MeridianOnTheLake - Slashdot User

Comment: Heuristic defn: a commonsense rule (Score 1) 449

by MeridianOnTheLake on Tuesday January 27 2009, @02:58AM (#26618675) Attached to: Apple Awarded Patent For iPhone Interface

The definition of a heuristic is a commonsense rule (or set of rules) intended to increase the probability of solving some problem. Ok, so heuristics -- commonsense rules -- can be patented now. This is so far from the original patent intent that they should basically now be considered as a legal stand-over right rather than as a protection of a novel invention.

Solyndra's Thin-Film Solar Cells Draw $1.2 Billion In Orders 131

Posted by timothy on Tuesday October 07 2008, @11:22AM
from the beaming-down-upon-them dept.

SolarSells writes "Solyndra makes funky-looking cylindrical solar cells that resemble compact fluorescent lightbulbs. Their products are meant for office buildings, and are made from a thin coating of copper indium gallium diselenide on glass tubes. Although they might not be able to fill them till 2012, the company has already received $1.2 billion in orders. Their manufacturing tricks make the cells so cheap that they may be competitive with other forms of power even after solar subsidies are phased out."