inventions having impact on society? (Score 1)

one of the things i've noticed about quite a few significant inventions in my lifetime is that companies buy them up and then NEVER RELEASE THEM because it would cut into their profit margin.

on the other side of the coin, those that *are* released are repressed, regulated, and patent-courted out of having a positive influence on society because of loss of profits, etc etc etc. it's a familiar rant on slashdot, and it's irritating to me to see the lack of 'inventiveness' (pardon the pun) blamed for a lack of societal impact - i blame society's fear of change, and corporations' fear of losing the almighty dollar.