Every single licensed software DVD player on the planet requires a DVD region code to be set on the drive. This is hardly something unique to Windows 7, or even Windows.

Bullshit

I think it was Russell Howard who said - "The Daily Mail, racist in public so you don't have to be". That about sums it up really.

Israel is not a Jewish state. It is a Zionist state. Learn some history and learn the difference.

Also, IBM has changed a lot since Gosling started to work there.

I dunno. I deal a lot with their Global Services division in my current contract and the Marx Brothers comparison seems pretty accurate from my experience.

Unlikely, at least in Europe

So good luck with that Intel...

I definitely think we should have coop utilities, including broadband in the US.

It can definitely work. My parents have broadband through The Phone Coop and not only to they get a decent speed for a decent price, they get a dividend back at the end of the year as well. I'm thinking of changing to them as well.

Don't tell me that capitalism has failed, when the author has failed to make a point at all. This is Marxist B.S., meant to encourage government ownership of broadband connections so they can spy on us and charge us through the roof.

And if you keep telling yourself that enough times you'll eventually convince yourself its true. Either that or you're a comedic genius and I failed to spot the sarcasm. Regardless, I'm having a good laugh at your post right now over here with my cheap, fast broadband that I get because of the government mandated competition laws that my commie country has enacted.

Just had a coffee -> nose moment. Thanks for that...

I don't agree with Syria and Israel being allowed to join, but to be fair, part of Turkey actually is in mainland Europe. Granted, a very small part, but a part nonetheless.

FFS, if I bought a phone and it didn't work I'd just take the thing back to the shop and get a refund. That way I get my money back so I can buy a different phone as a replacement. With a class-action lawsuit they'll get $5 worth of iTunes vouchers and still have a phone that doesn't work. What planet are these people on?

FFS people read the article. Germany has upheld precisely three software related patents - ones that were specifically tied to other areas like hardware and ones that were definitely not obvious or with any kind of demonstrable prior art. They have thrown out all others. Given there is no precedent system in the EU it means that each case is heard on its merits alone, so those three cases mean nothing in the grand scheme of things. Finally, to quote the article:-

"In fact, more recently the same court has repeatedly upheld the rejection of patent claims to computers and programs operating thereon, as in Rentabilitätsermittlung[30] as well as in Informationsübermittlungsverfahren[31]."

FFS, not this bullshit again. Yes the EPO will grant patents on anything if you're stupid enough to pay. They are NOT legally enforceable though. Read the section entitled "Enforceability before national courts" from your own link.

a) No they don't. They get granted by the EU Patent Office to anyone who is stupid enough to pay as the EU Patent Office is a commercial entity that will sell anything to anyone. However, they are not enforceable.
b) In what way is Firefox hardware?

So basically, the US can shove it's software patents up its ass. H.264 software patents do NOT apply in Europe - and nor will they - there have already been at least two votes on the subject in the EU parliament that were lobbied for by the industry, and both times the proposal was thrown out - http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/4655955.stm

Bollocks. Software patents do not apply in the EU. Doesn't matter how much you wish it were true, it just isn't.