[OT] browser plugin patents - warning!

[Alex Rice]

On Friday, September 12, 2003, at 05:14  PM, Jim Lambert wrote:

> <What is REALLY irritating is that prior art on this is SOOOO bloody
> obvious.>
>
> And yet MS's legion of attorneys could not prevail.
> Wonder if they wanted to lose?

People are assuming that Microsoft couldn't show prior art. But 
remember there was no TCP/IP stack builtin to Windows until 1995. In 
'93 Microsoft was just discovering the Internet - in a sense.

But what about AOL, Compuserve, various BBS systems? I'm guessing 
that's why Eolas went after Microsoft instead of AOL.

I hate software patents. Software companies should be forced to compete 
on quality of product and speed to market, not on "I had this idea 
before you nya-nya-nya-nya-nya"

Alex Rice <alex at mindlube.com> | Mindlube Software | http://mindlube.com

what a waste of thumbs that are opposable
to make machines that are disposable  -Ani DiFranco