actually if you read the patent Microsoft has come up with the "specific implementation" for a (hopefully) working system, where all you have said is "I want an electrically activated memory plastic display".
This is what patents are supposed to be, complete theoretically working designs. You can't (or at least you're not supposed to be able to) just patent the idea of a "shape shifting display" you have to come up with how to make one, and anyone coming up with a different method of creating one gets their own patent. (This is also the problem with software patents, you can get a patent on some vague idea that covers about 100 different potential implementations).
The idea behind patents is that the inventing company doesn't have to build anything, as the patent is public any interested manufacturer can come up with a use for the technology and licence it. If not for patents any novel idea a company comes up it that it doesn't end up using would just get filed away and lost.
I think you'll find you get a lot better pictures from the D40 due to the larger sensor having a lot less noise, more dynamic range and sharper lenses (tho it won't be quite as noticeable with the kit lens)
Understanding of quantum physics fail. That supernova is being "observed" by every single atom that the light from it hits, it doesn't make any difference whether it's a piece of inert rock or a telescope CCD.
Webb has a large shield that blocks the light from the Sun, Earth, and Moon, which otherwise would heat up the telescope, and interfere with the observations. To have this work, Webb must be in an orbit where all three of these objects are in about the same direction. The answer is to put Webb in an orbit around the L2 point.
This approach (using battery power topped up by a small turbine) would seem to make more sense given turbine engine characteristics (poor idle performance etc.)
An expedition to the Mariana Trench back in 1960 at a depth of 6.8 miles reported "a number of small sole and flounder swimming away". so it's been known for 50 years that vertebrates can survive at extreme depths (the deepest part of the ocean no less)
But with no major financial backing for the development of its Java libraries, Android could slip behind and lose the love of its Java-savvy developer base.
I've read that the main problem with airships with large cargo capacity is controlling buoyancy once the cargo is unloaded. For every tonne of cargo that is dropped the airship either needs to take on a tonne of ballast or dump expensive lifting gas otherwise it would suddenly shoot off into the air because it was too light (imagine a helium balloon cut from it's string).
Given they're claiming they can drop off a whole 150 tonnes of cargo in one go it'll be interesting to see how they will solve this problem without either wasting a lot of expensive helium or using cheaper hydrogen.
And the French TGV reached 574.8 km/h in a special test run. However these were specially modified trains, while this Chinese train broke the speed record for an unmodified train
I've used enough of them in my house that I know they don't last longer, despite claims. Often they take time to come up to full brightness. The color temperature they add to a room is a dingy yellow, so they give off an unpleasant light.
Really? I've kitted out all but one of my rooms with CFL bulbs (that room is on a dimmer) and I've not had to replace any of them in 5 years. Looking between the doorway between the CFL and incandescent room the colour temp is almost identical.
It sounds like you're using cheap crappy CFLs,.
Last and most importantly, most people don't know how to dispose of them properly, and many communities do not have a disposal strategy. I'm concerned that the long term downside of mercury in the soil and water table outweigh the energy savings.
Even if all the mercury in a CFL bulb escapes to the environment incandescents will likely produce more mercury over it's lifetime due to coal power plants releasing mercury. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cA2E14uKyZY
In 2003, two-thirds of the superconducting magnets in the Tevatron’s six-kilometer ring quenched at the same time. The beam drilled a hole in one collimator and created a 30-centimeter groove in another. That accident, while serious, was the only one in the accelerator’s 20-year history, and the machine was back up and running within two weeks. Could something similar happen on a larger scale at the LHC?
“In a bad accident, the beam could go off course and drill a hole through one or two magnets,” says Schmidt. While this would not destroy the LHC, it would still require time and money for repair.
I'm pretty sure something that can drill a hole in a super conducting magnet would make a hole in someone's hand...
The example doesn't work properly - it regenerates the cookie each time you load the page so I can't actually tell if the cookie is being persisted between browser sessions. I was curious to whether Chrome's incognito mode can defeat it...
Slashdot Mirror
I'd be surprised if any companies haven't been using tracking images as a matter of course for all their mailouts for the last 5 years.
Having spent 6 years working for web agencies I can tell you that marketing people love to see statistics on their mailouts, even if they do nothing more than get a rough estimate on number of views.
... then why not just build a fleet of small electric delivery vans to do the job (ala milk floats)
Without an actual implementation, a design-only claim is closer to my brief description than to an invention that should be protected with an exclusive monopoly.
As pointed out by other people requiring a working prototype would prevent small time inventors from ever being able to patent anything complex as they would never be able to afford the cost of building a full working model.
At any rate how do you know Microsoft didn't build a working prototypes to test different materials and techniques out?
MS certainly doesn't deserve a patent any more than I do
Actually if you read the patent Microsoft has come up with the "specific implementation" for a (hopefully) working system, where all you have said is "I want an electrically activated memory plastic display".
This is what patents are supposed to be, complete theoretically working designs. You can't (or at least you're not supposed to be able to) just patent the idea of a "shape shifting display" you have to come up with how to make one, and anyone coming up with a different method of creating one gets their own patent. (This is also the problem with software patents, you can get a patent on some vague idea that covers about 100 different potential implementations).
The idea behind patents is that the inventing company doesn't have to build anything, as the patent is public any interested manufacturer can come up with a use for the technology and licence it. If not for patents any novel idea a company comes up it that it doesn't end up using would just get filed away and lost.
... says countries who get to take naked photos of you whenever you fly
I think you'll find you get a lot better pictures from the D40 due to the larger sensor having a lot less noise, more dynamic range and sharper lenses (tho it won't be quite as noticeable with the kit lens)
Understanding of quantum physics fail. That supernova is being "observed" by every single atom that the light from it hits, it doesn't make any difference whether it's a piece of inert rock or a telescope CCD.
Another good demonstration of Dark Matter is when large galaxy clusters collide - the matter interacts creating a shockwave, while the mass (as detected by gravitational lensing) flies straight through unaffected
http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/2006/08/21/dark-matter-exists/
Video demonstration
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hg2SHngX_D8
And here's why:
Webb has a large shield that blocks the light from the Sun, Earth, and Moon, which otherwise would heat up the telescope, and interfere with the observations. To have this work, Webb must be in an orbit where all three of these objects are in about the same direction. The answer is to put Webb in an orbit around the L2 point.
This approach (using battery power topped up by a small turbine) would seem to make more sense given turbine engine characteristics (poor idle performance etc.)
http://hardware.slashdot.org/story/10/10/01/0039240/Jaguars-Hybrid-Jet-Powered-Concept-Car?from=rss
An expedition to the Mariana Trench back in 1960 at a depth of 6.8 miles reported "a number of small sole and flounder swimming away". so it's been known for 50 years that vertebrates can survive at extreme depths (the deepest part of the ocean no less)
Or all the old LucasArts point and click games for that metter
I'm pretty sure if I searched all the pre 1990 Amiga games I could find some that have the equivalent to mouse roll-overs in them.
But with no major financial backing for the development of its Java libraries, Android could slip behind and lose the love of its Java-savvy developer base.
Doesn't Google count as a major financial backer?
Branson 'spaceship' successfully falls off mothership
I've read that the main problem with airships with large cargo capacity is controlling buoyancy once the cargo is unloaded. For every tonne of cargo that is dropped the airship either needs to take on a tonne of ballast or dump expensive lifting gas otherwise it would suddenly shoot off into the air because it was too light (imagine a helium balloon cut from it's string).
Given they're claiming they can drop off a whole 150 tonnes of cargo in one go it'll be interesting to see how they will solve this problem without either wasting a lot of expensive helium or using cheaper hydrogen.
Eh? Macromedia cancelled Xres years before Adobe bought them.
Someone has reworked the diagram to give a clearer picture of what's going on
http://news.designlanguage.com/post/1252039209
Don't worry, respiration is carbon neutral
Here's a picture of David Johnston after he found out that geeks everywhere have spent hours trying to decipher his code
And the French TGV reached 574.8 km/h in a special test run. However these were specially modified trains, while this Chinese train broke the speed record for an unmodified train
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Land_speed_record_for_rail_vehicles#Conventional_wheeled
Why not just hack a normal ATM instead
http://news.techworld.com/security/6943/atm-cashpoints-hacked-via-google/
I've used enough of them in my house that I know they don't last longer, despite claims. Often they take time to come up to full brightness. The color temperature they add to a room is a dingy yellow, so they give off an unpleasant light.
Really? I've kitted out all but one of my rooms with CFL bulbs (that room is on a dimmer) and I've not had to replace any of them in 5 years. Looking between the doorway between the CFL and incandescent room the colour temp is almost identical.
It sounds like you're using cheap crappy CFLs,.
Last and most importantly, most people don't know how to dispose of them properly, and many communities do not have a disposal strategy. I'm concerned that the long term downside of mercury in the soil and water table outweigh the energy savings.
Even if all the mercury in a CFL bulb escapes to the environment incandescents will likely produce more mercury over it's lifetime due to coal power plants releasing mercury. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cA2E14uKyZY
I'm pretty sure plenty of scientists must have looked at this, after all someone had to design the beam dumps. From http://www.symmetrymagazine.org/cms/?pid=1000570
In 2003, two-thirds of the superconducting magnets in the Tevatron’s six-kilometer ring quenched at the same time. The beam drilled a hole in one collimator and created a 30-centimeter groove in another. That accident, while serious, was the only one in the accelerator’s 20-year history, and the machine was back up and running within two weeks. Could something similar happen on a larger scale at the LHC?
“In a bad accident, the beam could go off course and drill a hole through one or two magnets,” says Schmidt. While this would not destroy the LHC, it would still require time and money for repair.
I'm pretty sure something that can drill a hole in a super conducting magnet would make a hole in someone's hand...
The example doesn't work properly - it regenerates the cookie each time you load the page so I can't actually tell if the cookie is being persisted between browser sessions. I was curious to whether Chrome's incognito mode can defeat it...