Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen sues Google, Apple, Facebook, eight others over patents

nt

Pamela Jones raises an interesting point: What real gain can Paul Allen get from this suit, that he doesn't already have?

Well gus3, a few billion in the bank don't go as far as they used to. You never know, even a man like Paul Allen could wake up tomorrow and find out he's only obscenely rich, instead of richer than god. And then what's he going to do? So you see, he is practically forced to become a patent troll to keep bread on his table.

gus,

When you are rich, even small flows of cash are still welcome. Note he needed public financing for his stadium to exhibit his team. So to make such beneficent endeavors fully visible to the undeserving public he justs bleeds cash from here and there. Makes sense. Just think of the side effects, e.g. he can sell the formerly deflated stocks as he dumps them at a profit, because they have risen due to their seeming immunity to his suits. Furthermore, he can buy in on those other stocks cheaper while they are temporarily depressed, despite their brighter future.

For him the legal costs are a pittance. Moreover, they can be written off as a business expense, since he is doing no more than protecting the interests of his share holders that includes himself and a select coterie of friends. Ah, the Good life.

YBT

Quoting:What real gain can Paul Allen get from this suit, that he doesn't already have?

Maybe he actually beleives that he's right.

No, Paul Allen knows better. There was a time when programmers understood a computer is nothing more than a glorified calculator, that all programs are reducible to mathematical formulas, and the formulas are not patentable. Paul Allen's involvement with Micro-Soft was near the end of that time.

He is now merely gaming a system that so ignorantly opened a door of opportunity to beat down anyone who might have a good idea. Who might pursue that idea well enough to challenge his 37th-richest-in-the-world rank.

I'd say more, but the TOS forbids it.

> He is now merely gaming a system that so ignorantly opened a door of opportunity to beat down anyone who might have a good idea.

And quickly, before the next election cycle, when Congress might change the law.

Patents from a company that's been dead since 2000...Troll troll troll. Oh, and troll.

jackd2

Maybe he actually beleives that he's right.

Very funny. Those patents wouldn't impress the neighbor's dog. This is classic patent trolling if there ever was such a thing. Of course, Allen probably sees it as business as usual. This is what you do with a patent portfolio, if you have one and are not protecting your own products with it.

I had a look at the Claim part of the patent. I'm still not sure what the actual technology is they claim.

Quoting:What real gain can Paul Allen get from this suite

Bill Gates made them billionaires sign the thingie saying they have to give to charity. So, if you're going to give to charity, then why not collect it from Google?

Quoting: * No. 6,757,682, "Alerting Users to Items of Current Interest."

So he invented popups, banners, bold text, captions(fear the lolcat revolt), dancing badgers, those stick-on monitor frames that make your monitor look like a fish tank or summat, the PC speaker. Heck, he even invented your finger- just pointing at your screen could land you in court.

Did he also invert the marqee and blink HTML tags? If so, take him out back and shoot him. Do the world a favour.

I have the perfect solution to shutting Microsoft up once and for all. If our legislators would pass laws more favorable towards Opens Source as several European countries have done or are beginning to do (France, Italy, Germany-to name a few) or take the stance of Russia (education departments use Open Source to get government funds and get none if they choose not to) we would not hear about such frivolous suits.

Quoting:If our legislators

Right there is the weak link. Our legislators prefer doing business with a convicted monopolist. Plus, there's the whole Not Invented Here™ syndrome, on both sides of the pond:

The US gov't looks at Linux and sees a summer holiday project started by some college brat in Finland.

Europe looks at Microsoft and remembers Laocoön's warning, "Trust not their presents, nor admit their horse."

True on that Gus 3-I believe you're right on both counts. That seems to be consensus of opinion in this country-let's do business with a convicted monopolist as you say. I believe that is the same consensus of opinion when I presented the idea of Open Source to the Bay County School District and never got to sit down with the staff at a meeting I was promised but never materialized.

> If our legislators would pass laws more favorable towards Opens Source

What? And give up all those campaign contributions?

You guys make some very valid points. But if the White House can go OSS (Drupal) why can't the rest of the country? It's time to walk the walk and not just talk the talk.