Linux is everywhere

[SteveRiley]

All your CPU are belong to us.

http://www.linuxfederation.com/linux-everywhere/

[GreyGeek]

Interesting. One should also note that despite the massive migration to Linux, the hardware most Linux users purchase has Windows preinstalled on it because of the illegal monopoly that MS holds over the PC OEMs. Also, based on 5 patent untested in court, MS is extorting "license fees" from smartphone OEMs who've installed Android on their devices.

But, Microsoft's extortion gravy train may be coming to an end:

The Federal Patent Court in Germany, a country that’s usually very friendly towards patents, has invalidated Microsoft’s FAT patent, which was by far the most important weapon in Microsoft’s arsenal against Android OEMs, especially after Barnes & Noble almost destroyed their other “important” patents that they were using against Android manufacturers, in their lawsuit with Microsoft, thanks to a ton of evidence for prior art.

Isn't that amazing? The German Patent court found plenty of prior art that the USTPO could not seem to find. Lawyers and corporations that buckled under to the extorting may be seeking court action to invalidate the agreements.

The B&N affair revealed that MS was using threats of long and costly legal action against those much small companies and covering their misdeeds with NDA's. B&N didn't sign the NDA and blew the whistle on MS. In response, MS poured $605 million into the NOOK business for a 17.6% stake., and talk has been swirling around the possibility that MS might buy B&N NOOK division for $1 Billion, which is more than B&N's $800 Million cap.

[SteveRiley]

Jerry, you may find these interesting.

http://www.insidecounsel.com/2013/12...patents-part-1
http://www.insidecounsel.com/2013/12...patents-part-2

And you can follow the US Supreme Court's hearing of Alice Corporation Pty. Ltd. v CLS Bank International here:
http://www.scotusblog.com/case-files...international/

[GreyGeek]

Thanks for the links!

As for the future, Winsky does not foresee the Supreme Court eliminating software patents. But he notes that some large tech companies like IBM want software patents to continue to be as enforceable as possible, while others like Google are not happy with the system the way it is and want less enforceability. No matter what happens, lobbying will heat up.

I don't see much change happening either. Money talks, everything else walks. I expected more reform after Bilski but that didn't happen. It is still a case of who can afford to file lawsuits and who can afford to defend against them. Big money wins every time in the USA. As far as the patent office being "essentially unchanged" over that last 100 yrs, that's hog wash. The USTPO is fixed to favor deep pockets. It ignores prior art most of the time and even awards conflicting patents, letting the combatants fight it out in court. That's why I was glad to see the decision of the German court.

the Supreme Court on Friday agreed to clarify when an analytical method implemented by a computer or by a link on the Internet is eligible for monopoly protection. This was the only new case granted. The Court will be reviewing a widely splintered decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, in the case of Alice Corporation Pty. Ltd. v. CLS Bank International (docket 13-298). The en banc Federal Circuit found the method at issue ineligible for a patent, but a majority could not agree on a standard for making such decisions.

The case will provide a new test of the Patent Act’s most basic provision — Section 101, which broadly outlines what kinds of inventions are patentable. One of the long-standing exceptions to the types of inventions mentioned in that section is that an abstract idea can never be patented. That issue arises frequently these days, especially with rapidly developing technology in computer software. The Justices have dealt with that issue several times in recent years.

Alice is a classic example of a patent that should never have been awarded. Patenting an abstract idea is like patenting a candle flame and charging a license fee for lighting one candle with another.

[Caaarl]

Hello everyone,

regarding Munich. While it is true that they have migrated to Linux it is unclear whether that actually saved them money (what seems to have been the goal of the entire thing).
For those who understand german (or trust google-translate):

http://www.golem.de/news/muenchen-li...12-103380.html

[Danum]

Hello everyone,

regarding Munich. While it is true that they have migrated to Linux it is unclear whether that actually saved them money (what seems to have been the goal of the entire thing).
For those who understand german (or trust google-translate):

http://www.golem.de/news/muenchen-li...12-103380.html

Over €10 million (approximately £8 million or $12.8 million) has been saved by the city of Munich, thanks to its development and use of the city's own Linux platform.

http://www.h-online.com/open/news/it...h-1755802.html

[SteveRiley]

Thread cleaned up. I agonized over exercising my mod powers for a couple hours before deleting the political bits. Ultimately, I decided to do it. Yes, it's out of character here at KFN, and no, I'm not aware of any other instance where that's happened. Furthermore, I'm fully aware that I contribute a fair amount of political stuff to this forum. Yet here, in a thread intended to be a positive exposure to how pervasive Linux is in our lives, politicizing it just seems wrong.

[woodsmoke]

LOl and I quite agree you quadroporleezian kinda guy!!

just an awareness kinda thing! lol

woodsmoke

[Caaarl]

http://www.h-online.com/open/news/it...h-1755802.html

Thank you very much for this information. My article only referred to the criticism of HP who claimed that there was no money saved. In your article there is a link to the Cities Administrative Portal where you can read the official report on how much money was saved and what the migration did actually cost.
And of course I'm glad to here that the migration to Linux led to an improvement.