Linked by Thom Holwerda on Thu 14th Jul 2011 21:16 UTC
I've been sitting on this item all day. Technically, it's about patents and the like, and even I understand I've been beating this dead horse so often it almost looks like it's alive. However, this is an interesting opinion piece by Craig Hockenberry, long-time employee at The Iconfactory, one of my favourite software development houses - these guys breath software and beautiful design, and employ one of my favourite artists, David Lanham. The gist of his story? Software patents are killing the independent developer scene.
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Member since:2005-11-13
The fact that this wasn't a reference to Lodsys?
Ok, so again... where are the examples of these 'little guys' getting picked on by these large companies?
It's the threat that counts. To take this way over the top - terrorism is not about killing people or making casualties. It's about scaring the crap out of your enemy.
And I think that threat is a bit misguided. When it comes to terrorism (since you made the analogy), these large companies are like major metropolitan areas, while the small indie developers are like the folks who live in the back woods of Jerkwater, USA. If you're looking for the biggest target to hit, where are you going to aim? Plus, a lot of these companies (like Apple, MS, Google, etc.) have ecosystems that require the work of developers to survive, so are you gonna start suing the very people you need on your side to help run your business?
Only thing I'm saying is that when it comes to software patents, larger companies have a lot more to worry about than smaller ones do. The guy says that large companies have no interest in changing the system, but perhaps they will call a truce when they finally get tired of being sued by each other.
Edited 2011-07-14 22:17 UTC
Member since:2009-05-19
Ok, so again... where are the examples of these 'little guys' getting picked on by these large companies?
NDA! My dear Watson. You will never hear of it.
The guy says that large companies have no interest in changing the system, but perhaps they will call a truce when they finally get tired of being sued by each other.
You are naive, if you think they are spending their own money on the lawsuits. They will not get tired, ever.
Member since:2009-11-12
Really? In any case of patent abuse, both the big companies AND the patent trolls are guilty. The fact that software is IN ANY WAY patentable is atrocious. There is no reason that ideas like an icon grid should be able to be patented. I personally find it deplorable that anyone can patent a software idea, which is already covered by copyright. I, for instance, am a songwriter by trade, and as such if somebody rips off my song, I can sue them. Nonetheless, I certainly have no right to patent the idea of a song about sorrow, love, etc... Why should coders have any more right than I do? Basically we're both writers. It's not that I don't see your point (standing up for the current system), but I don't see why on earth you would defend such a reprehensible practice at all, even if you're employed by a company that benefits from it.
Member since:2007-09-22
"terrorism is not about killing people or making casualties. It's about scaring the crap out of your enemy."
Just today I read an article which was trying to make the point that the IRA made a lot more progress by not making casualties, but hitting financial centers like in London.
While fear might sound like a good idea to a potential terrorist, it turns out it isn't the way to get to your goal.
Anyway... waaaay off topic
Member since:2009-02-19
News
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 06/18/13 22:33 UTC
Official Apple statement on PRISM and privacy: "Regardless of the circumstances, our Legal team conducts an evaluation of each request and, only if appropriate, we retrieve and deliver the narrowest possible set of information to the authorities. In fact, from time to time when we see inconsistencies or inaccuracies in a request, we will refuse to fulfill it." This is basically Apple re-publishing their earlier statement in a more official manner. You either believe it, or you don't.
Linked by Anonymous on 06/18/13 22:26 UTC
The open source Contiki operating system and its commercial Thingsquare distribution are making strides towards the connected home. According to a Computerworld article, a new LED light bulb manufacturer is putting small computers into their light bulbs. Each computer runs the Contiki OS, which gives each bulb an IP address and allows them to be controlled with a smartphone application. To connect the bulbs to the application, the bulbs use both Wi-Fi and the much lower power IEEE 802.15.4 mesh technology.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 06/18/13 22:25 UTC
"Google asked the secretive Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court on Tuesday to ease long-standing gag orders over data requests it makes, arguing that the company has a constitutional right to speak about information it's forced to give the government. The legal filing, which cites the First Amendment's guarantee of free speech, is the latest move by the California-based tech giant to protect its reputation in the aftermath of news reports about sweeping National Security Agency surveillance of Internet traffic." Draining the ditch after the cow has drowned in it.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 06/18/13 17:45 UTC
"I can't find one person who has been using the Nexus 7 for an extended period of time, and hasn't seen a massive downgrade in performance. Just what kind of downgrade are we talking here? I cannot pick up my Nexus 7 without experiencing problems like a lag of ten seconds, or more, just to rotate the display; touches refusing to acknowledged; stuttering notification panel actions; and unresponsive apps." Fully and utterly agreed. My Nexus 7 was blazing-fast and awesome for a few months, and at some point, it just started sucking. Just like that. I've tried loads of ROMs, and nothing helps.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 06/18/13 17:32 UTC, submitted by poundsmack
A new release of the hobby operating system MenuetOS! The release notes are a bit non-descript, but you'll have to take what you can get: "updates and improvements (picview, httpc, ehci, ...)".
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 06/17/13 17:58 UTC
"The Internet is one of the most transformative technologies of our lifetimes. But for 2 out of every 3 people on earth, a fast, affordable Internet connection is still out of reach. And this is far from being a solved problem. There are many terrestrial challenges to Internet connectivity - jungles, archipelagos, mountains. There are also major cost challenges. Right now, for example, in most of the countries in the southern hemisphere, the cost of an Internet connection is more than a month's income. Solving these problems isn't simply a question of time: it requires looking at the problem of access from new angles. So today we're unveiling our latest moonshot from Google[x]: balloon-powered Internet access." Insane.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 06/17/13 17:52 UTC
"MineAssemble is a tiny bootable Minecraft clone written partly in x86 assembly. I made it first and foremost because a university assignment required me to implement a game in assembly for a computer systems course. Because I had never implemented anything more complex than a 'Hello World' bootloader before, I decided I wanted to learn about writing my own kernel code at the same time. Note that the goal of this project was not to write highly efficient hand-optimized assembly code, but rather to have fun and write code that balances readability and speed. This is primarily accomplished by proper commenting and consistent code structuring." Just cool.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 06/14/13 21:03 UTC
Jon Rubinstein, former CEO of Palm: "Well, I'm not sure I would have sold the company to HP. That's for sure. Talk about a waste. Not that I had any choice because when you sell a company you don't get to decide that. Obviously, the board and shareholders decide that. If we had known they were just going to shut it down and never really give it a chance to flourish, what would have been the point of selling the company? I think the deal we had with Verizon really hurt us, but who knew that at the time? These things are all hindsight."
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 06/14/13 20:46 UTC
"And so it is with Dell's Alienware X51 R2, a small form factor gaming PC in console digs. It's shaped similar to Microsoft's Xbox 360 Slim, and though it's slightly larger than either a 360 or PlayStation 3, the X51 R2 would be right at home in a living room setting nestled next to a large screen TV. Indeed, it's adept at running Steam's Big Picture mode, and if your primary objective is to play games in the living room, go ahead and consider the X51 R2 a hybrid game console." This is obviously not the only machine like this - still, these are very valid console alternatives even for those that don't like being hunched over with a cramped WASD-claw. Also, PC gamers among us: could you get away with the $699 model for gaming?
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 06/14/13 17:32 UTC
From Bloomberg: "Microsoft, the world's largest software company, provides intelligence agencies with information about bugs in its popular software before it publicly releases a fix, according to two people familiar with the process. That information can be used to protect government computers and to access the computers of terrorists or military foes." The lid has officially been blown off.More News »
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Member since:
2005-06-29
The fact that this wasn't a reference to Lodsys?
It's the threat that counts. To take this way over the top - terrorism is not about killing people or making casualties. It's about scaring the crap out of your enemy.