I have a better idea. 1) Require the patent troll to pay the defendant's legal fees up front. If the troll wins (valid patent) then the defendant pays the patent troll back. 2) Instead of damages going to the troll, make them go to the patent office. This removes the profit incentive.

The problem with Microsoft is now they are in the position that Linux was many years ago. They are the underdog trying to gain market share. However, the issue is, unlike the situation years ago, Android costs $10 per device, and Windows $30-60 per device. On top of that, Microsoft is generally viewed negatively by it's users, which causes further issues in it's attempts to dominate mobile. Will it seem some success? Maybe, however, so will Blackberry. Will it be the top dog? It takes more than tiles to be on top. All it'd take is a desktop version of android to finish Microsoft once and for all. Disclaimer: I own stock in Microsoft and none in Google :(.

Before the powers that be bash me, let me enlighten thee. There are 2 student loan companies. One is Citibank, the other is unnamed small company B (left unnamed so they shall remain innocent. Citibank has glaring flaws in everything from security to usability, unnnamed bank b hired an agile team to revamp their website and architecture. On bank b, I can easily and quickly schedule autopayments, view outstanding balances, pay over the phone, or via SMS, or via mobile app. I can also quickly and easily (with very few steps) apply for a new loan or consolidate existing loans. Bank B has a direct user feedback loop, and they ensure that any deal breaker issues are quickly resolved. Payments post same day and much more. Citibank? The call you 2-3 DAYS IN ADVANCE to make sure you are going to pay your student loan. WHY?! Because their computer systems take 4 days to update. REALLY?!?!?

Once again, an attack on agile. I understand if slashdot disagrees with agile approaches, but posting such blatantly wrong stories only makes slashdot look bad, not agile. Disclaimer: I'm both a full time agile programmer as well as freelance, and my users from both jobs LOVE it. Instead of seeing XYZ feature in years, they see it in weeks.

I don't consider myself a collector but to own an unopened copy of The Legend of Zelda or Super Mario Bros 3...Yeah i'd pay a decent amount for those games. Hell, as a kid I happened to receive dragon warrior as part of a nintendo power promotion, complete with a comprehensive strategy guide....yeah i'd pay a bit of money for that. Even if these games are opened they are worth something. The box art...instruction booklets...maps... etc...they don't make them like that anymore. Nowadays a video game is a franchise. Back then it was a kit. Anyone remember the ultima games shipping with a cloth map?

> Why would I want to go to a BAR to avoid SOCIAL INTERACTION with OTHER PEOPLE? Umm...to drink? I do it all the time!

How does it feel to want bro? When users can build 3d printers in their basements, good luck with that. Deal with it.

Yeah...no. Any company that has anything besides an open mindset deserves what it will eventually get...bankruptcy. You don't have to be a kernel developer, you don't even have to know how to write such low level code. You just have to know and understand when such things are outside of your understanding. I'm lucky enough to have a wonderful boss. I was hired as a senior programmer...after much debate he realized that our strengths and weaknesses must complement. He's a smart guy, but hasn't been exposed to anything except a single programming language since the 90s. I live my life for new languages on the other hand, and relish the opportunity to master them...we've carefully moved forward with new technologies, i've tried my best to show him without stepping on his toes...microsoft? They are in a rear view mirror. I had a microsoft recruiter chase me down once...but you know what? I want to work for the little guys...because THEY are the ones that make a difference. Even if i make 40 or 50k less a year...at least i make a fucking difference...oh and linux? Get back to me when there is a decent desktop. No offense KDE, this is mainly directed at GNOME (though KDE, making your skin less than ugly as sin and more flexible would help.)

Translation: Tablets are skyrocketing, just not ours. Maybe if we tell everyone tablets are dying they'll buy ours!

with NASA's current budget, there is no way we US citizens can tackle this. If they want to solve this, they need to give NASA more funding.

It's not the fiber. it's the utilities. Here in NJ we wanted to get a cable line run to our office. Our local telco (centurylink) apparently owns the poles and wants to charge more than $25,000 per pole for make ready work before the cable company is allowed to run their line. This steep fee effectively ensures that the cable company will never service the offices near our location.

Opera was falling increasingly behind in the browser 'wars'. They have to back the strongest player. Apple may make the most short term profits but Google has the strongest staying power. Google will NOT attempt to close source it's effort, since doing so will rally support under Webkit2. This is not meant as a flame, but chrome is available on far more platforms (linux, mac, android, etc.) than safari is.

Should a server really be just an appliance? Servers must be kept up-to-date with the latest security updates, etc. Appliances are plug in and forget.

In addition, at my day job, we often re-purpose servers for various uses. A non x86 server would severely limit our options when it comes to this. For example, when we outgrow our current database server, we can purchase a new one and utilize the old one as a standby web server, development server, or something similar.

You seem to be flaming this a lot. Let me clear the air for you.

1) 100 million ipad users is NOTHING. A large portion of both fortune 500 companies as well as non fortune 500 companies utilize Amazon Services in some form or fashion. We are talking far more than 100 million users here.

2) Apple utilizes BOTH Amazon AND Azure for the storage of files (and files only).

3) If you happen to work for microsoft (or own shares in microsoft), please note that Azure is strictly windows and strictly Microsoft. This website is more linux oriented, and a LARGE portion of servers out there are NOT Windows based (I don't have the exact numbers, but i dare say that Linux, BSD, etc have the dominant position in the market. That alone makes Microsoft the minority in cloud computing.

So you can understand now why everyone says there is nothing running on it. We don't even run our (microsoft shop) on Azure, simply due to it's restrictive nature. We utilize the much more open EC2 platform.

You seem to be flaming this a lot. Let me clear the air for you. 1) 100 million ipad users is NOTHING. A large portion of both fortune 500 companies as well as non fortune 500 companies utilize Amazon Services in some form or fashion. We are talking far more than 100 million users here. 2) Apple utilizes BOTH Amazon AND Azure for the storage of files (and files only). 3) If you happen to work for microsoft (or own shares in microsoft), please note that Azure is strictly windows and strictly Microsoft. This website is more linux oriented, and a LARGE portion of servers out there are NOT Windows based (I don't have the exact numbers, but i dare say that Linux, BSD, etc have the dominant position in the market. That alone makes Microsoft the minority in cloud computing. So you can understand now why everyone says there is nothing running on it. We don't even run our (microsoft shop) on Azure, simply due to it's restrictive nature. We utilize the much more open EC2 platform.