●● IRC: #techbytes @ Techrights IRC Network: Tuesday, November 14, 2023 ●● ● Nov 14 [01:28] *jacobk has quit (Ping timeout: 2m30s) ● Nov 14 [03:44] *jacobk (~quassel@838aynky6btpe.irc) has joined #techbytes ● Nov 14 [05:11] *u-amarsh04 (~amarsh04@xrrqsey9gh7ve.irc) has joined #techbytes [05:39] *u-amarsh04 has quit (Quit: Konversation terminated!) [05:40] *u-amarsh04 (~amarsh04@xrrqsey9gh7ve.irc) has joined #techbytes ● Nov 14 [07:06] *jacobk has quit (Ping timeout: 2m30s) [07:18] *u-amarsh04 has quit (Quit: Konversation terminated!) [07:25] *u-amarsh04 (~amarsh04@xrrqsey9gh7ve.irc) has joined #techbytes ● Nov 14 [09:05] schestowitz
  • [09:05] schestowitz
    An Untold History of Thunderbird
    [09:05] schestowitz
    [09:05] schestowitz

    Hi, my name is Ryan Sipes and I run MZLA Technologies Corporation, the subsidiary of the Mozilla Foundation that develops Thunderbird. I have been working on Thunderbird for my day job since November of 2017. It doesnt seem like that long ago, but looking at the calendar I see that it has been six years this month. A lot has happened in that time and Thunderbird is in a much different place than it [09:05] schestowitz was when I started. Ive seen multiple people online share accounts of the Thunderbird story, and each time Ive thought thats really great, but they missed some important parts. Its not their fault, weve simply never shared the whole story. So today, I thought Id sit down and write that.

    [09:05] schestowitz

    To tell the story correctly, we must go back to 2012. Thats when Thunderbird began to transition from a project that was funded and developed by the Mozilla Corporation, to a community run project. The reasons behind that move were sound and made sense given the state of the project at the time.

    [09:05] schestowitz
    [09:05] schestowitz
    • [09:05] schestowitz [09:06] -TechBytesBot/#techbytes-blog.thunderbird.net | An Untold History of Thunderbird [09:49] schestowitz
  • [09:49] schestowitz
    Reaching 8,888 posts, and a bit of a retrospective
    [09:49] schestowitz
    [09:49] schestowitz

    The web has changed a lot in the intervening years, as have I. There are pressures from all sides, from mass-generated AI spam, to data harvesting and dark patterns. Network engineers predicted the ad-hoc nature of the Internet would lead to its collapse, but now I see all the rot coming from the upper OSI levels. Its an interesting time to be online.

    [09:49] schestowitz
    [09:49] schestowitz
    • [09:49] -TechBytesBot/#techbytes-Rubenerd: Reaching 8,888 posts, and a bit of a retrospective ● Nov 14 [10:21] *psydroid3 (~psydroid@u8ftxtfux23wk.irc) has joined #techbytes [10:48] *psydroid3 has quit (Quit: KVIrc 5.0.0 Aria http://www.kvirc.net/) [10:50] *psydroid3 (~psydroid@u8ftxtfux23wk.irc) has joined #techbytes ● Nov 14 [13:06] *psydruid (~psydruid@jevhxkzmtrbww.irc) has left #techbytes ● Nov 14 [15:32] *psydruid (~psydruid@jevhxkzmtrbww.irc) has joined #techbytes ● Nov 14 [16:15] *alphastate (~alphastat@176.254.244.83) has joined #techbytes [16:18] *alphastate_ has quit (Ping timeout: 258 seconds) [16:24] schestowitz http://ipkitten.blogspot.com/2023/11/should-you-need-at-least-4-year.html?showComment=1699870403631#c3105108218577485251 [16:24] schestowitz "" [16:24] -TechBytesBot/#techbytes-ipkitten.blogspot.com | Should you need at least a 4-year scientific degree to be a patent attorney? - The IPKat [16:24] schestowitz "The EPO requires a master's degree (or equivalent) when hiring new examiners. Would be unreasonable to require the same for "the other side", wouldn't it?"

    No.

    Firstly, for the EPO, it appears to make no difference. I have talked to examiners more than once who have not understood if the slightest bit of the invention while drafting the preliminary opinion on patentability. Only after a 30 minute le [16:24] schestowitz cture, they may reach that level. This applies for example to power electronics.
    This, by the way, also applies to the legal acumen of a lot of examiners.

    Second, the academic degree one has does not directly contribute to being fit for practice - or not. This applies to the EQE as well - we have let go of people who passed the EQE properly, but were not fit for practice w.r.t. quality of work.
    The profession is a c [16:24] schestowitz ommercial one, the best will come out as the best anyway; clients will quickly leave attorneys who do not understand the technology as that is a point evident to test.

    Finally: EPI, do what you are supposed to do: listen to the people you represent and take your actions accordingly" [16:24] schestowitz "Thanks. What is the background is for the new Masters requirement at the EPO? I completely understand the need for a high level of technical knowledge, as examiners will spend several years in one field. But I know that too much specialisation is a problem at the EPO because the technical areas receiving patents is continuously changing. And getting an examiner to switch technical fields can be difficult." ● Nov 14 [20:01] *jacobk (~quassel@rssq5jhb7fxz8.irc) has joined #techbytes [20:10] *jacobk has quit (Ping timeout: 2m30s) ● Nov 14 [21:42] *Moocher5254 has quit (Ping timeout: 2m30s) [21:45] *Moocher5254 (~quassel@xr2r9rp32nef2.irc) has joined #techbytes [21:57] *Moocher5254 has quit (Ping timeout: 2m30s) ● Nov 14 [22:04] *psydroid3 has quit (Quit: KVIrc 5.0.0 Aria http://www.kvirc.net/) [22:10] *jacobk (~quassel@99ed6ukzxymmc.irc) has joined #techbytes [22:33] *Moocher5254 (~quassel@m2yeyj6igtuh6.irc) has joined #techbytes [22:44] *Moocher5254 has quit (Quit: https://quassel-irc.org - Chat comfortably. Anywhere.) [22:59] *Moocher5254 (~quassel@m2yeyj6igtuh6.irc) has joined #techbytes ● Nov 14 [23:20] *jacobk has quit (Ping timeout: 2m30s)