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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RE[2]: Counterproductive advocacy
by rhavyn on Fri 15th Jul 2011 03:06
in reply to "RE: Counterproductive advocacy"
Member since:2005-07-06
"As I've said in previous posts, abuse of the patent system is a problem. However, the kind of advocacy shown by posts like this is completely counter productive.
Well maybe a system that allows abuse should be changed IMMEDIATELLY?
And please read the damn U.S. Patent No. 7,222,078, it's not as simple as a grid of icons but does fall under such idiocy. "
What system doesn't allow abuse? And how do you propose changing the patent system?
The statement "grid of icons can be patented" is as emotional statement as "without software patents there will be no software R&D". However, I don't see you debunking the second one.
Point me at a website where the predominant opinion is that without patents there would be no software development and I would. I personally don't know of such a website, nor of anyone who is really making that argument.
RE[3]: Counterproductive advocacy
by TechGeek on Fri 15th Jul 2011 03:19
in reply to "RE[2]: Counterproductive advocacy"
Member since:2006-01-14
As a rebuttal to the argument that software patents drive innovation and creativity, lets think about how things have progressed since 1950. We started out with no patents and not even copyright on the code. It didn't matter as you probably couldn't run the software with out the hardware anyway. We had all kinds of growth and all kinds of different ideas.
Now fast forward to today. We have Microsoft in first with 90% share. They use their patents to bash Android instead of making a better product. We have Apple and the rest of the mobile market being sue happy. We have patent trolls. We have less choice and less innovation. Are we really better off with patents? I dont think so.
RE[3]: Counterproductive advocacy
by JAlexoid on Fri 15th Jul 2011 15:00
in reply to "RE[2]: Counterproductive advocacy"
Member since:2009-05-19
What system doesn't allow abuse? And how do you propose changing the patent system?
Thankfully the patent system in my country is the type that I like and did a lot to preserve it's sanity.
Frankly, don't really care about US patent system as long as US government and US corporations don't try to export it and force it on us. In addition, I'd love to see that the access to US market is not used as a tool to practically enforce US patents on other countries(see "the most ethical" work that MS is doing).
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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Member since:
2009-05-19
Well maybe a system that allows abuse should be changed IMMEDIATELLY?
And please read the damn U.S. Patent No. 7,222,078, it's not as simple as a grid of icons but does fall under such idiocy.
The statement "grid of icons can be patented" is as emotional statement as "without software patents there will be no software R&D". However, I don't see you debunking the second one.