* Posts by B. Frank

10 publicly visible posts • joined 12 Feb 2009

Home Office stonewalls ID findings

B. Frank

Translation

No way are ministers going to OK publication this close to a general election.

Apple accused of lowering cone of silence over iPod flame out

B. Frank
Unhappy

UK Law ?

Apple would not be able to make that threat stick in the UK or Europe. Unfair contract terms for a start, and It is a health and safety issue with possible fatal consequences. Corporations can't hide that in the EU. In the UK, the HSE and Trading Standards should now be on the trail.

Unlock your iPhone, miss your messages

B. Frank
Grenade

Statutory Right

Anybody told Apple that unlocking is a statutory right, at least in the UK, and they cannot deny it no matter what their conditions say. Also, a comlpaint to the EU Competition Commission might be in order here, since it would seem to be an attempt to stifle competition in contravention of EU requirements.

IPO gives 'reputable' web pages prior art status

B. Frank

Code Wheels etc.

Add the selection of specified characters from set page and line numbers in a manual. Then there is the even older entry of the product key from the instllation media. The online versions are simply the obvious extention of that sort of idea.

Beeb tech boss seeks to expand TV licence online

B. Frank
Alert

Copycats?

Got this idea from the Republic of Ireland then? There is a proposal to do just that there!

B. Frank
Happy

I'm clearly naive then..

My understanding is that you only need the licence to watch programmes while they are beign broadcast. See the following URL for the details:-

http://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/information/index.jsp

Microsoft to EU: Cut me down, and Google will rule the world!

B. Frank

We're scared?

To me, this looks like an attempt at 'displacement activity' from frightened entity. It's not likely to work.

Did TomTom test Microsoft's Linux patent lock-down?

B. Frank

MSDOS By john

Partitioning of discs and things like File Allocation Tables (FATs) were around before Microsoft was born. I used partitioned discs on IBM and ICL mainframe computers in the period 1971 - 1973. Prior art I'd say.

B. Frank

MS FAT patents invalid in Europe

And with the number of much older prior art examples now surfacing, it looks like they are invalid in the US too, as they probably were in the first place. Looks like a new anti-trust case on the way - at least in Europe where their tie-in, competition stifling agreements will be very illegal.

Pope's star watcher to visit Nasa and talk aliens

B. Frank

Nothing New

Pope Leo XIII in the 1890's held the view that other intelligences were possible in the universe. In my view. so much may actually be hinted in the Gospels. "Other sheep have I ....." cannot refer to humanity since that job had been done.