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Authored by: Anonymous on Monday, January 07 2013 @ 04:53 AM EST |
If it hasn't been posted here already, then here's an interesting take on
corporate personhood, that is in court today at 3pm PST.
http://www.pacificsun.com/news/local/article_a50eab78-56c0-11e2-b475-001a4bcf687
8.html
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Authored by: Ian Al on Monday, January 07 2013 @ 06:46 AM EST |
As with most readers, I have been swept up in the patent implications for big
business. Once it was established that the writers of software and the
distributors of software were not infringing US patents, I think we all breathed
a sigh of relief. I think it was premature.
Note that the writer and
distributor of software is not obliged by the patent law to investigate or warn
of the potentially infringing nature of the written work.
Infringement
of functionally defined and patented inventions (aka, software patents) occurs
when one installs 'infringing software' on a general purpose computer or sells
such a software + computer or uses such a software +
computer.
Ignorance of the patent is no defence. It can only avoid the
damages relating to wilful infringement. Users of computers in the US must
consider each case of installing and/or using software on a computer for
potential patent infringement. Each functionally defined patent must be reviewed
to ensure that the infringing functions have not been implemented by the
software. Where they have, a licence must be purchased. The checking process is
helped when the patent discloses that software is the best mode of implementing
the functions (Fonar v. GE). Please be aware that the first review makes you
aware of all the relevant functions in patents, and then any subsequent
infringement becomes wilful. I don't know how you software programmers are going
to write software any more. Once you have checked your own domestic computer,
you are wilfully inciting infringement by manufacturers, sellers and/or
users.
It is up to the installer and/or user of the software to check.
The software writer and the software distributor are not obliged to check on
your behalf. Before installing any software on your Linux computer you must make
the legal checks for patented functions. Installing bug-fixes or enhancements to
software that has already been checked may add infringing functions to existing
installed software. This also applies to the Linux kernel and other Linux
distribution components.
Obviously, automated updates are out of the
question. As a user, there are several other ways to infringe on functionally
defined patents. Formatting a flash drive or hard disk with a patented
filesystem such as VFAT is patent infringement. All the filesystems you use
must be reviewed for infringement, not just those that have been involved in
well-publicised court cases. All encoding of video, audio or image files could
be covered by patents of functional mathematical algorithms.
You might
imagine that it would be safer to use proprietary operating systems and
application software, especially where the whole system is often pre-installed
on a computer. Unfortunately, there are several examples whereby users are
infringing even in this case. The use of Windows Media Player was found to be
infringing in Microsoft v. AT&T and the use of Microsoft Word (often
pre-installed on machines) was found to be infringing in
i4i v. Microsoft.
Obviously, using a virus protection program is a
no-no: you just cannot be sure that any update does not infringe the functions
in a patent.
Once you have reached the point whereby your entire
computer system is non-infringing, you can look more broadly. The Allen v. World case involved a functional patent 6,788,314 that
claimed the interweb as the best mode of implementation.a
multiplicity of content providing systems, shown as Content Providers 1 through
n... and a multiplicity of content display systems, shown as Users 1 through
n.
Obviously, avoiding this form of infringement is trivial. Just
ensure that you never access 'a multiplicity of content providing systems' at
the same time as anyone else. The act of accessing the multiplicity manufactures
the infringing machine and accessing the content is using the infringing
machine. Using a search engine system based on 'a multiplicity of content
providing systems' is clearly reckless.
However, not all interweb
functional patents will be based on multiplicities. The only truly safe approach
is not to go on the interweb.
Whatever you do, do not save this advice
on a network connected storage device. They may download infringing functions
without your knowing and using then would be an infringement. For the same
reason, never print the advice on a network connected printer.
Now you
know why the Amish will never buy internet connected refrigerators.
I
don't see this as being forever. Once the Supreme Court realise that they are
wrong about a new machine being made when software is installed on an old
general purpose computer, a lot of the problems will melt away. However, as long
as the District Court approve of abstract functions being statutory subject
matter, the legal uncertainty will continue. The same applies to methods and
processes on-a-machine and mirrored claims.
PS: The above is
entirely tongue-in-cheek, but it does seem to fit my limited understanding of
the US patent law.
--- Regards
Ian Al
Software Patents: It's the disclosed functions in the patent, stupid! [ Reply to This | Parent | # ]
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Authored by: Anonymous on Monday, January 07 2013 @ 07:55 AM EST |
I love Help Desk.
Help
Desk
Wayne
http://madhatter.ca
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Authored by: Anonymous on Monday, January 07 2013 @ 08:32 AM EST |
I normally wouldn't post something like this, but I was reading it, and
got the
impression that if Dickens had experienced the Indian courts, he
wouldn't
have bothered to invent Jarndyce v. Jarndyce...
The Guardian
Sounds like their system needs an
overhaul.
Wayne
http://madhatter.ca
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Authored by: hardmath on Monday, January 07 2013 @ 11:48 AM EST |
Link
[Note to parent: Nice
handle!]
Geologic evidence indicates an abundance of liquid
water on the
earth from earliest times, but this is a puzzle
due to the 25% fainter Sun and
less dense atmosphere on
earth, which classic models indicate would have had
freezing
temperatures.
A new paper in Science points to interactions
between
hydrogen and nitrogen, neither of which is itself a
greenhouse gas, as
a likely factor in solving the paradox.
--- Recursion is the
opprobrium of the mathists. [ Reply to This | Parent | # ]
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Authored by: tiger99 on Monday, January 07 2013 @ 12:54 PM EST |
The H Nice, but I suspect that many people will
use a Raspberry Pi with Gertboard or Piface instead, and get the benefit of much
more memory. Announced for the second half of 2013, Lego's Mindstorms
EV3 robotics kit includes a completely new central operating component, which
Lego calls the "Intelligent Brick". The controller uses an ARMv9 (the company's
previous NXT 2.0 products work with ARMv7) and includes 16MB of flash memory
that can be further expanded with an SD card. A quite generous 64MB of RAM is
probably required by the new operating system. According to the specifications,
it is Linux-based and should, therefore, be "hackable". It is not
cheap, but nothing like that ever is.The robotics kit, which will
ship for $349.99 (approximately £215), includes 3 servo motors, 1 touch
sensor, 1 IR proximity sensor, and a colour sensor. An IR beacon can direct and
send instructions to the IR sensor. According to the manufacturer's description,
the kit will also include 594 Lego Technic parts. To get started, the EV3 will
offer building instructions for 17 robots such as the humanoid "Everstorm"
robot, the scorpion-like "Spiker" robot, and "Reptar", a snake-like robot. The
company says that the EV3 is compatible with previous Mindstorms components and
sensors. For programming purposes, Lego has provided a LabView-based graphical
development environment. I would like to see Meccano getting similar
capabilities, as you can do a lot more with nuts, bolts, girders etc than with
plastic blocks, but again it has become far too expensive even without the
robotics. But let us be honest, all these toys are supposedly bought to help
educate the kids, but nowadays they are really for the amusement of grown
adults.[ Reply to This | Parent | # ]
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Authored by: Anonymous on Monday, January 07 2013 @ 01:11 PM EST |
Women’s presence in higher education has increased, but as authors
of scholarly papers—keys to career success—their publishing patterns differ from those of men.
Explore nearly 1,800 fields and subfields, across four centuries, to see which
areas have the most female authors and which have the fewest, in this exclusive
Chronicle report. See how overall percentages differ from the important
first-author position and—in two major bioscience fields—from the prestigious
last-author position.
The
Chronicle of Higher Education[ Reply to This | Parent | # ]
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Authored by: Anonymous on Monday, January 07 2013 @ 02:18 PM EST |
Time to throw out that D-Link WBR-1310 Version D Release 4.13 wireless router.
What, it's only five
years old? You can't beat builtin stupidity.
isc.sans.edu
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- Y2K+13 - Authored by: JamesK on Monday, January 07 2013 @ 05:03 PM EST
- Does not sound unusable - Authored by: SpaceLifeForm on Monday, January 07 2013 @ 06:09 PM EST
- Y2K+13 - Authored by: Anonymous on Monday, January 07 2013 @ 06:18 PM EST
- Y2K+13 - Authored by: Anonymous on Tuesday, January 08 2013 @ 05:55 AM EST
- Y2K+13 - Authored by: Anonymous on Tuesday, January 08 2013 @ 09:27 AM EST
- Y2K+13 - Authored by: Anonymous on Wednesday, January 09 2013 @ 06:21 AM EST
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Authored by: SilverWave on Monday, January 07 2013 @ 02:59 PM EST |
How not to catch the
norovirus --- RMS: The 4 Freedoms
0 run the program for any purpose
1 study the source code and change it
2 make copies and distribute them
3 publish modified versions
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Authored by: kh on Monday, January 07 2013 @ 04:47 PM EST |
Genetically
Monetised Food [ Reply to This | Parent | # ]
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Authored by: Anonymous on Tuesday, January 08 2013 @ 12:20 AM EST |
This
image license has expired .. [ Reply to This | Parent | # ]
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Authored by: tiger99 on Tuesday, January 08 2013 @ 08:25 AM EST |
The H Interestingly, Windoze has to read the MBR 9 times.
Sounds massively inefficient, and doubtless the result of the usual M$
practice of hacking the code until it works, just, instead of designing it
properly. [ Reply to This | Parent | # ]
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Authored by: Anonymous on Tuesday, January 08 2013 @ 10:42 AM EST |
1'35"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RO7QbCqFY7Y - twildottv
4'24"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NxU_V_zCbtw - planetubuntu [ Reply to This | Parent | # ]
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Authored by: Gringo_ on Tuesday, January 08 2013 @ 10:48 AM EST |
We know that Windows 8 is moving poorly. One big factor
out of a multitude
of issues appears to be that the hardware
doesn't give the performance one
would expect for the price,
according to ZDNet...
See
Windows 8's problem: It's the
hardware...
After a few
weeks of going to Best Buy,
Staples and other retailers pushing Windows 8 it's
hard to
find real enthusiasm about the operating system. There's
interest for
sure. There are a lot of hardware choices too.
But Windows 8 and the barrage of
hardware feels very 1.0.
And that's a big problem when Windows 8 devices are
often
positioned near Apple products.
Now we get word
from Intel that they are coming to the rescue with
some
new CPUs...
The fourth-generation Intel Core
processor was developed
specifically for ultrabooks and promises big advances
in the
second half of 2013. Apologies to anyone who has already
bought a
Windows 8 ultrabook
The upshot: The current crop of Windows 8 devices
will
improve beginning in April or May.
However, the better move is to
wait for Microsoft to update
Windows 8 and Intel to launch its fourth
generation Core
processors. Skaugen said that $599 touch-based PCs will be
the norm by the end of 2013
So tell me, after this
announcement, who in their right
mind is going to buy a Windows 8 tablet now?
It would make
much more sense for those few interested to wait not only
for
better hardware, but also for SP1 that may fix a few
issues with the broken
UI.
I wouldn't expect much for sales of Windows 8 tablets
this year. By
next year, the plethora of attractive non-
Windows options will only have
increased, while their price
will remain low. Though in the months to come the
price may
drop on the lower end Windows 8 tablets, they will never be
competitive with better performing, even lower priced
alternatives. When
better hardware and SP1 arrive next year,
the price will be high and
alternatives will be well
entrenched.
Meanwhile, the Windows phone is
going nowhere. As Nokia
files for bankruptcy, Microsoft will undoubtedly come
out
with one positioned to compete with the iPhones, and that
will sell as
well as their Surface lineup, which is to say,
not well. I wouldn't bet on
Microsoft's shares retaining
value. They can only slowly sink into the sunset.
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Authored by: MDT on Tuesday, January 08 2013 @ 12:24 PM EST |
Thought PJ might like to know of another billion dollar
company that
Boise/Shiller is representing...
Herbalife
Currently under investigation by the FTC for
being a pyramid
scheme.
--- MDT [ Reply to This | Parent | # ]
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Authored by: Anonymous on Tuesday, January 08 2013 @ 04:56 PM EST |
isc.sans.edu remind us what can happen to a pic of a barcode, and
There
is no such thing as a private email.
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- Share it all - Authored by: Anonymous on Tuesday, January 08 2013 @ 06:16 PM EST
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Authored by: Anonymous on Tuesday, January 08 2013 @ 05:02 PM EST |
From Techdirt
Ah, Prenda Law. As you may recall,
there's been an ongoing fight over
some Prenda cases in California, with the
key players being Prenda
lawayer Brett Gibbs, lawyer for some John Doe
defendants Morgan Pietz,
and judge Otis Wright. Oh yeah, and the possibly
mysterious Alan Cooper,
who may or may not be Prenda mastermind John Steele's
property
caretaker. As you may recall, the caretaker Cooper had a lawyer file
some
documents in some Prenda cases involving shell companies AF Holdings
and
Ingenuity 13, suggesting that he was worried that Steele had faked his
identity
and claimed that Cooper was the CEO of those two companies,
when they were
really controlled by Steele.
I am not a lawyer, buy
this sounds REALLY strange, it does.
Prenda Law Tries
The 'I Know You
Are, But What Am I' Legal
Strategy
Comments?
Waynehttp://madhatter.ca<
/br>
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