As far as I know, none of the major news networks made such predictions. This really demonstrates the power of blogging. Sitting here in Maine, I as a lone individual am able read the blog of an individual in Baghdad and make a prediction like that, and be right. This is a very powerful technology. Maybe it is the beginning of something that will change the world as much as the Iraq campaign itself. Or more.

No posts from Salam since the strike began. Let's hope he's safe and well.
2:52:16 PM    

It appears to be about the situation where people bid for ad space. EM does that. A lot of sites do, it arguably includes the phenomenon of "text ads" such as are used on Kuro5hin, if there is only limited space on the page the ads appear on, so bidding is used to decide who gets it.

One thing that is important to keep in mind. This isn't a patent, but a published application. The patent has not been issued or approved by the PTO.

However, once a patent is published, companies that would infringe if it were issued can be contacted, and if they continue to use the claimed matter, can be sued for damages retroactively when it is issued.

The patent was applied for on October 8, 2002. It seems obvious that there was plenty of prior art. I don't know, though, whether the patent "takes priority" from some earlier application such as a provisional patent application. I'm not sure whether the online publication mechanism normally makes that information available.

More info will be posted here as it comes in.
10:10:32 AM    

Apparently love of country isn't doing the trick.
9:03:41 AM