I think you have a pretty good point, but really I think that its a terribly small subset of the populace that is able to beat the machines like that. I think generally this thing will be able to handle the majority of cases. The only problem is that if ANYONE can beat the machines at all, they cannot be used as 100% conclusive, but it could still carry some weight.
Oh absolutely. NTP's "inventor" should be drug out into the street and beaten soundly. In the mean time I am going to patent a number of vague things that may or may not be invented in the future. But I will claim I was the inventor and was just waiting for someone to spend the money to develop it and market it...and sue for infringement! The RIM/NTP issue is insane, and NTP is clearly in the wrong in this round. However, RIM vs PDA makers over the keyboard thing seems equally absurd and I can't help but think this is karma coming back to them. I seriously doubt that RIM was the first to think of "hey lets make a really small keyboard for a mobile device". That is hardly an impressive idea, while they may have a nice implementation, its not a new idea. Remember those stupid calculator watches? Or any number of children's toys with small keyboards... They may have a nice implementation of the midget keyboard, but for them to sue others over patents on it is insane. My point is why should I feel sorry for RIM, sure NTP is a bunch of greedy bastards, but that doesn't excuse RIM from also being greedy bastards, they are just getting their karma returned.
RIM didn't sue NTP. RIM sued Handspring or some other PDA maker over some keyboard nonsense. What basically ammounted to "You stole our idea for making the keyboard really small!" from what I gather. This story's article mentioned this at the beginning, but I have seen more detailed articles linked to from previous stories of the RIM/NTP shenannigans. I was referring primarily to the more detailed stories linked to through the earlier RIM/NTP stories about how RIM used to be litigious bastards sueing over nonsense patents.
Lets repost this story, except lets have it be about Linus or RMS, or Alan Cox, or any of the other OSS heros editing their own bio. Then we can all compare the comments denouncing the politicians for editing their bios to the flurry of comments that would be sure to follow about how the OSS heroes are only making factual corrections. The only reason anyone cares about this is because it supposedly exposes more evils of the politicians. Not to say they aren't a bunch of shady bastiges as a whole, but come on...wikipedia entries? This is hardly the next Watergate, Iran Contra, War on Drugs, War on Terrorism, or other insanely corrupt event...its a wikipedia entry. Can we please keep focused here on things the questionable politicians do that make a real difference?
A tiny keyboard is hardly a unique development. I love my ipod, but I don't think that whole click wheel thing should really be a patentable thing. Its a neat idea, clever interface, but ultimately the ideas behind it aren't terribly complex or new. It seems to me like a rather natural progression in the idea of using a knob to select something. I would love to see a lawsuit from Maytag targeting Apple "We patented using a dial to make a selection an then a button to act on that selection!"
Maybe I am missing something, or maybe I didn't read close enough. But I am pretty sure RIM started with the lawsuits long before this NTP nonsense came up. Going after portable devices for "Hey! you stole our idea of making a small keyboard!" I'm not saying that their only business is lawsuits as is the case with NTP. I just think there is some karma involved here in the tendancy to use stupid and obvious patents to compete rather than coming up with something truely innovative. I don't even really have a problem with patents on a whole, just the insanity that has come as of late with patents that are not terribly unique and special ideas.
Which side am I supposed to be on?
on
RIM - The Whole Story
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· Score: 4, Interesting
Ok...so...basically as pointed out in any number of the previous RIM/NTP stories, RIM started as a bunch of patent litigating bastards. Now...NTP attacks them with an equally moronic patent and suddenly we are all supposed to gather the horde, fetch the pitchforks and charge to RIM's defense because patents are bad. So...once this is over...and someone attacks NTP the same way RIM went on the attack, followed by NTP attacking, are we supposed to support NTP during their defense? This also brings up similar questions with SCO and friends...are we supposed to support SCO when they are attacked by the same litigious bastard types that they were being? I for one would like to see RIM get torn to pieces by this silly patent, partially as karma, partially as an example to the world how stupid this patent nonsense is getting, and partially becuase I just don't really like crackberries.
I would just like to point out that that paying the newspapers to print positive stories thing swings both ways. Stories of good things don't make for good ratings, stories of horrible controversial things make great ratings. There is no financial incentive to print stories of good things happening. Since the media as a whole is a business thing looking for money, and not a do good for the public non bias source...its hard to cry foul for paying for good stories. There are alot of really good things happening in Iraq, but that runs counter to the whole OMFG WE HATE DA BUSH thing. This isn't to say Iraq isn't a pretty unpleasant place to be on a whole, but there are still alot of good things happening that noone hears about, or wants to...as a people we only want the negative news, so we can cry about not hearing the good.
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I think you have a pretty good point, but really I think that its a terribly small subset of the populace that is able to beat the machines like that. I think generally this thing will be able to handle the majority of cases. The only problem is that if ANYONE can beat the machines at all, they cannot be used as 100% conclusive, but it could still carry some weight.
Oh absolutely. NTP's "inventor" should be drug out into the street and beaten soundly. In the mean time I am going to patent a number of vague things that may or may not be invented in the future. But I will claim I was the inventor and was just waiting for someone to spend the money to develop it and market it...and sue for infringement! The RIM/NTP issue is insane, and NTP is clearly in the wrong in this round. However, RIM vs PDA makers over the keyboard thing seems equally absurd and I can't help but think this is karma coming back to them. I seriously doubt that RIM was the first to think of "hey lets make a really small keyboard for a mobile device". That is hardly an impressive idea, while they may have a nice implementation, its not a new idea. Remember those stupid calculator watches? Or any number of children's toys with small keyboards... They may have a nice implementation of the midget keyboard, but for them to sue others over patents on it is insane. My point is why should I feel sorry for RIM, sure NTP is a bunch of greedy bastards, but that doesn't excuse RIM from also being greedy bastards, they are just getting their karma returned.
RIM didn't sue NTP. RIM sued Handspring or some other PDA maker over some keyboard nonsense. What basically ammounted to "You stole our idea for making the keyboard really small!" from what I gather. This story's article mentioned this at the beginning, but I have seen more detailed articles linked to from previous stories of the RIM/NTP shenannigans. I was referring primarily to the more detailed stories linked to through the earlier RIM/NTP stories about how RIM used to be litigious bastards sueing over nonsense patents.
Lets repost this story, except lets have it be about Linus or RMS, or Alan Cox, or any of the other OSS heros editing their own bio. Then we can all compare the comments denouncing the politicians for editing their bios to the flurry of comments that would be sure to follow about how the OSS heroes are only making factual corrections. The only reason anyone cares about this is because it supposedly exposes more evils of the politicians. Not to say they aren't a bunch of shady bastiges as a whole, but come on...wikipedia entries? This is hardly the next Watergate, Iran Contra, War on Drugs, War on Terrorism, or other insanely corrupt event...its a wikipedia entry. Can we please keep focused here on things the questionable politicians do that make a real difference?
A tiny keyboard is hardly a unique development. I love my ipod, but I don't think that whole click wheel thing should really be a patentable thing. Its a neat idea, clever interface, but ultimately the ideas behind it aren't terribly complex or new. It seems to me like a rather natural progression in the idea of using a knob to select something. I would love to see a lawsuit from Maytag targeting Apple "We patented using a dial to make a selection an then a button to act on that selection!"
Maybe I am missing something, or maybe I didn't read close enough. But I am pretty sure RIM started with the lawsuits long before this NTP nonsense came up. Going after portable devices for "Hey! you stole our idea of making a small keyboard!" I'm not saying that their only business is lawsuits as is the case with NTP. I just think there is some karma involved here in the tendancy to use stupid and obvious patents to compete rather than coming up with something truely innovative. I don't even really have a problem with patents on a whole, just the insanity that has come as of late with patents that are not terribly unique and special ideas.
Ok...so...basically as pointed out in any number of the previous RIM/NTP stories, RIM started as a bunch of patent litigating bastards. Now...NTP attacks them with an equally moronic patent and suddenly we are all supposed to gather the horde, fetch the pitchforks and charge to RIM's defense because patents are bad. So...once this is over...and someone attacks NTP the same way RIM went on the attack, followed by NTP attacking, are we supposed to support NTP during their defense? This also brings up similar questions with SCO and friends...are we supposed to support SCO when they are attacked by the same litigious bastard types that they were being? I for one would like to see RIM get torn to pieces by this silly patent, partially as karma, partially as an example to the world how stupid this patent nonsense is getting, and partially becuase I just don't really like crackberries.
I would just like to point out that that paying the newspapers to print positive stories thing swings both ways. Stories of good things don't make for good ratings, stories of horrible controversial things make great ratings. There is no financial incentive to print stories of good things happening. Since the media as a whole is a business thing looking for money, and not a do good for the public non bias source...its hard to cry foul for paying for good stories. There are alot of really good things happening in Iraq, but that runs counter to the whole OMFG WE HATE DA BUSH thing. This isn't to say Iraq isn't a pretty unpleasant place to be on a whole, but there are still alot of good things happening that noone hears about, or wants to...as a people we only want the negative news, so we can cry about not hearing the good.
This has been discussed for a great deal of time. I originally saw this paper years ago. Bell Labs on the speed of Dark