Microsoft Violated Patent: Cannot Sell Word

[Qdos]

We've seen it before with Microsoft and 'their' Virtual Machine, and subsequent legal quarrels with third parties... and all that may happen over this XML squabble is that Microsoft may end up buying a lot of shares in the company whose copyrights they may have infringed this time...

 

[manhunter2826]

We've seen it before with Microsoft and 'their' Virtual Machine, and subsequent legal quarrels with third parties... and all that may happen over this XML squabble is that Microsoft may end up buying a lot of shares in the company whose copyrights they may have infringed this time...

Astute point Q

 

[Freddy K]

it is about time someone really nailed microsour. almost all of their software has been stolen since they first opened their doors. the fines and awards should have been more like 2.9 billion. hit them where it hurts. 290 million for a company worth what microsour is worth is like hitting me with a 20 dollar jay walking ticket. the ue has the right idea hit the guilty company with a fine of up to 10% of their worldwide gross sales.

 

[Freddy K]

Can't we all just get along.....

nice joke, now come back to reality. i think microsofts new name should be MICROTHIEF.

 

[Lordbob75]

it is about time someone really nailed microsour. almost all of their software has been stolen since they first opened their doors. the fines and awards should have been more like 2.9 billion. hit them where it hurts. 290 million for a company worth what microsour is worth is like hitting me with a 20 dollar jay walking ticket. the ue has the right idea hit the guilty company with a fine of up to 10% of their worldwide gross sales.

You could never be an engineer.

~Lordbob

 

[smsff7]

Wow sucks for MS Tho I wonder if they will violate any other patten with the new word or just something poping up later for something else is MS office

That sucks for MS, although it doesn't seem like it's going to make much difference anyway, since they have been working on a workaround since August.

Kinda makes me wonder though, how many people on here are still using 2003/2007, and how many are running the 2010 Beta.

I am still using Office 2003...well mostly outlook 2003

 

[bigmck]

it is about time someone really nailed microsour. almost all of their software has been stolen since they first opened their doors. the fines and awards should have been more like 2.9 billion. hit them where it hurts. 290 million for a company worth what microsour is worth is like hitting me with a 20 dollar jay walking ticket. the ue has the right idea hit the guilty company with a fine of up to 10% of their worldwide gross sales.

I have heard this type of thing for years. Microsoft does not steal its software. They have the best minds to make what they want. They don't need to steal. While they might be accused of being a monopoly, they deliver a good product at a fair price. Windows 7 Upgrade is about $120. A family of four can't even have an evening out for that price.

 

[Qdos]

Microsoft does not steal its software...

Usually, no. Occasionally, yes. They have certainly dabbled in whipping others work, and not acknowledging intellectual rights of authors from time to time. Of course they always claim it's been inadvertant...

 

[pparks1]

Yes, just like the ISO burning functionality of Windows 7. They took it right from the open source community. Line for line. However, when cornered, it was a contractor employee they hired and of course were unaware.

 

[Freddy K]

it is about time someone really nailed microsour. almost all of their software has been stolen since they first opened their doors. the fines and awards should have been more like 2.9 billion. hit them where it hurts. 290 million for a company worth what microsour is worth is like hitting me with a 20 dollar jay walking ticket. the ue has the right idea hit the guilty company with a fine of up to 10% of their worldwide gross sales.

You could never be an engineer.

~Lordbob

lordbob, please keep off topic comments to yourself.

bigmck, maybe you forgot the ripoff that was vista ultimate, and you can say microsofts pricing is fair. it was only fair when they were doing the preorder discounts. i will be fair though microsoft borrows(out and out stealing has yet to be proven)tech from others without asking permission until after they have been caught. i have seen this thinking with a lot of companies, and that is if we use it long enough no court in the world will make us stop because at that point it would destroy our product. lets say that this just effected office 2007. do you really think 290 million is even a dent in what microsoft has all ready made on 2007? NO.

 

[Qdos]

You could never be an engineer.

~Lordbob

lordbob, please keep off topic comments to yourself.

I think he was probably right, based on your own... err... views...

 

[Freddy K]

You could never be an engineer.

~Lordbob

lordbob, please keep off topic comments to yourself.

I think he was probably right, based on your own... err... views...

There is nothing wrong with my VIEWS. Microsoft does have a long, long history of stealing borrowing technology, however like i said in all fairness so do a lot of companies.

 

[Klaw117]

lordbob, please keep off topic comments to yourself.

I think he was probably right, based on your own... err... views...

There is nothing wrong with my VIEWS. Microsoft does have a long, long history of stealing borrowing technology, however like i said in all fairness so do a lot of companies.

Give us some examples and maybe we'll tell you if you're right or not. As for Vista, the biggest thing I know of that many people say Microsoft copied is the Windows Sidebar. This is a HUGE misconception. Gadgets and the Sidebar were in development for Vista for a long time before the final release. The problem is that Microsoft showed off Vista and then took too long with development, allowing Linux distributors and Apple to copy the gadgets, name them widgets, add them to their OSes, and then sell them a few months before Microsoft sold Vista. Therefore, when Vista was released, many people accused Microsoft of copying widgets when in reality, Linux distributors and Apple copied gadgets from Vista and then sold their OSes before Microsoft sold Vista.

If you want to know where I got this info, my brother, a Microsoft employee, told me.

 

[Lordbob75]

lordbob, please keep off topic comments to yourself.

I think he was probably right, based on your own... err... views...

There is nothing wrong with my VIEWS. Microsoft does have a long, long history of stealing borrowing technology, however like i said in all fairness so do a lot of companies.

My comment was completely on topic, you just didn't get it.

I think he was probably right, based on your own... err... views...

There is nothing wrong with my VIEWS. Microsoft does have a long, long history of stealing borrowing technology, however like i said in all fairness so do a lot of companies.

Give us some examples and maybe we'll tell you if you're right or not. As for Vista, the biggest thing I know of that many people say Microsoft copied is the Windows Sidebar. This is a HUGE misconception. Gadgets and the Sidebar were in development for Vista for a long time before the final release. The problem is that Microsoft showed off Vista and then took too long with development, allowing Linux distributors and Apple to copy the gadgets, name them widgets, add them to their OSes, and then sell them a few months before Microsoft sold Vista. Therefore, when Vista was released, many people accused Microsoft of copying widgets when in reality, Linux distributors and Apple copied gadgets from Vista and then sold their OSes before Microsoft sold Vista.

If you want to know where I got this info, my brother, a Microsoft employee, told me.

You better watch out. He will be calling your brother a dirty liar here pretty soon.

~Lordbob

 

[Colonel Travis]

There is nothing wrong with my VIEWS. Microsoft does have a long, long history of stealing borrowing technology, however like i said in all fairness so do a lot of companies.

Give us some examples and maybe we'll tell you if you're right or not.

1.) Windows is one of the biggest ripoffs in history. Apple lost the court case because a judge, in essence, said you can't own a copyright to an icon of a trash can, etc. But when Windows came out after Macs, you have to had been a total moron back then to not see where MS got its GUI inspiration. Even 7 has taken elements from OSX.
2.) MS lost a patent infringement case to Alcatel-Lucent a few years ago.
3.) MS settled out of court with Burst.com after Burst sued them a while back.
4.) MS was ordered by a federal court to pay damages to a company for ripping off some sort of DOS technology many years ago.
5.) IE has always been playing catch-up to other browsers.

These are the major ones I can think of. Then you've got MS opening retail stores that look kinda like, uh, Apple retail stores. Look, I'm as big a fan of 7 and Office as anyone else, but MS does have a history of borrowing and (gasp) stealing that goes back decades.

 

[jimbo45]

Hi there
can you HONESTLY tell me that when you've gone to a new job that you've NEVER used an idea learned in your previous job.

Thank goodness somebody with a bit of marketing nous got Windows out -- otherwise Computers would still be highly expensive, closed proprietary systems with very restricted hardware.

Apart from the nice look of some of the hardware just look at restrictions Apple stuff has traditionally been protected with.

It was only competition that made Apple remove some of the DRM CRUD on its iTunes "service" -- now that's a misnomer if ever there was one. At one stage you weren't even allowed to play music you had PAID FOR on any device other than the original one it was downloaded to.

MS (like most businesses) isn't purer than the white driven snow -- but the VAST majority of people are far better off WITH MS than WITHOUT it to say nothing of the millions of people working directly (and indirectly) for it -- and don't forget the GATES FOUNDATION which does really good work and is the largest private distributor of charity on Earth.

Cheers

jimbo

 

[manhunter2826]

Hi there
can you HONESTLY tell me that when you've gone to a new job that you've NEVER used an idea learned in your previous job.

Thank goodness somebody with a bit of marketing nous got Windows out -- otherwise Computers would still be highly expensive, closed proprietary systems with very restricted hardware.

Apart from the nice look of some of the hardware just look at restrictions Apple stuff has traditionally been protected with.

It was only competition that made Apple remove some of the DRM CRUD on its iTunes "service" -- now that's a misnomer if ever there was one. At one stage you weren't even allowed to play music you had PAID FOR on any device other than the original one it was downloaded to.

MS (like most businesses) isn't purer than the white driven snow -- but the VAST majority of people are far better off WITH MS than WITHOUT it to say nothing of the millions of people working directly (and indirectly) for it -- and don't forget the GATES FOUNDATION which does really good work and is the largest private distributor of charity on Earth.

Cheers

jimbo

Astute points jimbo and yes, Gates has been very generous with his wealth. I actually quite like the guy when I see the charitable work he's been doing in India with his wife.

 

[pparks1]

I think it's completely reasonable to assume that technology companies are going to offer functionality similar to what some other company might be doing. I'm not entirely sure why people get so emotional over who took which features from who. I mean, we don't only have 1 brand of automobile...even though they all offer similar functionality. There are quite a number of similar features or technologies in various products offered by GM, Ford, Chrysler, Toyota, Hundai, Lotus, Porshce, Audi, etc.

People seem to lose perspective that over time, as technology evolves, people adapt to new ways of doing things...which in turn means that design changes are going to be necessary within your product or people are going to turn to alternative products. For example, as machines have become more powerful and video cards stronger, we now have desktops which offer transparencies, desktop widgets/gadgets, and even touch screen capabilities. So, I'm not shocked in the least that Microsoft, Apple and the Linux community have incorporated these things into their products. In fact, I would be shocked if they had not incorporated these changes.

What matters in the end, is which company has implemented that technology the best, making people the most product they can be for a price and licensing model that end-users can accept. And for me, while Apple makes nice products...the prices are so high it's not even a consideration. Maybe if I felt that Apple had implemented it so much better, or had a truly outstanding feature my response would be different...but I'm willing to accept the way that Microsoft and the Linux community has done it because it meets my budget. There is no doubt that if Apple really wanted to increase their marketshare, they could simply drop prices and increase marketshare....but as time has proven....this is not their goal.

 

[manhunter2826]

There is no doubt that if Apple really wanted to increase their marketshare, they could simply drop prices and increase marketshare....but as time has proven....this is not their goal.

True, and perhaps their share price makes up for it Lol

 

[Win7User512]

I think it's completely reasonable to assume that technology companies are going to offer functionality similar to what some other company might be doing. I'm not entirely sure why people get so emotional over who took which features from who. I mean, we don't only have 1 brand of automobile...even though they all offer similar functionality. There are quite a number of similar features or technologies in various products offered by GM, Ford, Chrysler, Toyota, Hundai, Lotus, Porshce, Audi, etc.

There are at least two possibilities for "similar functionality."

1. Stealing or copying

2. Independently created. For example, Newton and Leibniz with developing Calculus.

In this case regarding MS, the court found that MS had willfully violated a patent, not come up with some brilliant idea independent of the plaintiff.