18 Feb 2006
BlackBerry case spotlights flaws in software review process

Those of us who have bemoaned the issuance of software patents for years now could end up owing a huge debt of gratitude to RIM, especially if they lose this case. All those corporate "crackberry" users will suddenly come face to face with the ugly reality of software and "business method" patents, and the pressure for reform could be enough to actually tip the balance in Congress.

Thumb-typers beware: The fate of your beloved BlackBerry device is at hand. In a hearing this week a federal court judge in Virginia could decide what penalties to impose on Research in Motion, the BlackBerry's maker, for violating the patents of Virginia-based NTP. Analysts expect the two companies ultimately will reach a settlement, as neither benefits from any shutdown of the BlackBerry service. But in choosing to fight the charges that BlackBerry's service violates wireless E-mail delivery patents--and failing on most of the legal points--RIM has put a rare spotlight on the problem with software patents, perhaps at its own expense.

(link) [U.S. News & World Report]

00:00 /Copywrongs | 0 comments | permanent link

Oil and gas companies stand to get royalty relief on top of record profits

Single black moms in the ghetto aren't the only folks who get welfare checks from Uncle Sam - in fact, they're pretty far down the totem pole of government largess. Which is a fact that conservatives would do well to ponder.

One wouldn't think an industry rolling in historic profit--nearly $23 billion for the top four players in the past quarter--would need any federal government relief. And yet, Uncle Sam is poised to dole out $7 billion in breaks to the oil industry over the next five years, a figure that could increase fivefold because of a legal battle underway.

(link) [U.S. News & World Report]

00:00 /Politics | 0 comments | permanent link

Bombers Warn U.S. Against Iran Attacks

Does anyone still think we're dealing with rational people here? Note that these "bombers" were attending a seminar on suicide-bombings tactics at Tehran's Khajeh Nasir University...

This isn't a "clash of cultures", it's a war of civilizations, and it's increasingly looking like it's going to be us or them, last man standing wins. And when many of the several factions and sides to this insanity we call the Middle East are armed with nuclear weapons, that becomes a very scary possibility for the whole planet.

AP - An Iranian group that claims its members are dedicated to becoming suicide bombers warned the United States and Britain on Saturday that they will strike coalition military bases in Iraq if Tehran's nuclear facilities are attacked.

(link) [Yahoo! News: Top Stories]

00:00 /Politics | 2 comments | permanent link