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Pure gold!
With mullet an'all
Politicians are always realistically manoeuvering for the next election. They are obsolete as fundamental problem-solvers.
Buckminster Fuller
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To answer properly, it's probably "O come Emmanuel". (That's probably not the official name). You can sing / hum it in an echoey chamber and it's amazing.
Someone mentioned the Pogues, but there's an anemic SV set of lyrics to the same tune. I can't imagine it translating to Kirsty berating the toothless croaker about his faults.
I bought the Sanna Nielsson Christmas CD a few days ago - Some really good singing, mixed with the odd murdered cover. She just can't do high notes.
Iain.
I am one of "those foreigners coming over here and stealing our jobs". Yay me!
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Christmas Eve in Sarajevo
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A Christmas Carol[^]
Did you ever see history portrayed as an old man with a wise brow and pulseless heart, waging all things in the balance of reason?
Is not rather the genius of history like an eternal, imploring maiden, full of fire, with a burning heart and flaming soul, humanly warm and humanly beautiful?
--Zachris Topelius
Training a telescope on one’s own belly button will only reveal lint. You like that? You go right on staring at it. I prefer looking at galaxies.
-- Sarah Hoyt
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Wizards in Winter - Trans-Siberian Orchestra
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See this[^]
If it's not broken, fix it until it is
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I really hope not. Copyright law I think protects it as much as it possibly can, if we get into patents then where does it stop? Patenting an "if" statement?
I can't see this going very far. How would the reviewer check the validity of the patent? They would have to be programmers themselves.
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It's about damn time.
Hopefully something useful will come about from the decision rather than something to complicate software patents even further.
To know and not do, is not yet to know
http://www.codeofthedamned.com
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Software patenting has it's uses but like everything else has been taken to extremes.
I wonder if this has anything to do with trying to put a stop to patent trolling?
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Lawyers and judges don't know enough about this stuff to render decisions that are sound.
They get SuperAntiSpyware and wonder why.
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No; it's a written work, not an invention.
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That hasn't stopped Apple yet - "Rounded rectangles" anyone?
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That's comparing Apples to oranges though - you can't say the physical design of an iPad has anything to do with software patents.
That said, Apple did a great job popularising tablets, but they hardly invented them. And I think the word "bevel" goes back to pre-Jobs days too. I was very surprised that case did not get laughed out of court.
Iain.
I am one of "those foreigners coming over here and stealing our jobs". Yay me!
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Easy solution; disabandon patents completely.
Bastard Programmer from Hell
If you can't read my code, try converting it here[^]
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Great, a bunch of people that probably have no knowledge about or interest in technology are going to tell us what we can and cannot do with that technology...
Of course it has been that way for a long time.
And not only in technology.
It's an OO world.
public class Sander : Lazy<Person>{
public void DoWork(){ throw new NotImplementedException(); }
}
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Actually, not really. They'll tell USians what they can and cannot do.
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But who is going to decide what Dutch people can do with US software in Germany?
It's an OO world.
public class Sander : Lazy<Person>{
public void DoWork(){ throw new NotImplementedException(); }
}
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Sander Rossel wrote: what we can and cannot do with that technology
No, only telling the patent office what they can and cannot do.
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From the article:
being closely watched by the technology industry.
No. "being intensely lobbied by the technology industry" would be more accurate. Another example of how the media delivers false impressions.
In the end, the Court will of course rule "yes" in the most broad terms, or worse, say that this matter is something for the lower courts to decide on a case-by-case basis. The result will be no further clarity or protection for developers that will eventually (if/when they get big enough to be a blip on the radar) to be sued by "the giants" and the millions of dollars that they can throw at intimidating those with better ideas.
Patent law was originally created to protect real inventions. Now it's used to prevent creativity, invention, and progress. Software is not a cotton gin.
Marc
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Marc Clifton wrote: The result will be no further clarity/blockquote>
I doubt that unless they do nothing more than remand it back to the lower court for reconsideration.
Marc Clifton wrote: to be sued by "the giants" and the millions of dollars that they can throw at intimidating those with better ideas.
On average I would suppose that most patent lawsuits are initiated by those who are not "giants". After all it is a number games in that there are many, many more small companies and individuals versus large companies.
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Kevin Marois wrote: Can software be patented?
Despite the title of the article I doubt that a decision will even get close to being about that.
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I have a little Satnav, It sits there in my car
A Satnav is a driver's friend, it tells you where you are.
I have a little Satnav, I've had it all my life
It's better than the normal ones, my Satnav is my wife.
It gives me full instructions, especially how to drive
"It's sixty k's an hour", it says, "You're doing sixty five".
It tells me when to stop and start, and when to use the brake
And tells me that it's never ever, safe to overtake.
It tells me when a light is red, and when it goes to green
It seems to know instinctively, just when to intervene.
It lists the vehicles just in front, and all those to the rear
And taking this into account, it specifies my gear.
I'm sure no other driver, has so helpful a device
For when we leave and lock the car, it still gives its advice.
It fills me up with counselling, each journey's pretty fraught
So why don't I exchange it, and get a quieter sort?
Ah well, you see, it cleans the house, makes sure I'm properly fed
It washes all my shirts and things, and keeps me warm in bed!
Despite all these advantages, and my tendency to scoff,
I only wish that now and then, I could turn the bugger off.
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