Apple seeks resurrection of HTC importation ban Again adhering to the Cupertinian creed that "the best defense is a good offense," Apple has filed its third complaint against Taiwanese smartphone-maker HTC at the US International Trade Commission (ITC), citing patent infringement and requesting a bar on a welter of HTC devices from being imported into the US. The patent …
This will certainly annoy a proportion of the mobile phone user market, still since I took the fateful steps and walked over to the dark side I simply don't care anymore.
The bottom line is this, mobile phones will continue to work, some will be good some will be not so good and the features will still be there no matter what.
So who cares anyway?
I have a HTC Sensation, an iPhone 4S, a new iPad and my wife has a Nokia thingy with pressy buttons four year old phone because it is small and fits in her little handbag.
As you can see we have spread our bets so we don't care who wins (RIM don't count cos they're on their way out)
It's nothing to do with Apple, all Apple are doing is using a patent system managed by idiots and reinforced by laws created by the utter utter idiots, to the full extent of that law. Blame the idiots in charge of America and it's IP system and all the retarded turf eaters that support it and the bonus retards that vote for the various politicians.
Google have already slipped HTC a few patents to fight with. They may slip them a few more to be able to call for a ban on Apple imports of the ipad etc.
I'm sure theres something in the bag that Apple are infringing on even if they don't know it yet.
Motorola have enough to tie Apple up for months if not years if they push too hard.
Would love to see them try the same against Google and see if the fallout from all the bans could lead to sense breaking out...
Right. So the latest three-processor HTC One X is a real goer eh, and this is Apple's response?
Frankly, Apple's precious, sanctimonious, holier-than-thou, divine-right-to-rule-supremely, sue-anyone-who-looks-at-'em attitude is why I refuse to own any Apple equipment.
Even if its stuff were the best--which it isn't--I wouldn't own it on principle.
Stuff 'em.
Start flaming gullible fanbois.
There's a part of me that wants to turn to Twitter and say something like:
"Crap! Apple are trying to get the competition banned yet again. They've a week to get their shit together or I'm blowing Cupertino sky high!"
Problem is, either some damned fool will take it seriously and I'll be facing extradition to Overpuddle, or, if that fails, Apple's lawyers will contact Paul Chambers and offer to sue me on his behalf for copyright infringement or something.
Refuses to innovate, insists patent lawyering is valid business model for foreseeable future until A. N. Other Corp invents something new they can use in their other-peoples'-tech mashup products.
Mind you, we don't really need to read any reviews any more do we? If crapple seeks a ban on something then it's almost certainly worth having over one of their products.
While I agree that their patent lawyering is needless I suspect 'refuses to innovate' is at best a stretch. They did create the iPhone, it was revolutionary, everyone else is now playing me too with it. As for tablets well they did exist before but honestly, do you know anyone that had one? I suspect all the iPhone/iPad look-a-likes (some of which have leap frogged the originals in terms of capability) are the reason for all the nastiness.
I seem to recall PalmOS devices being quite popular for a while prior to the iPhone, and you could leave the stylus in it's sleeve if you just let your thumb nail grow out.
There were also many x86 based tablet and convertible tablet computers around prior to any iOS device, even predating the Newton with the IBM 2521 ThinkPad released in 1992.
Excellent recall. Now examine the patent (the link is right there in the article) - it was filed in 1996.
I agree that the patent sounds ridiculous, but it may actually have been novel back when it was filed and it is a little more involved than "highlight strings" - it's describing both the parsing engine(s) and a method for hooking up relevant action processors that can undertake actions on those elements deemed of interest.
Sadly this patent still has 4 years or so to run (US patents last 20 years I believe), so expect it to be milked some more before it expires.
IIRC Z80 basic had an inverse variation of this in 1982 - it would highlight out of context code while you wrote it.
If that's not valid enough, then look at the prior art in the act of copying/pasting - you get a context relevant menu once you've hightlighted the item.
The problem in this case goes further than the broken USPTO, it's the fact that companies are getting devices banned without actually having to go to court and prove the patent - the ITC bans the items and the company who's item is banned have to start court action. If Apple really believed this patent was valid, they'd pony up and put this in a court of law an prove their point.
.....isn't that what a spell checker does?
"covers recognizing strings and suggesting uses for them"
Recognised string - Crap spelling
Suggestion - Get a fricking education/Replace with correct spelling
Hang on, isn't that what that damn evil Clippit did in word? Recognise what you were doing and makes suggestions in order to ruin your life?
What the hell is so new.
OK I worked in the telecommunications business back in the 80's, 90's and even into the 200x's though I had largely stopped programming by this millennium. Picking out number strings, analysing them for where they were going and where they came from was not just interesting it was what I did; I also used to search out the less good guys that way but that is another story.
Data parsing is trivial even using basic let alone with higher languages. Gosh I wish we had patented the totally obvious when I was working back then perhaps the company would be in better shape now, though knowing our 'management' they would have given away the patents and sprayed the wall like they did with everything else of value.
[Can I also claim the honour doing data processing using multimate, (I think that was the name of the thing) a rather limited DOS era word processing package as the company did not want to let staff loose with 'proper' programming tools.]
Launched in 1995 and could dial a phone number from a SMS. Extract from manual p42. Ericsson publication number EN/LZT 126 1298 R1A dated October 1995:
"To call a phone number in a message
Press YES when a phone number is found
in the display to call the number direct.
After the number has been called, the message
is considered as read"
Not much under the sun IS actually new....
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