01.27.12
Posted in Hardware, Patents at 12:05 pm by Dr. Roy Schestowitz
Another drop in the bucket for patents hoarder Intel
Summary: Intel, which has been promoting software patents, buys some from RealNetworks
CHIPMAKING monopolist Intel, a corrupt company that lobbies for software patents [1, 2], is reportedly buying some software patents [1, 2] from a familiar company. The general observation is that Intel is unlikely to use those patents against Linux or Free software in general, so it’s better off in Intel’s hands than in the hands of some patent trolls or Linux foes like Apple and Microsoft. █
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12.08.11
Posted in Antitrust, Finance, Hardware at 5:34 am by Guest Editorial Team
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M$ can raise its prices for years to come to keep the money rolling in from the suckers but they cannot lock in more users it seems. Consider this. In October, Wikimedia records 91% of visits were “non-mobile”, mostly that other OS. 9% were “mobile”, mostly not that other OS. In October a year ago, the numbers were 95.2% and 4.8%. M$ is losing 5% share per annum on the move to mobile alone. In 2010, M$ had 84.29% share but now have 78.38% share, down about 6% per annum.
See also this article.
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Asked early in 2011 what consumers thought of that other OS on a tablet, 45% were interested. Now, the number is 25%. At that rate of decline, interest will be ~10% by the time M$ moves its bowels to deliver “8″.
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Science
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Multiple sources of data are always better and more accurate when aggregated.
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Hardware
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Remember when ASUS shook the world with the announcement of GNU/Linux on a netbook? Well, that will look like a teardrop compared to the flood of innovation 2012 will bring. Expect Android/Linux and GNU/Linux on ARM to intrude into the desktop/notebook space previously dominated by Wintel
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Security
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Defence/Police/Aggression
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Environment/Energy/Wildlife
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Finance
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Many big Wall Street firms have settled fraud cases brought by the government with a promise to never violate the same law. But an analysis of Securities and Exchange Commission documents by The New York Times found that since 1996, there have been at least 51 repeat violations by those firms.
Massachusetts has sued the big US banks for foreclosure fraud.
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As with the manufactured debt ceiling crisis in the United States, the E.C.B. is withholding relief in order to extort austerity measures from member governments—and the threat seems to be working.
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Claims everyone knew what was going on but no one else can count. The only mystery, supposedly, was who was getting the money but it’s now revealed that the money went to McDonalds. Gee, thanks.
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We are economists who oppose ideological cleansing in the economics profession. Equally we oppose political cleansing in the vital debate over the cause and consequences of our current economic crisis.
We support the efforts of the Occupy Wall Street movement across the country and across the globe to liberate the economy from the short-term greed of the rich and powerful one percent.
We oppose cynical and perverse attempts to misuse our police officers and public servants to expel advocates of the public good from our public spaces.
We extend our support to the vision of building an economy that works for the people, for the planet, and the future, and we declare our solidarity with the Occupiers who are exercising our democratic right to demand economic and social justice.
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Anti-Trust
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PR/AstroTurf/Lobbying
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Special undercover investigation: Executives from Bell Pottinger reveal ‘dark arts’ they use to burnish reputations of countries accused of human rights violations [and] to bury bad coverage and influence public opinion.
They claim to be able to manipulate Google results and Wikipedia, manipulate weak minded politicians, create doubt with unimportant details, to run fake blogs and all that other Arron Barr trash. Because they also claim to be true belivers in their clients, they are themselves the most manipulated party.
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Censorship
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Please sign it too. Almost a million people have.
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The first is that Bookshare, an online library for people who can’t read standard print books … Bookshare is legal in the US, but that doesn’t stop authors, agents or publishers who don’t know much about people with disabilities or copyright law sending cease and desist letters. … Benetech develops free software to help human rights activists around the world safely record stories of human rights abuse. … when asked if we know whether or not there are “pirated” copyrighted materials, we can’t say. … [under SOPA] If any single publisher or author of any one of the more than 130,000 accessible books in our library gets antsy, they can send a notice to VISA and MasterCard and say, stop money from going to Benetech and Bookshare.
This article uses the propaganda term “piracy” for sharing. The point of SOPA is to give publishers the power to shut down whoever they want and that is unacceptable.
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A few days after the verdict was announced The Pirate Bay registered depiraatbaai.be, a new domain not covered by the court order. Today, just a few weeks later, this domain is already the 124th most-visited in Belgium, on its way to enter the top 100.
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Privacy
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Civil Rights
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Reddit and Twitter both experience problems.
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The passage of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) through the Senate last Thursday saw the culmination of a ten-year crusade by Senator Lindsay Graham (R-SC) to make the law of war apply on US soil. … In summary, once the NDAA becomes law a US citizen on US soil can lawfully be killed by the US military if the military believes that citizen to be a terrorist affiliated with Al Qaeda or its allies.
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As Senator Lindsay Graham recently remarked as an explanation for his support of legislation allowing for the indefinite detention of Americans, “Is the homeland the battlefield? You better believe it is the battlefield.” … If signed into law by President Obama, this bill will not only ensure that we remain in a perpetual state of war — with this being a war against the American people — but it will also institute de facto martial law in the United States.
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The Senate clearly wished for the military’s “law and order” powers to extend beyond the territory of military bases on the theory that there may be “terrorsymps” (short for “terrorist sympathizers”) lurking everywhere. … By noting that little-known fact [about Awlaki], am I showing “support” for “al-Qaeda, the Taliban or associated forces”? Will the U.S. military be obliged to target me, too?
It is worth reading the whole article.
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An interesting accusation and summary of previous US crowd control/population lock up plans in light of NDAA.
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Tuesday’s “Occupy Our Homes” action in at least 20 cities makes it clear that they are standing up to banks to reverse foreclosures. … We’re here because [there are] a lot of empty buildings owned by Wall Street banks and we’re going to liberate them
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This is from the 1990s, when he advanced the Contract on America.
If you did not believe the Republicans said what they meant and meant what they said back then, you should look around today and read this again.
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Ray Lutz should not be confused with this clown, Frank Luntz
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Intellectual Monopolies
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The idea of bringing in a unitary EU patent system has been rolling around Brussels so long most people have assumed it will never happen. But there is a clear push on at the moment to realise these plans once and for all. … taking place largely in secret: this is a hugely important area, with implications for all businesses, and yet we are not permitted to see how the final negotiations are being conducted.
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Copyrights
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12.06.11
Posted in Apple, Free/Libre Software, FSF, FUD, Hardware, Intellectual Monopoly, Law, Microsoft, Patents, Samsung, Tivoization at 2:52 pm by Guest Editorial Team
The Best Tool For Freedom is a Free Tool
Two friends have a good chat about free software at OSCON.
The CarrierIQ issue, even if it is part of an organized campaign to smear and ruin Android [2], is showing people the dangers of using non free software. Even one piece of non free software can betray users, so mostly free, “pragmatic” systems can be just as bad as regular non free systems. The free software community should capitalize on this awareness to change people’s attitudes towards their devices so that they will reject non free software in the future. Software freedom must be complete for users to have real conrtol and privacy.
Richard Stallman wrote an extensive review of Android back in September. It lists all of the parts of available phones that can be used maliciously against users, which surprisingly include the radio control firmware. The conclusion was unequivocal, “Android is a major step towards an ethical, user-controlled, free-software portable phone, but there is a long way to go. … While any computing system might have bugs, these devices might be bugs.”
When the CarrierIQ scandal broke, Mr. Stallman was not surprised. His comment was,
The root cause of this problem is that the users don’t control the software on these phones. So if they didn’t put in this surveillance package [Carrier IQ], they would put in some other. The users’ only protection against malicious features (surveillance, intentional restrictions, and back doors) is to insist on free software.
Anyone in the Open Source community who’s surprised should think hard about what the Free Software Society has been telling them. About four years ago at a “Web 2.0″ meeting, Eben Moglen urged the Tim O’Reilly and the Open Source community to quit, “wasting time promoting commercial products.” O’Reilly was sad that Moglen did not want to talk about protecting people’s data on other people’s computers in “the cloud,” but CarrierIQ makes it plain that those rights and protections are meaningless if the user is stripped of privacy by malware in their pocket. It might have been useful ten years ago to hide scary talk about freedom from big companies like IBM. It worked, thanks, but talk about “best tool for the job” and “pragmatic” mixes of free and non free software should now be considered counter productive and the results dangerous.
There are community alternatives to carrier issued Android. Stallman mentions Replicant, a 100% free software replacement for Android. There is also a less careful distribution called CyanogenMod that is focused on performance and includes non free software from Google and perhaps device drivers. Jeff Hoogland, the founder of Bodhi GNU/Linux, is working on Debian for cell phones and we can be sure many others are as well. In the mean time, if you must have a smart phone, it might as well be Android because there is no chance a phone from Apple or Microsoft will be liberated, but don’t expect it to be a Freedom Box the community really wants [2 and don't trust it until it's really free.
Sadly, US law is mostly a hindrance. Senator Al Franklin had some very pointed questions about possible violations of law for the company and a lawsuit has been launched against the guilty parties - Apple, HTC, Samsung, Motorola, AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile and Carrier IQ. That's good but it will be difficult to prove what actually happened, and the free software community can do better. Like Vista and Windows 7, CarrierIQ establishes encrypted communications to hide the data transmitted. It would be better to have free software on your cell phone, so the FSF has petitioned the Librarian of Congress for a DMCA Exemption Without that, it may be against US law for people to replace the software on their phones or even to delete CarrierIQ malware.
The lack of freedom in cell phones is not a natural state but is unlikely to end without changes and enforcement of US law. Android has emerged as the top cell phone OS because it is free software and creates a productive commons for the odd hundred companies that must cooperate to make a cell phoneThe obnoxious US patent system has allowed Microsoft and Apple to practice judicial extortion that should have been blocked by US anti-trust and racketeering laws[1, 2,3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]. Spectrum licensing itself is a technically obsolete and harmful practice but the FCC could demand adherence to technical standards, demand the publication of technical standards required to operate phones, and forbid practices such as phone locking as the price carriers pay for spectrum as it transitions to open spectrum.
We are in this hole because a long running propaganda campaign by non free software owners has played down ethical issues while convincing people that they are helpless. Billions of dollars in propaganda spending still drown out the basic truth of the situation and non free software use remains prevalent even among people who have every reason to fear spying by the rich and powerful. CarrierIQ gives us a good chance to fix that.
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09.13.11
Posted in Hardware, Patents at 10:04 am by Dr. Roy Schestowitz
Classic example of how monopolists view patenting
Summary: The monopolistic company whose grossly-inflated prices and extortion of rivals depend on patents says that it is wrong for others to have them
THERE IS THIS article which we have found linked in some places after it was published yesterday, under the headline “Intel to Universities: No Patents, Please, Just Open Source”. Our wiki has a page that explains some of Intel’s crimes, so Intel/x86 apologists can get up to scratch.
“Intel wishes to see R&D with no strings attached to it (so that Intel can take it) and at the same time it wants to harm rivals using its own patent monopolies.”“But wait,” says the article, “there’s A Catch: the company has made it a condition that in order to receive the millions, your university must open source any resulting software and inventions that come out of this research funding. Yes, open source. Your university cannot stake claim to any patents. There will be no intellectual property clauses, no negotiations, no… nonsense.”
Really? Well, other than Intel’s openwashing of its image, there is a problem here because Intel is a hypocrite. We must not forget that Intel is lobbying for software patents even outside the US and the company has a huge number of patents it uses anti-competitively. Intel wishes to see R&D with no strings attached to it (so that Intel can take it) and at the same time it wants to harm rivals using its own patent monopolies. How is that reasonable or even commendable? █
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06.27.11
Posted in Hardware, Microsoft at 9:26 am by Dr. Roy Schestowitz
Summary: Red flags in Microsoft’s DRM-encumbered hardware, this time with prospects of (mis)using DMCA laws
There is not so much to say about the Xbox family of products anymore. The founders have all left Microsoft (last one to leave did so recently) and the rivals are doing a lot better, even in the United States.
Last year Microsoft started attacking companies that essentially complemented Xbox360 [1, 2, 3]. It is always a bad sign when a company sues in an attempt to salvage some profit, not at all minding the impact on public opinion.
Ars Technica now asks,”[c]an Microsoft use the DMCA to kill competing Xbox 360 accessories?”
Can Microsoft remotely disable third-party accessories from working with the Xbox 360 and get away with it?
The Redmond, Washington software- and console-maker did just that, and claims copyright law gave it the right. At issue is Microsoft’s 2009 remote disabling of Datel memory cards, which prompted an antitrust lawsuit that lives on today—litigation that has morphed into the latest test of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.
The 1998 DMCA makes it a crime or civil violation to offer a product or service that circumvents a technological measure designed to protect copyrighted material.
Consoles are essentially a single-purpose computer whose sole purpose is to run games (and there is DRM to enforce this restriction). Kill switches on such consoles is a subject we explored here before. This whole trend helps rationalise the need for software freedom. █
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06.13.11
Posted in Hardware, Microsoft, OLPC, Patents at 5:41 am by Dr. Roy Schestowitz
Summary: Convicted monopolist Intel joins the Microsoft-style lobby of advocating monopolies on mathematical ideas such as algorithms
ONE THING THAT INTEL and Microsoft have in common is that both are committing crimes to gain and to protect their monopolies and when legal action is brought against them they just pay a bribe to have the evidence destroyed and for the legal cases to go away. Both Microsoft and Intel were found guilty in multiple continents and they had colluded for many years (recent example [1, 2]) as they rubbed each others’ back and forced smaller competitors out of the market.
“Intel submits that if New Zealand chooses to provide restrictions on the patentability of software, those who will suffer the most include citizens of the country, and particularly those who develop software.”
–David Simon, IntelIntel’s pretense (PR lies) is a subject we wrote about before. Do not believe what Intel says. It wants the world to perceive it as a GNU/Linux friend so that its hardware gets bought by people with a clue in computing. It’s a PR exercise. Intel paid SCO and attacked OLPC (which was Linux-based), then covered it up. Moreover, notes the FFII’s president upon this release of submissions regarding software patents in New Zealand, that “Intel says [PDF] you cannot distinguish hardware from software, very shocking from the number manufacturer of hardware” (does Intel ‘own’ the transistor yet?)
We have looked at the said submission and were appalled. There is also a very shameful lie there from David Simon (on behalf of Intel). He said that “Intel submits that if New Zealand chooses to provide restrictions on the patentability of software, those who will suffer the most include citizens of the country, and particularly those who develop software.” The very opposite is true, but don’t let facts gets in Intel’s way. Shame on Intel.
Glyn Moody notes that “#Microsoft fights desperately for #swpats” in there, but we already knew that. Microsoft and its front groups in New Zealand are a subject we explored quite thoroughly before (see this wiki page for details). The FFII’s president adds that the “European Commission DG Trade commenting on software patents guidelines in New Zealand, while EPC is not even EU law” (in New Zealand they try to legitimise software patents in the same way they do in Europe, by painting software as hardware or “device”). Mr Vassilis Koutsiouris from the intellectual property unit is deceiving New Zealand [PDF]. Is this what European taxpayers pay for? To harm themselves and empower monopolies whose billionaires have no qualm about lying? █
[Disclosure: Posted from an AMD box]
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06.10.11
Posted in Hardware, Microsoft, Windows at 1:29 pm by Dr. Roy Schestowitz
1. Company has legacy dilemmas, suffers internal issues
2. Microsoft steps in, sends mole/vulture fund/proxy battler into the company (Nokia, Novell, and Yahoo! respectively)
3. Company totally crushed, run by Microsoft proxies, Microsoft takes all the pieces of interest (patents, userbase, brand names, etc.)
4. Profit! (another competitor eliminated at no cost)
Summary: How Microsoft is abusing the market, this time by sending Nokia to the cleaners and ruining the Skype experience with bad service and disturbances
WHEN Microsoft quits the mobile market (at last, it might have to!) it will officially become somewhat of a patent troll, a non-practicing mobile entity making money out of other companies’ phones/platforms. Before Microsoft becomes a patent troll and not just a leech it will have to burn its boats and the process has just begun with the burial of the Windows Mobile shop. “MS discontinue [an]other product,” informed us a reader yesterday. To quote an article from a fairly Microsoft-sympathetic source:
Microsoft is sending notifications to Windows Mobile 6.x users this week that it is discontinuing My Phone service, and shutting down the Windows Marketplace for Mobile site for the legacy mobile OS family.
Beginning on July 15, http://marketplace.windowsphone.com will no longer be open for business, and apps for Windows Mobile 6.x will only be available in the Marketplace app or through third party app stores.
Microsoft is trying to gain userbase of phones in the same way it did so in search. It invades one of the market leaders (Nokia), puts in some moles while paying bribe for the company to approve, and before you know it, the CTO quits. What a cheap takeover, eh? The same thing happened in Yahoo! Before a Microsoft manager was appointed to become Yahoo’s CTO (who now diverts search traffic in Microsoft’s direction). We have a special wiki page on the subject and it is detailed enough to spare repetition.
Yahoo’s CTO from Microsoft makes us wonder who is going to become Nokia’s next CTO. Will it be another transfer from Microsoft, like Elop? It never seemed like Elop really left Microsoft. Either way, the net results is that Microsoft’s entryism leads to many layoffs and the reduction in the number of options that buyers will have. Microsoft is a highly efficient destructor, not creator. It also harmed Qt and MeeGo a great deal. Nokia need not be bought by Microsoft. It was already bought, as some had predicted. Microsoft essentially bought Nokia for a few billions of dollars. It installed its own people. We sometimes refer to it as entryism.
Those who speak about Samsung buying Nokia have no basis for their claim as “Elop re. rumors Microsoft or Samsung is acquiring Nokia: “Those rumors are baseless.”"
Probably true, but alas, our reader wrote: “Looks like Elop like Android and maybe it will be real that Samsung will buy NOKIA. Samsung will need QT too to save it?”
Watch Elop proceeding to belittlig of Android by saying that “Apple created Android, or at least created the conditions necessary for Android to come into being”
This is FUD. In fact, Apple imitated many others, as usual (it was new in the mobile arena at the time). Here is an article about Elop’s FUD:
Despite Elop’s comments about Android, he still didn’t choose the platform. Four months ago, Nokia announced that it was choosing Microsoft’s Windows Phone as its primary smartphone platform. Two months ago, Nokia and Microsoft finally signed a definitive agreement regarding their global mobile ecosystem partnership.
It’s generally accepted, however, that Windows Phone is not selling well. AT&T Mobility CEO believes things will start to pick up with Windows Phone 7.1 (codenamed Mango) and as the Windows Phone Marketplace gains more apps.
“Windows Phone is not selling well” to say the very least. We heard it only sold a few millions after over half a year in the market.
Upon inspection of the stagnant/falling Microsoft stock, we discovered that Elop is still the eighth largest shareholder in MSFT. Yes, Mr. Elop still works for Microsoft and has vested interests in Microsoft’s success, not Nokia’s. He has done a fantastic job so far (for Microsoft, not for Nokia). How come no lawsuit has been filed by shareholders yet? It is extremely unlikely that Nokia can save itself the way IBM did because when put in Microsoft’s hands it usually ends in tears like Novell and Yahoo! (very bad stuff going on there at Yahoo!, but no sale to a Microsoft partner like Attachmate, at least not yet). As we argued repeatedly (with evidence), Microsoft is sabotaging Nokia like an abusive spouse, maybe with the intent of getting its patents for extortion purposes. Microsoft is just exploiting what’s left in Nokia. Microsoft remains a destructive parasite and the sooner people realise it, the fewer victims it is likely to find in the future. According to a new article or hypothesis, it is sabotaging the Skype status quo following the awkward buyout [1, 2, 3, 4] in order to spread its own products. Mr. Dvorak writes:
Skype went down again. Many people, like myself, who rely on Skype for podcasting connectivity, have recognized that the service has not been up to par in recent weeks. The problems began coincidentally when Microsoft announced it was buying the company.
This could all be coincidence, as some suggest, but to me, both sabotage and outside attacks have to be considered as possible causes as well. But why would anyone do this to Skype?
If you have to ask that question, then you do not follow the industry. To be blunt, Microsoft is an extremely disliked company in many quarters of the technology community. Or maybe I should put it even more bluntly; the company is hated to an extreme by many.
Skype, on the other hand, is this benign and beloved company that has provided a free service to its users and the world at large for years. It’s a contrast. It makes sense to me that attempts would be made by certain elements of the hacking community, as well as technicians within the company, to sabotage the product in hopes that it might queer the deal with Microsoft or give Microsoft pause for thought.
As things now stand nobody really knows why Microsoft bought Skype in the first place. There are vague comments about it being used with Microsoft’s Lync product or MSN Live or who knows what. EBay bought control of Skype with some hair-brained notions and didn’t do much with it. But eBay did not ruin or dismantle Skype and, in fact, it never bought the source code to the product.
Nobody has discussed who owns the source ever since.
Guess what happens to Skype just weeks after the takeover announcement? It gets sued for patent violations. From yesterday’s news:
Internet video phone company Skype Inc was sued in U.S. federal court Thursday for infringing the patents of a Luxembourg company, which has filed similar lawsuits against Skype in Europe.
It was hardly happening before Microsoft touched Skype. The company from Redmond has a tendency to ruin everything it touches. Well, let us hope this helps promote SIP at the end. █
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Posted in Bill Gates, GNU/Linux, Google, Hardware, Microsoft, Patents at 7:09 am by Dr. Roy Schestowitz
(ODF | PDF | English/original)
Resumen: Microsoft realiza un MS-DOS (Multi-Source Denegación de Servicio) ataque a Linux y a Android, utilizando los monopolios de patentes y a sus compadres los trolls de patentes.
ADEMÁS del post anterior[http://techrights.org/2011/06/07/fallacy-re-a-rise-in-patents_es/], hay abundante evidencia de que la USPTO (Oficina de Patentes y Marcas de los Estados Unidos) está quebrada, ya que no cumple con sus objetivos. No hay tal cosa como una “calidad” de patentes. Una patente es un monopolio y todos los que se aplican al software, impiden el uso de la lógica y las matemáticas. Aquí hay otra interpretación de la sentencia SCOTUS (Corte Suprema de los Estados Unidos), de la que escribimos hace unos días (ENhttp://techrights.org/2011/06/02/scotus-vs-freedom-labour/[], ES[http://techrights.org/2011/06/03/scotus-vs-freedom-labour_es/]). El Register lo dice de la siguiente manera[http://www.theregister.co.uk/2011/06/01/us_supremes_update_patent_law/]:
En un caso con el apoyo de HP, eBay, Red Hat, Yahoo, y General Motors, la Corte Suprema de los EE.UU. emitió un fallo que puede hacer más difícil para una empresa sea demandada por induccir a otra empresa a infringir una patente.
Según la sentencia, un acusado de inducir a la infracción de patente, debe ser demostrado que tenía bien sabido que estaba infringiendo, o fue “voluntariamente ciego” a la infracción. El conocimiento real de la infracción puede presentar pruebas documentales o declaraciones juradas.
Esto de nuevo no se ocupa de las cuestiones principales con el sistema de patentes – Cuestiones que, incluso en el caso Bilski[http://techrights.org/wiki/index.php/Bilski_Case] SCOTUS no pudo resolver. Echemos un vistazo a algunas de las últimas víctimas sobre la base de noticias de esta semana.
Twitter dejó en claro que está en contra de las patentes de software y ahora está siendo atacada por los trolls de patentes de nuevo[http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/technology/twirpy-patent-troll-threatens-twitter/2011/06/03/AG9MwxHH_story.html]. Los trolls de patentes son, estadísticamente hablando, muy dependiente de las patentes de software.
Un troll de patentes llamado Kootol Software ha puesto en alerta a Twitter. La «sociedad», que luce un logotipo de empresa (y nombre) que es sospechosamente recuerdan a Google, esta mañana dijo que ha enviado un aviso de precaución a Biz Stone, Jack Dorsey y cooperación para expresar “preocupación” acerca de las posibles violaciónes de propiedad intelectual.
Citando la fuente original (“Twirpy Patentes Troll amenaza Twitter”), TechCrunch/AOL ha dicho[http://techcrunch.com/2011/06/03/twirpy-patent-troll-threatens-twitter/]:
La solicitud de patente en cuestión (un número de patente no se ha asignado aún) se titula “Un método y sistema para la Comunicación, Publicidad, buscar, compartir y dinámicamente proporcionar un diario de alimentación.”
Ellos están haciendo que sea muy complicado para los desarrolladores de software a desarrollar en paz y sólo empeora cuando la gente hace dinero de este sistema enfermo[http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20110531006845/en/Patent-Research-Software-Tools-Disrupt-Market-Patent]. Esto incentividad la mantiene quebrada. Jan Wildeboer, que es uno de los más prominentes entre los opositores de las patentes de software en Europa[http://techrights.org/wiki/index.php/Software_Patents_in_Europe], señala que algunas personas construyeron sus empresas basados en la explotación del sistema de patentes. Él pregunta: “¿Está Myhrvolds de Intellectual Ventures con patentes de estilo CDO perturbando el mercado? Lodsys como ejemplo? ”
También se pregunta[http://twitter.com/jwildeboer/status/76581369601470464]: “¿Es señal de Lodsys del nuevo tiempo? 1. Licencia patentes 2. Venta de patentes 3. Nuevo comprador trata de licenciarlas de nuevo? Patentes == negocio CDB?”
Recuerde que el mayor troll del mundo (que vino de Microsoft), dijo antes de dar esta patente a Lodsys[http://techrights.org/2011/06/02/lodsys-and-intellectual-ventures/]. “La propiedad intelectual es el futuro software”, argumentó[http://www.newsweek.com/id/55777/page/2]. Microsoft y él están juntos en esto. Bill Gates es un afiliado cercano de este shakedown y Matt Asay reta esto yendo atrás en el tiempo[http://www.theregister.co.uk/2011/06/03/microsoft_ip_technology_battle/] (volver a los días en que Gates denunció las patentes, como una pequeña empresa):
Microsoft, alguna vez el gobernante del universo del software, ni siquiera hace de el presidente ejecutivo de Google, Eric Schmidt, Pandilla de cuatro compañías de tecnología influyentes. No es que Microsoft haya perdido su ambición. Pero puede ser que la ambición de Microsoft ha cambiado, y para peor.
Microsoft alguna que vez se enorgullecía de acuñación de las ganancias de copias de licencias de Windows y Office. Ahora parece más contento con lograr $ 5 por unidad de HTC y otros, matonea con patentes. Así es: en lugar de vender productos, está tráficando la propiedad intelectual (IP).
Escribimos acerca de esta extorsión antes. No sólo Microsoft está extorsionando HTC[http://techrights.org/2011/05/27/linux-swpats-own-cash/], parece como si Intelectual Ventures[http://techrights.org/wiki/index.php/Intellectual_Ventures] también lo hace. Otra persona de Microsoft, Paul Allen, de Interval[http://techrights.org/wiki/index.php/Interval] el troll de patentes, sigue atacando a muchas partes[http://www.groklaw.net/article.php?story=2011060220384836], incluido Android/Google por la mera aplicación de algunas ideas. “Las personas preocupadas por Ridículo reclamaciones de patentes de Paul Allen Hace que la USPTO comienze de nuevo a exáminar sus patentes”, dice Techdirt[http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20110601/02413214504/people-concerned-about-paul-allens-ridiculous-patent-claims-gets-uspto-to-begin-re-exams-his-patents.shtml]. Para citar a:
El año pasado, hemos cubierto demanda de patentes ridículas Paul Allen en contra de un montón de empresas de tecnología. Afirmó que todas estas compañías violaron cuatro patentes increíblemente amplio que declaró lo siguiente:
* 6263507: “Navegador para su uso en la navegación de un cuerpo de información, con aplicación especial a la información de navegación representada por los datos de audio.”
* 6034652 y 6788314 (en realidad la misma patente, con la participación continuaciones): “Atención gerente para ocupar la atención periférica de una persona en las proximidades de un dispositivo de pantalla”
* 6757682: “Alerta a los usuarios temas de interés actual”
Groklaw sigue este caso muy de cerca, o al menos solía hacerlo. Lo que la gente de Microsoft hace (incluso los que se fueron de la compañía) es lo que Microsoft siempre ha hecho, Ellos quieren que todo el mundo pague un impuesto en lugar de realmente hacer cualquier cosa de valor. Ellos están librando guerras legales y acumular patentes que ejercer presión para, con el fin de aumentar su valor.
En este momento parece que Microsoft está a la caza de las patentes de Nokia para que pueda agravar a todos los teléfonos móviles. Nokia tiene un valor para Microsoft por su software y sus patentes de hardware, hemos escritó tanto sobre éllo que no es necesario repetir las pruebas de ello. Este es un tema que hemos hablado en el IRC el otro día[http://techrights.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/irc-log-techrights-02062011.html#tJun%2002%2020:22:39]. Suponiendo que Microsoft quiere “tirar de un CPTN ‘de Nokia, será más sobre el uso de las patentes de Nokia ofensivamente y la explotación de la marca Nokia (como lo hizo con Yahoo y Novell). Mediante el envío de topos Microsoft sólo mejora sus posibilidades de convertirse en el receptor de patentes. Vea cómo Microsoft puso su mole en[http://www.businessinsider.com/ballmer-wanted-nokia-deal-so-bad-he-sent-a-huge-limo-to-pick-up-stephen-elop-2011-6]: [a través de F. Cassia]
Steve Ballmer estaba tan decidido a conseguir a Nokia a bordo del teléfono de Windows 7, que envió una limusina super-extendida de baile de estilo para recoger Stephen Elop de Nokia y otros ejecutivos de cuando visitaron el área de Seattle.
Esa es una de las revelaciones de perfil largo de BusinessWeek en los primeras seis meses de Elop en la empresa.
Microsoft está aplastando Nokia con tal de que esto pueda ayudar a Microsoft a recoger un buen precio junto con sus patentes. Teniendo en cuenta lo que ha sucedido hasta ahora, Elop ha hecho un trabajo maravilloso (para Microsoft, de la que es accionista mayoritario). El acuerdo no tenía sentido y que fue firmado en una carrera por la Stephens dos que son antiguos compañeros. Miren el Booke de Elop[http://www.techeye.net/business/ye-booke-of-elop] de un sesgo divertido. Es evidente lo que está pasando allí, pero no hay nada divertido en ello. Nokia representa la última víctima en la línea de los cadáveres dejados por el comportamiento abusivo-agresivo de Microsoft -otra compañía en el remolino del inodoro de la historia-. Nokia se estaba convirtiendo en una empresa de Linux antes de que Microsoft acabe de poner un topo dentro de ella. “Elop” es “Polo” hacia atrás y Microsoft puso su polo interior de Nokia, a pedir prestado broma de Brandon. En lugar de tener Meego y LSB en Nokia, ahora tenemos otro aliado de Microsoft por ahí, amenazando con el uso de sus patentes y la promesa de ofrecer un “nuevo” sistema operativo algún momento a finales de este año (momento en el que Nokia va a estar maduro para la cosecha por otra empresa). La cabeza de la Fundación Linux estaba muy decepcionado por esto y es fácil ver por qué. Nokia fue un contribuyente valioso para la Fundation Linux y su sitio tiene un nuevo cómic sobre las patentes de software. Se puede encontrar aquí[http://www.linux.com/news/biz-os/legal/453668-friday-funnies-bringing-a-little-levity-to-the-patent-system]. De alguna manera Microsoft se volvió varias empresas de Linux de usar como Nokia, Yahoo, Novell y Microsoft en refuerzos (antiguo socio de Microsoft Bartz no hizo nada de valor excepto estrechar la mano de Ballmer, al igual que Elop). Alguna gente todavía pregunta tonta lo que hace Microsoft mucho más dañino que otras compañías de una escala similar. Microsoft es muy, muy destructivo. Simplemente le importa un comino. █
Translation produced by Eduardo Landaveri, the esteemed administrator of the Spanish portal of Techrights.
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