Comments on: Tech at Night: A deregulated Internet creates jobs, Microsoft answers Google attacks, Lee and Cornyn speak up

By: utahtim

utahtim — Sun, 07 Aug 2011 20:55:31 +0000

Really, I assume you’re educated, as am I (J.D., Ph.D.). Now for an analogy: the only difference between a defensive handgun and one being used to rob a bank is how it’s used. The same applies to patents. Google, for all it’s corporate wickedness, still has never used patents to bring a lawsuit against anyone, to my knowledge, while Microsoft and Apple have. And while I’m at it, I’ll add Oracle to that list. Moreover, Microsoft and Apple have many, many more patents than Google and appear to be ganging up. I personally would like to see software patents gone, but until they are, Google, in order to protect the Android platform, among other things, needs patents for fending off patent attacks by others.

By: Neil Stevens

Neil Stevens — Sun, 07 Aug 2011 18:32:33 +0000

The only difference between a ‘patent’ and a ‘defensive patent’ is propaganda.

But please, fire off another ad hominem, and repeat the Google propaganda that their patents really are different, just because.

Seriously, get educated, son.

By: Neil Stevens

Neil Stevens — Sun, 07 Aug 2011 18:26:37 +0000

Take a hike.

By: utahtim

utahtim — Sun, 07 Aug 2011 17:56:36 +0000

Sure, Google is evil. Apple is also evil, and Microsoft takes the cake. It’s true. But the fact remains, you simply parroted the Microsoft party line without seriously addressing the issue I raised.

By: utahtim

utahtim — Sun, 07 Aug 2011 13:23:06 +0000

Neil, if you really do have reservations about software patents, you must be concerned when large software companies like Apple start using them to sue other software companies. The fact is that as evil as Google may be, they haven’t used the awesome stifling power of software patent lawsuits offensively against their mobile phone competitors. You’ve indicated in previous postings your affinity for Apple products. Fine. I use an iPhone but am intrigued by the openness and variety of the Android platform. They are both useful tools. I hope your antipathy for Google is not the product of an over-weaning fascination of all things Apple. I’ve seen this before, and it’s not pretty. Wink. Wink.

By: Neil Stevens

Neil Stevens — Sun, 07 Aug 2011 12:47:07 +0000

When Google buys patents it’s OK, wink wink. When Microsoft or Apple does it, it’s EEEEEVIL.

Because Eric Schmidt said so. And he’s not a nutcase who insists that Google *must* develop massive databases of everyone on the Internet, so much so that if you don’t like it, you should have to change your name.

By: utahtim

utahtim — Sun, 07 Aug 2011 05:53:19 +0000

Let’s not get confused about why Google did not want to join Apple and Microsoft in purchasing patents. Google hasn’t sued anyone over patents in the first instance. What Google needs is patents for defensive purposes — especially against Apple and Microsoft who do sue over patents. If Google had joined Apple and Microsoft in purchasing those patents, they could not have used said jointly owned patents defensively against Apple and Microsoft. Duh.

By: americanmale

americanmale — Sat, 06 Aug 2011 23:16:25 +0000

I read the brookings panel transcript and I got the feeling after reading it that they’re all pitching for a centralized international solution to monitor compliance and interoperability.

We have to be careful here. Just like in “Global Warming”, this could be another way of foreign governments getting a transfer of wealth from us to them.

Right now, Europe just beats up on Microsoft and Google, fines them left and right, etc…all in the name of ensuring that their (Europe’s) inferior technologies get “computer play time”.

However, this cloud computing centralized monitoring opens up a whole host of issues.

If we technologists are perceived in violation, we might be answering to the “world cloud court” and pay them the massive fines. This is big no no and I implore Senator Hatch to look closely at any draft regulations in the proposed Cloud Computing Act of 2011

By: Neil Stevens

Neil Stevens — Sat, 06 Aug 2011 19:38:17 +0000

I don’t follow at all UK Internet service.

By: DonPMitchell

DonPMitchell — Sat, 06 Aug 2011 18:52:52 +0000

Have you looked at the success they’ve had in the UK with promoting wide compeition and low prices for broadband internet?

spaceandtelecomlaw.unl.edu/conferences/docs/2009DC_Lathen.pdf

What do you think about this?