Remember when you take a DVD home, and it has those sticky things along the outside that are a bitch to get off? Now that can be removed at the store, so they can deactivate the chip thingie. Seems like a decent trade to me, I hate that stuff.
I personally agree that this is a bad idea, but the headline is overreacting a little bit.
I don't think patents on methods of solving problems like this are a good idea because closed source software companies can hide their execution method to get around a patent like this (assuming there is no insider evidence) but open sourced programmers would get nailed because the exact method of the algorithm is available to anyone. It's just not a level playing field.
Also having read the patent application more closely, many of the claims are huge and fuzzy. Patents like this might work if any part of it was found to be invalid, the entire patent would be rejected, instead of just the single claim. This might keep some of those lawers in check (At least in my little dream world it would work like that)
They're not patenting the idea of Verb Conjugation, they're patenting the method they want to use to accomplish this with software. It's a method patent.
Whether or not method patents are a good idea or not is another matter. But what they are doing isn't really all that unusual in the patent world.
(IANAL)
The counter arguement (not that I agree completely, but it does hold some water) is that all those College-aged students (like myself) would not have paid for that music anyway. They download it because it's there.
This doesn't make it ok, but the RIAA saying that every download of a song is a lost record sale is crazy. The action may be morally questionable, and possibly illegal, but economically, I don't think it's nearly as big an issue as they would have you believe.
Ummm... where? There are no "new" contenents anymore, and killing off entire civilazations who currently live on said "new" contenents is politically incorrect in the current political climate.
(not that killing off entire civilazations used to be a good idea)
No where on slashdot or any other site I've ever been to did it say "load our advertisements... and we will make available to you our content, free of charge" or anything even close to that. They provide content, and link to ads. Some of those ads aren't loaded on my browser because i block the servers they comefrom using AdBlock. There was no EULA I had to agree to to load this or any other page. Just like I am not required to follow every advertising link (which is what they would prefer mind you), I choose not to even load the ads.
To summerize: Websites send content, they also send links to ads. My browser displays said content, but does not follow links to ads. Maybe I'm missing out, but I doubt it.
Most of those open source applicantions cost a grand total of $zero. If Half-Life 2 was free to download, shipped with source, and not DRM crippled, then you could make the comparison.
They won't be another Google because Google made something that everyone on the internet uses, while Tableau makes something useful for only a small group of businesses. Plus it's not free as in beer.
We had somethhing like this at my school, UC San Diego. We were given PDAs that were able to access the wireless network on campus. One of the applicatoins that came preloaded allowed us to post messages that everyone could read, or post private notes that people on a short list could read. It was really fun for about three days, and then school started and we stopped using it.
What would happen if everyone clicked on the ad, but didn't buy anything? Could that drive the company trying to sell stuff out of buisness by forcing them to pay incredible ammounts of money to the marketing company? Granted, we'd be left with only marketing companies, until the real companies realized that they aren't making money by advertizing like this online....
You are correct, that's my bad. She did at one time work for Genentech, but she also worked for Calgene, which was actually bought by Monsanto. That's what i meant, and I apologize
People seem to be afriad that GM food will lead to "Frankenfood", which isn't usually very well defined. My favorite example of these people are Greenpeace (www.greenpeace.com) especially read weblog.reenpeace.org/ge where it states:
Twenty Greenpeace activists today presented EU Agriculture Ministers in Luxembourg with the clear message that: "Europe says No to GMOs". However despite our presence the EU Agriculture Council decided not to block the approval of genetically engineered sweet corn (Bt-11 maize) imports for human consumption.
wow, 20 whole people, i wouldn't call that everyone....
I don't have any links available for the "pro" side of the Genetically modified food, but I think taking a look at people like greenpace is enough to make a person feel that GM food is perfectally fine.
Full disclosure: My mother used to work for Genentech before it was bought by Monsanto
Slashdot Mirror
Remember when you take a DVD home, and it has those sticky things along the outside that are a bitch to get off? Now that can be removed at the store, so they can deactivate the chip thingie. Seems like a decent trade to me, I hate that stuff.
I personally agree that this is a bad idea, but the headline is overreacting a little bit.
I don't think patents on methods of solving problems like this are a good idea because closed source software companies can hide their execution method to get around a patent like this (assuming there is no insider evidence) but open sourced programmers would get nailed because the exact method of the algorithm is available to anyone. It's just not a level playing field.
Also having read the patent application more closely, many of the claims are huge and fuzzy. Patents like this might work if any part of it was found to be invalid, the entire patent would be rejected, instead of just the single claim. This might keep some of those lawers in check (At least in my little dream world it would work like that)
They're not patenting the idea of Verb Conjugation, they're patenting the method they want to use to accomplish this with software. It's a method patent. Whether or not method patents are a good idea or not is another matter. But what they are doing isn't really all that unusual in the patent world. (IANAL)
They're not putting hydrogen in the rotory engine, they're using a fuel cell like any other hydrogen powered car.
The counter arguement (not that I agree completely, but it does hold some water) is that all those College-aged students (like myself) would not have paid for that music anyway. They download it because it's there.
This doesn't make it ok, but the RIAA saying that every download of a song is a lost record sale is crazy. The action may be morally questionable, and possibly illegal, but economically, I don't think it's nearly as big an issue as they would have you believe.
Just a though, I could be way off.
Ummm... where? There are no "new" contenents anymore, and killing off entire civilazations who currently live on said "new" contenents is politically incorrect in the current political climate.
(not that killing off entire civilazations used to be a good idea)
No where on slashdot or any other site I've ever been to did it say "load our advertisements ... and we will make available to you our content, free of charge" or anything even close to that. They provide content, and link to ads. Some of those ads aren't loaded on my browser because i block the servers they comefrom using AdBlock. There was no EULA I had to agree to to load this or any other page. Just like I am not required to follow every advertising link (which is what they would prefer mind you), I choose not to even load the ads.
To summerize: Websites send content, they also send links to ads. My browser displays said content, but does not follow links to ads. Maybe I'm missing out, but I doubt it.
Most of those open source applicantions cost a grand total of $zero. If Half-Life 2 was free to download, shipped with source, and not DRM crippled, then you could make the comparison.
They won't be another Google because Google made something that everyone on the internet uses, while Tableau makes something useful for only a small group of businesses. Plus it's not free as in beer.
Unless I'm missing something...
That took most of 90 seconds to fix, and no restart. Firefox is great.
We had somethhing like this at my school, UC San Diego. We were given PDAs that were able to access the wireless network on campus. One of the applicatoins that came preloaded allowed us to post messages that everyone could read, or post private notes that people on a short list could read. It was really fun for about three days, and then school started and we stopped using it.
Yes, they will see that banner ads don't work an move on to the next most annoying thing in the universe, pop-up ads.
Be careful what you wish for...
What would happen if everyone clicked on the ad, but didn't buy anything? Could that drive the company trying to sell stuff out of buisness by forcing them to pay incredible ammounts of money to the marketing company? Granted, we'd be left with only marketing companies, until the real companies realized that they aren't making money by advertizing like this online....
Just a thought
You are correct, that's my bad. She did at one time work for Genentech, but she also worked for Calgene, which was actually bought by Monsanto. That's what i meant, and I apologize
wow, 20 whole people, i wouldn't call that everyone....
I don't have any links available for the "pro" side of the Genetically modified food, but I think taking a look at people like greenpace is enough to make a person feel that GM food is perfectally fine.
Full disclosure: My mother used to work for Genentech before it was bought by Monsanto
If you can't miss a gigantic spherical balloon, I don't want you flying my jet.
They may need that health monitoring equipment immediately after he finishes going 250kph on his face...
Or maybe they won't.