Linked by Thom Holwerda on Tue 6th Apr 2010 18:32 UTC
And thus our true colours reveal. IBM made a patent pledge in 2005, promising not to sue open source projects over a list of 500 patents the computer giant holds. Today, however, IBM has threatened to sue TurboHercules, a French open source software house which provides support for the Hercules open source s390 mainframe emulator. Some of the patents in question are on the 500 list.
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RE[2]: Captain Obvious strikes again
by nt_jerkface on Wed 7th Apr 2010 06:15
in reply to "RE: Captain Obvious strikes again"
Member since:2009-08-26
RE[3]: Captain Obvious strikes again
by lemur2 on Wed 7th Apr 2010 07:07
in reply to "RE[2]: Captain Obvious strikes again"
Member since:2007-02-17
Patents provide an incentive for innovation. People aren't going to spend years working on an invention if some large corp can just take it without compensation. The problem with software patents is that they're given out too easily.
Almost, but not quite.
The problem with software patents is that software is not patentable subject matter. This is in part because software is mathematics, and mathematics should not be patentable.
It is also a fact that software has a very low capital investment required ... anyone can write software with no large outlay of capital required to start such a venture. Therefore, incentives to develop software should not be required, just as is the case for some other types of IP such as writing a book or composing a song (one cannot patent a book or a song). This is further vindicated by the observation that software was being written quite happily for decades before the first software patent was ever awarded.
Copyright protection for software is fine: people should write their own works, and not just copy and paste the works of others. No-one condones plagiarism.
Trade secret protection for software is fine: you should not have to reveal your software designs to anyone if you choose not to.
Trademark protection for software is fine: if I write a new wordprocessor application (even one that can read and write .doc files), I should not be able to call it "Word".
Patent protection for software: Not required. No way. Counterproductive, and restricts innovation. Holds progress back, for no good reason. Only lawyers benefit, no real value comes from it.
Edited 2010-04-07 07:18 UTC
RE[3]: Captain Obvious strikes again
by mikeinohio on Wed 7th Apr 2010 07:50
in reply to "RE[2]: Captain Obvious strikes again"
Member since:2010-02-21
Patents provide an incentive for innovation. People aren't going to spend years working on an invention if some large corp can just take it without compensation. The problem with software patents is that they're given out too easily.
The problem with software patents is that they are given out at all. Patent law was meant to cover physical devices, such as a semi conductor. Software code is like writing and as such should be covered by copyright law.
In the real world, the large corps you are talking about are using software patents to maintain their entrenched monopoly status.
I really don't expect this situation to improve any time soon. The lawmakers in the United States really don't understand the fundamental differences between hardware and software. They just go along with whatever their lobbyist tell them.
RE[3]: Captain Obvious strikes again
by twitterfire on Wed 7th Apr 2010 17:56
in reply to "RE[2]: Captain Obvious strikes again"
Member since:2008-09-11
Patents provide an incentive for innovation. People aren't going to spend years working on an invention if some large corp can just take it without compensation. The problem with software patents is that they're given out too easily.
And you basically say that all R&D will stop if patents will no more enforced by law? Like humankind have newer made any improvements or discoveries and research until the appearance of patents?
R&D will continue. If not sponsored by large corporations , sponsored by large universities, governments or just sponsored by passion and aspiration for knowledge.
Word used to live and progress and can live and progress further without software patents and without large corporations.
News
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/25/13 0:45 UTC
"So in summary... Google has pulled the plug on support on a protocol they've helped popularize, after years of promising interoperability, for reasons that are dubious at best, and in a way that leaves people who don't jump to the new Hangouts app unable to talk to their contacts without any feedback that their IMs aren't getting through... And they've done that with no warning to anyone. I imagine there's a bunch of people out there wondering where some of their buddies have gone, or why their messages aren't getting responses, because this isn't documented anywhere." Google really messed this up. Such a dick move.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/24/13 23:59 UTC
The Tizen Greek Community has some screenshots of a very recent build of Tizen running on a Samsung GT-i8800. It looks wholly unremarkable.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/24/13 22:33 UTC
Joint statement to The Next Web from Microsoft and Google: "Microsoft and YouTube are working together to update the new YouTube for Windows Phone app to enable compliance with YouTube's API terms of service, including enabling ads, in the coming weeks. Microsoft will replace the existing YouTube app in Windows Phone Store with the previous version during this time." Good to know these children stopped acting like little pricks. Can we have full Google support in Windows 8 now, please?
Linked by Howard Fosdick on 05/24/13 21:41 UTC
Yahoo is acquiring Tumblr, the microblogging and social networking website, for $1.1 billion USD. Tumblr offers little revenue but lots of eyeballs if Yahoo can monetarize them. Now Yahoo is bidding for Hulu, the streaming video service. After years of ineffective responses while Google, Facebook, and others took large chunks of the online advertising market, Yahoo is fighting back. Can Yahoo reignite the momentum it had at the turn of the century? What do you think?
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/24/13 14:44 UTC
"Sources have described iOS 7 as 'black, white, and flat all over'. This refers to the dropping of heavy textures and the addition of several new black and white user interface elements." I couldn't be happier.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/23/13 23:22 UTC
"Ilja van Sprundel, a security researcher with IOActive, has discovered a large number of issues in the way various X client libraries handle the responses they receive from servers, and has worked with X.Org's security team to analyze, confirm, and fix these issues."
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/23/13 22:04 UTC
"Google is facing a new antitrust probe by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission into whether the company is using its leadership in the online display-advertising market to illegally curb competition, people familiar with the matter said." Sucks to be Google today, apparently.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/23/13 22:01 UTC
"In the midst of the major press blitz surrounding its annual I/O Conference, Google dropped some unfortunate news about its instant messaging plans. In several places around the web, the company is replacing the existing 'Talk' platform with a new one called 'Hangouts' that sharply diminishes support for the open messaging protocol known as XMPP (or sometimes informally Jabber), and also removes the option to disable the archiving of all chat communications. These changes represent a switch from open protocols to proprietary ones, and a clear step backward for many users." That's why I always say: only suckers trust companies.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/23/13 17:52 UTC
"The wave of departures is a sign of internal struggle, but amidst all the bad news, there is a glimmer of hope. According to an anonymous HTC executive cited by WSJ, the crucial HTC One is selling 'pretty good so far'. The executive revealed that HTC sold about five million One units since launch, a performance that is deemed encouraging. However, sales have been limited by the persisting supply issues that still plague the production of the HTC One." Finally some good news for HTC. Five million units amidst supply constraints is very impressive.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/22/13 22:23 UTC
"Sony gave the PS4 50% more raw shader performance, plain and simple (768 SPs @ 800MHz vs. 1152 SPs & 800MHz). Unlike last generation, you don't need to be some sort of Jedi to extract the PS4's potential here. The Xbox One and PS4 architectures are quite similar, Sony just has more hardware under the hood. Weâll have to wait and see how this hardware delta gets exposed in games over time, but the gap is definitely there. The funny thing about game consoles is that itâs usually the lowest common denominator that determines the bulk of the experience across all platforms. On the plus side, the Xbox One should enjoy better power/thermal characteristics compared to the PlayStation 4. Even compared to the Xbox 360 we should see improvement in many use cases thanks to modern power management techniques." AnandTech does its usual in-depth thing.More News »
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2005-07-08
No entity with a coercively held monopoly should be trusted. The problem is patents, not software patents. The fundimental problem is government enforcement of arbitrary monopoly privileges not these companies. The companies are playing within the set of rules provided for them. Limit competition and this is what you get. There simply aren't the checks and balances (ie competition) to keep them in line.