Most troubling is that problems like these were basically known about for years but nothing is done until after threats are displayed at sec conferences.

Sculley could come in for a 2nd round at ruining the company

Cosmo Kramer used to watch Canadian Parliament on C-Span

So private corporations spending money writing closed software to make profits is bad but governments spending money writing open source software without any focus on profits is good.

If we've learned anything is that governments need to be minimal and get out of the way, let corporations/investors make decisions on where to spend money. That is most efficient.

This could only hurt our competitiveness in the one industry we are the best at.

here's the earliest wireless camera I found: 6,535,243 filed in '98 by HP

1. A method of managing image information utilizing a hand-held camera comprising the steps of: capturing raw image data representative of a subject of interest utilizing an imaging device of said hand-held camera; transmitting said raw image data to a host computer during a continuous session via a wireless link between said hand-held camera and said host computer; receiving, as an automated response by said host computer to said transmitting step, related image data at said hand-held camera during said continuous session via said wireless link; forming an image from said related image data on a display device of said hand-held camera, wherein enabling a display of said subject of interest on said display device is dependent upon operations at said host computer; and browsing stored image data that is stored in said host computer, where said browsing is controlled by operations at said hand-held camera.

but as you can see, it's very limiting - round trip of camera sending image to computer and computer processing it before sending it back for display on the camera. So an obvious workaround would be to just do half it (camera -> PC) and patent infringement avoided. This patent might have seemed useful back in '98 when processing power on a small device (like a handheld camera) was not thought of the way to go. So HP seemed to miss this important fact and could/should have realized that processors would get smaller, faster, less-power hungry. I have found this subtle but important miscalculation happens all the time. Call it a design flaw in the patent.

here's one filed by Nikon in 2001 but not issued until March 4, 2008 that is a removable unit: 7,340,275

Here's the only Independent claim:

1. A wireless communication unit, comprising: an interface portion signally connectable to a main device, the interface portion including a connector portion having a shape that mimics a shape of a removable memory-medium-device, the connector portion being receivable by and connectable to a memory-medium-device-receiving-portion of the main device; a recording portion performing non-volatile recording; a wireless communication portion performing wireless communication; and a control portion transmitting information through the wireless communication portion to an external destination and generating a backup of the information in the recording portion, the information being inputted from the main device to the control portion through the interface portion, wherein the control portion automatically deletes the backup from the recording portion after transmission of the information in the wireless communication portion is normally terminated, when the control portion generates the backup of the information in the recording portion, wherein the wireless communication unit is a stand-alone unit.

I believe Nikon came out with wifi camera's before Cannon.

innovated by realizing the useful potential for combining wireless with cameras first, then second finding the way to make it work. In hindsight this appears obvious, but then you need to ask yourself why didn't everybody start working on this 5-8 years ago. Certainly all the technology was in place. Just like the problems we face today exist because they aren't obvious but in 5-10 years when these are resolved the proper combination will be obvious (after we see it). Partly why demo's help sell a product - before seeing the demo the user doesn't understand how/why it would work but after seeing the demo functioning (even roughly with hardcoded pieces) it quickly becomes "obvious".

there isn't much stopping anyone from implementing this on Linux except the payoff is a fraction. Do you go to work for 1/20th of your hourly wage?

Yes very convenient (especially for Professional shops where assistant can be doing photoshop or touchup work immediately and ship them off to the magazines/newspapers). Nikon innovated and got the patents for these a few years back.

he's got limited #minutes so instead of scouting out the articles you want to read & pasting URL into email app, instead scan Inbox for the few dozen stories cultivated that day and read the best ones first until time runs out.

Useless outside of U.S. And in the U.S. limited (e.g. connecting to home wifi).

With such short Internet allotment the guys running the ship are asking for trouble. It will be a war out there - somebody someday will be running Denial of Service (Dos) attacks to knock others off. Do this for a couple of weeks and nobody will want to waste their time signing up for Internet time.

Here be Pirates.

Limited time would be painful. You will need to maximize efficiency. Leverage your best friends and get them to keep you in touch with only the real important news. Then bring laptop and/or USB keys to pull down your news to take back to your cabin.

For upload, write your emails/replies before hand (in your cabin) and have them ready to send.

kind of painful/slow and with limited time you want to spend it more efficiently. Write an application that pulls in your favourite RSS feeds and emails you (triggered by CRON). You read the stories you have time for each docking. Actually, there's probably already apps that do this.

I wouldn't be so sure. How do you know that letters weren't sent ahead of time and these larger corporations ignored them? I tend to believe that small company/inventor wants to avoid an infringement suit since they easily cost over $1million.

Yes we all pay due to higher costs, but in many cases this all could have been avoided. I'm assuming the patent is valid and innovative.