Even if combining file transfer [ftp] and image scrolling is patent-legally considered "novel", there is the question of damages. 1993 patents ran out (in the US) in 2010, so he cannot get any ongoing damages.

Optaining "back-damages" would be highly dependant on legal procedure, but I doubt he would be entitled to [m]any if he did not inform the alleged infringers during the period of their alleged infringement. It's not like browser coders were hard to see, find or email. Just another troll.

... OK, I'll bite at the troll -- and I have not stopped beating my wife.

First, just how many women do you expect? Looking a closed-source companies is a bad comparison since all the large ones are under a form of voluntary "Affirmative Action". Defensively against lawsuits, they try to hire according to the source population (college grad) gender numbers. I know, I've done it.

Second, why do you think "open source" is all warm'n'fuzzy, kinder, gentler? I know, I've done that too -- both run a project and tried to get kernel patches accepted. F/OS is _ruthlessly_ competitive and heavily slanted towards negative feedback when you are lucky enough to get any. For good reason, the kernel maintainers are busy and justifiably concerned about code overgrowth. You have to like beating your head against the wall. And then hit just the right problem with just the right code at just the right time to get in. Get lucky a few times, and you get more attention. But its a dogged uphill battle. Perhaps not one many women [egalitairian, risk averse] are motivated to engage. But how or why should it be otherwise? Please tell. IS F/OS short of development? Would the instability of greater development be an improvment?

Finally, the only time gender is a legitimate inquiry, sexual orientation is equally important. Is there any evidence the F/OS is homophobic, racist or discriminates on other axes? Then why assume it discriminates just because there are few women?

Again, just what do you expect? Look at it -- the US Consititution almost exclusively acts to limit the powers of both leglislative and executive branches. Of course they are going to object and find loopholes and squeeze past any way they can. Weasles gonna weasle!

A bigger issue is the tremendous amounts of money spent or controlled through legislation. This gives lots of incentive to lobby. And difficulty stopping big spenders.

The courts who have always been a bit of a safeguard for minority rights, have largely been disempowered by populism and the curious notion that democacy is a goal rather than a method of achieve a goal. Both the Left and the Right whine mightily about "Legislating from the Bench" when rulings go against them. Never mind that the judges do not legislate but rather strike down legislation, the epithet tars them.

Just what do you expect? First, concentrated interests learn through trial-and-error how to influence, control and capture their most relevant regulators and legislators. Once this is done (Sonny Bono copyright extention of 1995), they look to extend their power and influence further afield, in this case to foreign governments.

This is just business as usual and the concentrated interests can pay for it. The real problem is the dilute interests (public at large) does not individually have enough money at stake to do anything. This inertia allows the concentrated interests to prevail. The US Constitution protects against some abuses, but more active measures are necessary. A static, defensive strategy always loses in the long term.

No direct complaint about TFA (pretty pictures, nice analysis) but just _why_ were USAF recon photos released? This smells like more propaganda blackwash, like the [non] nukes.

Sure, everyone says NK has nukes after two tests. But look carefuly at those tests -- both sub-kiloton in yield. 0.5 - 0.7 kt . AFAIK, it is _extremely_ difficult to design reliable pits in that range. Much easier and safer to go for the typical 15 kt yield (less Pu/HEU). OTOH, it would be simple to make 0.5 kt from ANFO (ammonium nitrate - fuel oil) explosive in a mine with chosen radiowaste at the mine-mouth to leave the desired radioisotope signature.

The US mil-ind complex must be desperate to keep that bogeyman alive. China needs both whipping boys (NK, Burma) to corral its peoples.

Half my 6 USB chargers claim 1+A output, the other half 500 mA (older). Who knows what they really do?

I strongly expect Raz went for USB power to avoid all the national electrical approvals necessary for wallwarts. Remember, this is a shoe-string outfit. Just get a phone charger with someone else' approvals. They probably chose micro- over mini- because the former are more likely to make 700+ (iPod & smartphone draws).

The Raz' closest competitor are the plugs (Sheeva, Guru, Pogo-, ...) and they are OK for ssh. Arduino is fine as a microcontroller, but is no GP computer.

What is unique and very interesting about the Raz is HDMI output. It can easily be a small xterm, or any other app you can compile for ARMv5t and stick on the SD card. Or email / web-browser on the network model. Not fast, but useable.

This is rather some news, because up until now, Amazon Kindles have used *.AZW which is *.MOBI (mobile book) based. _NOT_ *.EPUB which is a main competitor.

I do not see anything about compression, which is my main reason for preferring EPUB over MOBI . The files are ~50% smaller unless there are photos/dwgs.

While the photog owns copyright in asny pictures taken, the subjects of the photo also have rights. Why else do newsies get signed releases?

Once you discover a undesireable photo, why not send a DMCA takedown notice to the offending site (Facebook?)

Excuuuuse me if I'm "so last millenium", but what are ads? I browse the web with `links`in gorgeous 149col x 143rows of text!