Patents cut both ways for Microsoft

Ballmer == pot_talking_about_kettle

Snicker! Snicker!

this is why ogg should be the industry standard for music format. I mean how many times does the mp3 patent get paid for?

the cd music is paying the players are paying for it the computers are paying the software on the computers are paying for it

just to listen to cd on computer

who knows what else is paying for it

this is ridiclous - when will this insanity stop.

I just wonder if Microsoft has and perhaps does use Linux (or other "infringing" Free Software) in various forms amongst it's operations. If it does and did it would (but can't?) be in violation of its own IP. It's just one example of the terrible dirty laundry that Microsoft can't afford to be seen wearing in public?

So ...

What is the bigger story here?

Snickering because our favorite bad boy got slapped hard, or concern that juries are awarding major rewards for mp3 violations , because...

As I understand it, Microsoft had more of a license than most of us do...they actually paid millions in license fees to Froenhofer (or howeve that's spelled) for the privilege to create and/or distribute mp3 software.

I thought the real story here was the US patent system is so fuxx0red that even our favorite evil empire can almost become an object of sympathy.

tc -

Yes. Bingo. Correctimundo!!!

Had this been anyone but Microsoft, and it could have been, I think reactions would be different.

I read a description of one of these two patents and thought "WTF????". It's stuff that every Computer Science student knows (or at least should know) how to do... So yes, I kinda feel sympathetic...

I have two angles on this. On the one hand, Microsoft - our most aggravating agitator in the realm of patents - gets a dose of its own medicine, so to speak. On the other, I am fairly certain that the judgement will be greatly reduced. $1.52 billion seems out of line to me, even for Microsoft. I don't know how prosperous the company is, but that kind of payout would surely send their stocks down a notch or two.

I agree wholeheartedly with TC - the system is so completely whacked, I just don't even know where to begin. I confess to finding it difficult to feel sorry for MS, namely because of their bullying tactics and accusations about us infringing on their patents. I do wish Ballmer would "put up or shut up".

> I don't know how prosperous the company is...

From Yahoo (http://finance.yahoo.com/q/ks?s=MSFT) Microsoft currently has $26.4 Billion in cash. From Google (http://finance.google.com/finance?q=msft), their net income last quarter was $2.6 Billion.

So I guess now all the people that cried when Red Hat removed mp3 support can see why they did it.

>So I guess now all the people that cried when Red Hat removed mp3 support can see why they did it.

Which is the REAL meaning of this story.