Intellectual Property Run Amok!.

Yet another instance of intellectual property "protections" run amok. This time Microsoft and all the rest of us are the victims:

Silicon Valley - Dan Gillmor's eJournal - Saving the Browser: The Eolas patent lawsuit (Infoworld) against Microsoft, which has all the earmarks of yet another bad patent being wrongly enforced, is one of the biggest threats to the Net in years. If Microsoft and other browser makers have to radically revise their code, the Internet community will lose big.

Ray Ozzie, CEO of Groove Networks, has done some work. And he says there's fairly clear "prior art" that should invalidate the Eolas patent. Here's Ray's analysis. Persuasive stuff.

The saddest thing is the University of California's joining Eolas in the lawsuit. The whole point of a university is to distribute knowledge, not to restrict and charge for it.

[Semi-Daily Journal]

One big fallout of this suit is that MS could easily redo IE so that only MS products work. It could get around the plugin and hardwire everything. The whole basis of a plug-in is that it allowed other developers to piggy back on the application. So, even though MS loses the lawsuit, it gains greater monopoly power for its own products. What a twisted possibility and a great example of why patent laws as applied to much of the software is ludicrous and wrong. But I firmly expect more small companies to mainpulate the law in order to screw things up for the public.  9:58:59 PM    

New 15-inch PowerBook. The all-new 15-inch PowerBook G4 offers an unrivaled mix of power and portability in a sleek aluminum design weighing just 5.6 pounds. Featuring a stunning 15.2-inch widescreen display, phenomenal graphics, backlit keyboard and advanced connectivity including AirPort Extreme, Bluetooth, FireWire 800, USB 2.0 and Gigabit Ethernet, the new 15-inch PowerBook G4 starts at just $1,999 (US). [Sep 16] [Apple Hot News]

I've beenwaiting for this one. May buy me one soon, unless the 17 incher gets me first.  9:14:31 PM    

Quotes to use at parties

Voltaire. "Marriage is the only adventure open to the cowardly." [Quotes of the Day]

Truman Capote. "Life is a moderately good play with a badly written third act." [Quotes of the Day]

Nikita Khrushchev. "Politicians are the same all over. They promise to build a bridge even where there is no river." [Quotes of the Day]

Henry Kissinger. "Ninety percent of the politicians give the other ten percent a bad reputation." [Quotes of the Day]

Just a little something to get us started.  8:17:19 AM