Linked by Thom Holwerda on Tue 5th Jul 2011 22:12 UTC
"One of Microsoft's hottest new profit centers is a smartphone platform you've definitely heard of: Android. Google's Linux-based mobile operating system is a favorite target for Microsoft's patent attorneys, who are suing numerous Android vendors and just today announced that another manufacturer has agreed to write checks to Microsoft every time it ships an Android device. Microsoft's latest target is Wistron Corp., which has signed a patent agreement 'that provides broad coverage under Microsoft's patent portfolio for Wistron's tablets, mobile phones, e-readers and other consumer devices running the Android or Chrome platform', Microsoft announced." That's the reality we live in, folks. This is at least as criminal - if not more so - than Microsoft's monopoly abuse late last century. After the Nortel crap, it's completely left the black helicopter camp for me: Microsoft, Apple, and several others are working together to fight Android the only way they know how: with underhand mafia tactics. Absolutely sickening. Hey Anonymous, are you listening? YES I WENT THERE.
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RE[3]: Patents are patents
by lucas_maximus on Tue 5th Jul 2011 23:06
in reply to "RE[2]: Patents are patents"
Member since:2009-08-18
RE[4]: Patents are patents
by gedmurphy on Tue 5th Jul 2011 23:09
in reply to "RE[3]: Patents are patents"
Member since:2005-12-23
RE[3]: Patents are patents
by bnolsen on Wed 6th Jul 2011 00:26
in reply to "RE[2]: Patents are patents"
Member since:2006-01-06
RE[4]: Patents are patents
by pantheraleo on Wed 6th Jul 2011 00:30
in reply to "RE[3]: Patents are patents"
Member since:2007-03-07
A big part of innovation is also bringing something to market, not just *think* of the idea.
Except I'm not going to spend the money to *think* of the idea if I know someone else can just come along and steal it from me. Instead, I'm gonna sit back, let you spend the money to think of the idea, and then steal it from you, copy it, and undercut your prices on a competing product because my costs to develop it were lower since I let you do half the work. Do you think that's fair? Because that is what happens if there is no patent protection.
Edited 2011-07-06 00:32 UTC
RE[3]: Patents are patents
by Flatland_Spider on Wed 6th Jul 2011 00:42
in reply to "RE[2]: Patents are patents"
Member since:2006-09-01
Except firms are forced to innovate when there is an absence of patents, like in the fashion industry. A design cannot be patented, so the fashion industry invests heavily in creativity.
Let's not pretend some company could wave a magic wand and produce something like the iPhone without software patents. My Android phone tries, but it's not on the same level. Software is an art form, and some people will never be masters.
RE[4]: Patents are patents
by pantheraleo on Wed 6th Jul 2011 13:10
in reply to "RE[3]: Patents are patents"
Member since:2007-03-07
Except firms are forced to innovate when there is an absence of patents
, The exact opposite is true. In the absence of patents, firms won't innovate because they cannot protect their investment in innovation. Instead, they will sit back and wait for someone else to spend the money on innovation and then copy it. Only problem is that you end up with deadlock, because no one wants to spend the money to innovate. They want to take the "wait and see" approach instead, and then copy whatever good ideas come along.
like in the fashion industry. A design cannot be patented
A design cannot be patented? Tell that to Apple, who has successfully won multiple patent lawsuits based on design.
so the fashion industry invests heavily in creativity.
They do? Is that why there are so many cheap knockoffs of expensive fashion designs out there?
Let's not pretend some company could wave a magic wand and produce something like the iPhone without software patents. My Android phone tries, but it's not on the same level.
Android does a pretty good job at being an iPhone knockoff actually. Enough so that Apple is suing some Android phone manufacturers of course. If Apple's track record on suing because of design copying is any indication, Apple will most likely win.
Software is an art form, and some people will never be masters.
So you are implying what? That Google's engineers and designers are not masters?
RE[3]: Patents are patents
by JAlexoid on Wed 6th Jul 2011 16:05
in reply to "RE[2]: Patents are patents"
Member since:2009-05-19
Software has copyright.
Hardware has patents.
When a hardware patent is applied for a schematic. A very specific schematic is provided. Bonus of that is that it's possible to create another non-infringing product that relies on the same physics principles. With software and business process patents it's basically impossible.
The more a software patent is specific, the more it's obvious that it's plain mathematics. That is why software patents end up incomprehensible broad texts.
RE[4]: Patents are patents
by pantheraleo on Wed 6th Jul 2011 16:08
in reply to "RE[3]: Patents are patents"
Member since:2007-03-07
When a hardware patent is applied for a schematic. A very specific schematic is provided.
That's not always true. Hardware patents can as big of a hornet's nest as software patents when non-legit patents are granted. See IBM v. Sun Microsystems. IBM nearly put Sun out of business because of a bogus hardware patent on RISC processor technology that was so generic it basically said "If you make it simpler, it will go faster".
Features
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/20/13 11:29 UTC
The day has finally come! Jolla has finally announced the launch device for its Sailfish operating system - and by god this is a looker. It's decidedly different from other phones out there, but it has good specifications and carries a relatively reasonably price tag - EUR 399, and it's up for pre-order today, shipping in the fourth quarter of this year.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/18/13 21:33 UTC
Why does Google get so much credit in the technology industry? Why, despite the company's many obvious failings, do many geeks and enthusiasts still hold a somewhat positive view on the all-knowing technology giant? A specific talk at Google I/O this week provides the answer.
Linked by David Adams on 05/16/13 4:23 UTC
OSNews is a sponsor of this year's O'Reilly OSCON in Portland, Oregon, USA. A lucky OSNews reader will win a free three-day pass, including two tutorials days. To win the pass, post a comment on this story saying something about Open Source Software or OSCON. We'll pick a winner at random next week. If you don't have an OSNews account, you may email us your entry. Part of the conference is the 9th annual Open Source Awards, and today the 16th is the deadline for nominations. If you'd like to nominate an outstanding open source contributor, do it here. Read on for more information about OSCON. Update: The 20% discount code for OSNews readers is "OSN."
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/11/13 21:41 UTC
"Windows is indeed slower than other operating systems in many scenarios, and the gap is worsening." That's one way to start an insider explanation of why Windows' performance isn't up to snuff. Written by someone who actually contributes code to the Windows NT kernel, the comment on Hacker News, later deleted but reposted with permission on Marc Bevand's blog, paints a very dreary picture of the state of Windows development. The root issue? Think of how Linux is developed, and you'll know the answer.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/08/13 14:22 UTC
This is one of those news items that's fun to write, fun to read, fun to comment on, and where no one will be able to say anything unkind. It's all just one big ball of awesome fluffiness. TuneTracker, the BeOS radio automation software, has just released something very special: TuneTracker System 5, the first version designed entirely and specifically for Haiku. In fact, it actually includes Haiku in the software package. Better yet, TuneTracker also unveiled several system-in-a-box products - which have Haiku and TuneTracker pre-installed.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/02/13 15:28 UTC
Exactly twenty years ago, a document was published that played a huge role in establishing the web as we know it today. Twenty years later, and this simple and straightforward document is proof of an irrefutable fact: while closed technologies can change markets, open technologies can change the world.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 04/29/13 21:06 UTC
Oh multitasking. That staple of computing that got thrown out the window with many modern smartphones. We got some rudimentary thing in its place - but even as multitasking on phone and tablets improves, its user-visible side remains cumbersome. Windows 8 has a neat implementation, and now it's time Android follows in it footsteps.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 04/24/13 22:24 UTC
They're here! Whether that excites you or not remains to be seen, but the Galaxy S4, which will most likely become the best selling Android smartphone of the year by a huge margin, has been reviewed by all the major sites, and there's lots of interesting conclusions in there - although I think most of you will get the gist.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 04/18/13 11:21 UTC
Nokia has posted its quarterly results for the first quarter of 2013, and just like the quarters that came before, there's not a whole lot of good news in there. The rise in Lumia sales still can't even dream of making up for the sales drop in Symbian phones, and when broken down in versions, the sales figures for Windows Phone 8 Lumias in particular are very disappointing. In North America, Nokia is getting slaughtered.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 04/16/13 9:29 UTC
The day has finally come: Google has started shipping Google Glass to the lucky few early adopters. Now that it's shipping, Google has also unveiled a lot more about the API and the specifications of the device itself. While the company had already given out substantial details at earlier occasions, there are still a few surprises here.More Features »
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Member since:
2008-12-09
Are you against patents in general? Can't basically any patentable idea be reduced to math? You say that it's illegal to patent math, but what about the patents on RSA (for example)?
I agree with the people saying that it's bogus to take an existing idea with lots of prior art, rephrase it to use computers, and apply for a patent. However I'm not completely convinced that denying someone a chance to recoup their investment in a new technology is a good way to encourage progress in a field.