Comment Ashes to Ashes.... (Score 0, Troll) 7
Dork to Dork
Comment Re:Patent Laws (Score 2, Interesting) 92
Take this example:
You come up with this fantastic way sending data through sewer pipes. You patent it because it's a really unique and inovative idea and since almost everyone has sewer pipes it means you have a huge potential market.
Next you try to market it to Big Company[A-C], they turn you down because they see the market potential but think they can save money building their own then paying to license from you. You now have an idea that you have tried to market but can't.
Finally Company A comes along with their own version of your idea using your process but you don't get a dime.
All because they are big and took your idea and made it their own.
Comment Old News? (Score 1) 1
[12/20/2007] Toshiba Builds Ultra-Small Nuclear Reactor
"Toshiba has developed a new class of micro size Nuclear Reactors that is designed to power individual apartment buildings or city blocks. The new reactor, which is only 20 feet by 6 feet, could change everything for small remote communities, small businesses or even a group of neighbors who are fed up with the power companies and want more control over their energy needs."
Microsoft's Internal Advice About Patents 100
BigPoppaT writes "Eric Brechner writes a best practices blog called Hard Code for Microsoft under the name I.M. Wright. His most recent post sounds like an endorsement of open source development (and does end with a call for Microsoft developers to participate in the shared source community). But even better is his advice regarding patents: 'When using existing libraries, services, tools, and methods from outside Microsoft, we must be respectful of licenses, copyrights, and patents. Generally, you want to carefully research licenses and copyrights (your contact in Legal and Corporate Affairs can help), and never search, view, or speculate about patents. I was confused by this guidance till I wrote and reviewed one of my own patents. The legal claims section--the only section that counts--was indecipherable by anyone but a patent attorney. Ignorance is bliss and strongly recommended when it comes to patents.' Interesting advice from inside Microsoft. I wonder if Ballmer would agree that ignorance should be 'strongly recommended when it comes to patents'?"
Submission + - Vista BSoD for Itunes 8 (pcworld.com) 3
twitter writes: "The few remaining Vista users with iPods are soon singing the blues.
recent glitches in the new iTunes 8 bring an unwelcome blast from the past to Microsoft's latest operating system. Connect an iPhone or iPod, and some Vista PCs either crash with the dreaded Blue Screen of Death or spontaneously restart.
Apple has two solutions. A new iTunes client is the first. If that does not work, you are referred to the usual hours of M$ support and fun. As you stare at the BSoD, remember what Steve Ballmer told you."
Microsoft's Ethical Guidelines 271
hankwang writes "Did you know that Microsoft has ethical guidelines? It's good to know that 'Microsoft did not make any payments to foreign government officials' while lobbying for OOXML, and that 'Microsoft conducts its business in compliance with laws designed to promote fair competition' every time they suppressed competitors. In their Corporate Citizenship section, they discuss how the customer-focused approach creates products that work well with those of competitors and open-source solutions. So all the reverse-engineering by Samba and OpenOffice.org developers wasn't really necessary."
Submission + - Microsoft Entices New Users With Cash
Alpha232 writes: Microsoft Entices New Users With Cash
Now wouldn't it be fitting if the "Winner" of the $100,000 was using OpenOffice to create their documents.
Microsoft Corp. raked in tens of billions of dollars selling software last year.
Now, it's giving away a sliver of that — $100,000, plus prizes — to entice people to try a new, free program.
Office Live Workspace, a Web hub for document sharing, was first announced as a limited test late last year. Starting this week, anyone can sign up to store word processing documents, spreadsheets and other files in a Live Workspace of his or her own. Users can share access to the files with friends, who can use a Web browser to read them and make comments.
...
Microsoft is betting computer users are so attached to the sophisticated features in Office that they'll continue to shell out for desktop software rather than defect to a free alternative.
Now, it's giving away a sliver of that — $100,000, plus prizes — to entice people to try a new, free program.
Office Live Workspace, a Web hub for document sharing, was first announced as a limited test late last year. Starting this week, anyone can sign up to store word processing documents, spreadsheets and other files in a Live Workspace of his or her own. Users can share access to the files with friends, who can use a Web browser to read them and make comments.
Microsoft is betting computer users are so attached to the sophisticated features in Office that they'll continue to shell out for desktop software rather than defect to a free alternative.
Now wouldn't it be fitting if the "Winner" of the $100,000 was using OpenOffice to create their documents.
Submission + - Airline Checkin kiosk security vulnerability
JustOK writes: WHDH in Boston recently investigated a security hole with the check in kiosks used by United Airlines at Boston Logan airport. Using the credit card of someone who does not have a ticket, the kiosk will display a list of similar names when an exact match is not found. Although the investigators did not actually print a boarding pass, they were able to get additional information and track down the valid passengers. It appeared they would also be able to get info for people on departed flights. United Airlines responded to WHDH's questions by saying:
- "...we have not seen any intentional mis-use of these popular machines."
- that safety is "...our number one priority..."
- "...several security layers that would respond to any attempted mis-use."
Submission + - Canadian charged $85,000 for internet access.
TihSon writes: It seems Bell Mobility in Canada is trying to set a world record for robbing their customers blind. Canadians are used to being shafted by their mobile telcos, based on the rates we keep paying we almost seem to crave it, but this poor bugger got a bill for $85,000 in just over a month simply for passing data from his phone to his computer. Considering what he used his mobile for isn't all that crazy a thing ... it's not like he was running a server farm on the thing ... Bell might want to consider rethinking it's rates. The fact this bill was expected to be taken seriously, and the fact they allowed it to get this far out of hand in the first place, says a lot about how Bell sees its customers in the grand scheme of things.
Submission + - Harmonix: Activision Is Preventing Rock Band Patch (xuecast.com) 1
XueCast writes: "Many gamers have asked for guitar controller compatibility between Guitar Hero and Rock Band, because of that, Harmonix had developed a patch that can make that happen. The compatibility patch has allegedly been approved by Sony Computer Entertainment, and is ready to be released. But Activision, the publisher of the Guitar Hero series is not very happy with the patch at all, and the patch's release is currently being blocked by the Santa Monica based video game publisher company."
Submission + - Exercise for Office Drones
An anonymous reader writes: A British company built an exercise stepper machine that fits under an office desk and uses a USB cable to connect to a computer's keyboard or mouse. If the user stops exercising, the keyboard stops working. Worried that you're working too much to work out, here's a personal trainer of another sort!
http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9046943&intsrc=hm_list
Submission + - Prince threatens to sue b3ta
chalkyj writes: "Prince is threatening to sue his fans for breach of copyright for using his image on fansites. So fire up Photoshop and give [him] something to complain about" was the parody image competition on b3ta.com until a few hours ago when Prince decided he would sue them too if they didn't remove all the images.
Apparently "fair use" isn't in Prince's vocabulary. I wonder if this will be seeing the Streisand effect here?
Apparently "fair use" isn't in Prince's vocabulary. I wonder if this will be seeing the Streisand effect here?
Submission + - Verizon FiOS requires Windows?
DarthWilber writes: Verizon FiOS is recently available in my area and I have been inundated with letters and phone calls from Verizon attempting to get me to sign up. The last call I received ended the spiel with "... If you meet the system requirements." When I asked what the requirements were, they asked if I was running Windows or Macintosh. I said I was running Linux. They said it won't work with Linux. When I inquired for the reason. I was met with "It just does."
Submission + - Defendant prevails in RIAA file-sharing case
GiveItToMe writes: As we all know, the RIAA has been suing everyone left and right for file sharing but only actively pursuing a handful of cases that it knows it can win. As for the others, the RIAA moves to have them dismissed without prejudice, meaning that the RIAA and the defendant both walk away covering their own attorney fees. But defendants have begun to fight back, demanding that the cases be dismissed with prejudice so that they can collect attorney fees from the RIAA for wasting their time.
Well, a federal judge has now dismissed a recent case (Elektra v. Santangelo) with prejudice, meaning that the defendant can now collect attorney fees from the RIAA. From the Ars Technica article:
Well, a federal judge has now dismissed a recent case (Elektra v. Santangelo) with prejudice, meaning that the defendant can now collect attorney fees from the RIAA. From the Ars Technica article:
This is a scenario the RIAA has been anxious to avoid. Although the record industry has been eager to file lawsuits, it never wants to see the defendants exonerated, even when it's a clear case of mistaken identity. Instead, it would rather just quietly drop unwinnable cases and walk away, leaving defendants to deal with the legal bills from defending against a case that should never have been brought. For at least the second time, a judge has prevented the RIAA from doing exactly that. If the trend continues, the music industry's legal strategy could end up being far more expensive than it anticipated.
Submission + - NYPD Targets Dot-Matrix Graffiti Bike
Alpha232 writes: via Wired... NYPD Intelligence Op Targets Dot-Matrix Graffiti Bike originally covered on /.
Joshua Kinberg's internet-connected, sidewalk-printing graffiti bike got him a lot of attention ahead of the 2004 Republican National Convention; he was Boing Boinged, Slashdotted and featured on CNN and in Popular Science.
Though they'd never seen him use the bike, the police arrested Kinberg on criminal mischief charges prior to the convention start, during an interview on Broadway Avenue with MSNBC's Ron Reagan. The arrest took place on a spot where, two days earlier, Kinberg had printed out the water-soluble message, "America is a free speech zone" during an interview with MSNBC's Countdown With Keith Olbermann.
Though they'd never seen him use the bike, the police arrested Kinberg on criminal mischief charges prior to the convention start, during an interview on Broadway Avenue with MSNBC's Ron Reagan. The arrest took place on a spot where, two days earlier, Kinberg had printed out the water-soluble message, "America is a free speech zone" during an interview with MSNBC's Countdown With Keith Olbermann.
