Posts by Thorne

Total publicity stunt. It got them into the media at no cost banning an item that isn't even released yet

Re: above ground not an option everywhere

"the libs have no idea when it comes to a next gen network, wireless don't make me laugh"

Considered the congestion problems already with 3g and 4g in the early evening, I'm sure adding a few million new wireless devices won't affect the service.

Then considered that currently the fastest wireless is 1/4 of the current limited fiber, why would you want to go that way?

Re: Just remember...

"I am a non-producing entity, and have no way of producing it. Should I have to post the billions in a bond just to be able to sue them for stealing the idea?"

It's risk and reward. You could spend $100K to produce 1/2 a dozen motors and sell them and then sue or post a billion dollars and sue or weep quietly into your beer.

What posting a bond does is stop the $2 company with the patent on rounded corners suing you, costing you hundreds of thousands of dollars and folding up when they lose leaving you bankrupt even though you won.

As for your car example, I invented an improvement for engines, got sued by another company, won and was still left with a massive debt despite winning. I've experienced this crap first hand.

Re: turbo-tastic

Damn cyclists destroying the environment....

That'll wipe the smug holier than thou attitude off their faces

Re: mute point

No Palpatine is only retiring from being Pope so he can concentrate on the Deathstar project

Re: "it lacks the secure element..."

"Without the security who is going to trust their money to the system. All you need is a stronger wifi transmitter secreted somewhere"

Simple. You transmit a single use password with the payment

Re: Quite Sensible: Don't Throw the Baby Out with the Bathwater

"I'm not so sure about no patents on genes - in order to maintain investment into gene science and research there needs to be some reward for the companies taking the risks, but I believe patents should be limited in a similar way to pharmaceuticals - you get ~5 years to use your patents, then it gets opened up."

There is a reward for taking the risk, it's called patenting the solution. They should be able to patent a test or a drug or a treatment. They however shouldn't be able to patent the gene causing the problem and halt research on a cure to extort money.

Re: Tricky balancing act

The problem is patents are handed out like candy and is very hard and expensive to defend in court. You need to make your patent as broad as you can get away with as to make it more defendable (a shotgun instead of a rifle)

Patents should be very hard to get but very easy to defend.

In this case I disagree with the inventor. Winding a spring to run a generator to run a radio isn't the same as winding a generator to charge a battery to run a radio. It's a vast improvement over his concept and shouldn't be covered by his patent.

Probably means people would pay not to see it....

Re: If the lady is simply (according to you) some kind of "lefty lesbo" whose opinions.......

"First off, the minister in question is male, hardly lesbian as such."

He might be a lesbian trapped in a man's body.....

"A troll is simply someone who has patent property rights who has the gall to enforce those rights"

No a patent troll is someone who has patented an idea (usually something obvious) and then proceeds to threaten anybody who tries to make something to extort money from them.

There one patent lawyer who's whole existance is working out where technology is heading and patenting the ideas before someone makes it happen. He's a lawyer. He invents nothing. He earns around millions every year because for most companies, it's cheaper to "licence" it than to fight him.

The problem is now, that there is so many trolls all wanting a cut that there is little left for inventors.

The problem is the patent office hands out patents like lollies and it costs a fortune to fight it. Yes you may well win the fight but if the fight will cost you a million and licencing it will cost you $100K, do you fight? If you fight, will you get your costs back? No you won't. Trolls make nothing and the patents are owned by $2 shell companies with no assets. You win and the shell company vanishes leaving you with squat.

Problem is you end up feeding the trolls cause it's cheaper than fighting them and the real problem is now that there are so many trolls you can't afford to feed them all.

I've been there. I fought. I won. I lost a stack of money even thought I won

Re: This whole debate...

"Putting the time/money into building a framework - libraries, tools, etc - that would allow a remnant of the population to survive the harshest conditions following a major event seems better. For the cost of a program to build a self-sustaining colony on Mars, we could surely build 100 equivalent kits which could be used to re-colonise Earth!"

Aren't you assuming there will be an earth to re-colonise? There are plenty of potential disasters which could mean that the earth can't be re-colonised. A good bet is another planet and the best bet is another star system

Re: 550MB per day for fapping?

"You've got a problem mate."

Not enough bandwith?

Re: A little more background...

"I fail to see why Coke should give compensation here. When your dentist says "Gee, maybe you should let up of the coke, hun?" As he's pulling rotting teeth out of your face, you should probably take that as a hint to cut down a bit."

At least she'll never have to see that smug bastard of a dentist again...

Re: Yes but

"That doesn't address long trips, but for most drivers those are rare (a few times a year) and never unexpected."

So you need to own two cars just in case you actually need to go somewhere further than to work and back?

So far I can see the market for these being innercity greenies, who don't go anywhere. What about the other 99.9% of the world?

A fast recharge that still takes an hour to do stops electric cars from ever becoming mainstream