US Patent law is frankly in somewhat of a mess. Any system that allows a man to hold a patent on a method for playing on a swing needs or awarded on a staple element of computing (like the linked list) to be looked at in my opinion. The Patent Office just doesn’t have the staff to give each application the diligence it needs and the subsequent backlog is increasing as is the number of submarine patents and patents awarded despite overwhelming prior art. Obviousness and prior art is supposed to invalidate a patent but this doesn’t stop anyone from trying their luck. Amazon are frequently quoted in geek forums for this. Trying to cash in once someone big enough does something of note (Smartphones) or popular (online games) that may possibly be covered by a vague patent is big business.
Finally, the tide may finally be turning.
Speaking as a developer I was glad to hear about a project that aims to address the inherent problems with the system with regard to software. Imaginatively called End Software Patents, it seeks to highlight the absurdity in the idea that source code and natural mathematics can somehow be patented.
Microsoft has been sabre-rattling of late, claiming that Linux infringes on hundreds of patents that they hold (read: purchased). Co-incidentally, they do have a very pertinent patent for detecting user frustration when using their software.
Just as I was beginning to think that the UK was understanding some of the problems with legal aspects of software and the implications of software patents it looks like we’re heading in the same direction. The UK government is currently embroiled in a legal case with Symbian which will hopefully clarify things.
Just don’t get me started on gene patents.
During preparation for my impending travels a few snippets caught my eye.
Airports are obviously a huge exercise in logistics. Getting through security can sometimes be time consuming but terahertz radiation scanners1 are one way of speeding things up. Obviously some people will be concerned at the thought of such intimate searches. At Heathrow’s shiny new terminal, if you’re not at the security gates 35 minutes before your flight is due to leave then you’re shit outta luck and will need to book yourself on to a new flight. It all may seem obvious but Wired have produced a guide to (not my pun) flying through security.
There is the argument that we’re all being encouraged to get through security checks early so we have to spend more time in the shops on the other side. Likewise with the fluid restrictions and not being able to bring your own drinks through – we are forced to buy them instead. People may argue that this is an obvious preventative measure to take but if it was such an immediate threat, why did Australia announce that they would be implementing similar plans three months ahead of actually doing so? I’m not the only one to have issues with these “security measures” Tim Bray has problems with his toothpaste. I’m kind of glad that I don’t have a MacBook Air to confuse matters even more.
Heathrow is home to the UK’s largest WLAN and is also forging ahead with technology in order to try and improve performance in all areas. Having trialled RFID baggage tagging last September a larger six-month trial is now underway. Speaking as a victim of luggage loss myself, this is welcome news.
Something that I’d never thought of before is the whole boarding process. This can make a huge difference in turnaround times. An older boarding process blew the trumpet of free-for-all unordered boarding that is popular for the budget airlines but now an astrophysicist has had another idea on how to improve things even further. If vast inroads are made in this area then the need for new airport terminals can be reduced.
1 If you can remember the giant x-ray security scanner in Total Recall then you’re not too far from having seen this in practice already.
So Marion Cotillard has been getting flak for not swallowing what the establishment is shoveling and yet Tom Cruise can believe in Xenu without similar adverse reaction?
I don’t know what led Cotillard to make the comments she did but I recently watched the Loose Change 9/11 documentary and I certainly have more unanswered questions now than I did before.
What happens when a conspiracy theory is no longer just a theory?
I opened a new current account ahead of my travels next month having seen the Nationwide “proud to be different” advertisements on the television. They are the only high street bank that doesn’t charge for using your card for purchases or withdrawals abroad. I think that the Post Office also provide an account with this feature but they’re not in my good books at the moment.
What worried me when opening this new account was not having to produce any identification: no passport, drivers license, utility bill or anything at all that would prove my address or even my name. Being found on the electoral roll was good enough apparently. Services like www.192.com sell this information and more although getting my mail would seemingly do just as well. This is where my gripe with the Royal Mail and the Post Office comes into play.
The postal service in Edinburgh is woeful. Despite having my name on the door I am guaranteed to receive mail for someone I’ve never heard of several times a week. Less often I get mail for the wrong flat number or house number and every now and again I get mail for the wrong street and postcode entirely. Friends of mine have the mail for their whole stairwell left piled all together on the bottom step. Considering that our mail isn’t delivered until after 11am these days I think that it’s surprising that we get any mail at all as everyone in our tenement is out at work and there is nobody at home to let the postman into the stair.
Banks do try and make sending you things like new cards more secure by not sending you the card and PIN in the same envelope or on the same day. The Royal Mail are the weak link in the security chain and sending things like pre-approved credit cards in the post are obviously prime opportunities for the criminal fraternity.
Of course, reducing our energy consumption isn’t enough if we want to minimise our impact on planet Earth. A major overhaul of our consumerist attitude is also needed. My great aunt recently had to get a new washing machine, the old one having lasted (along with the fridge and oven) since 1972 and she “only had to have ‘the man’ out once to fix it” in all that time.
Will anything we use now be functional in 30 years time? In this disposable age and era of inbuilt redundancy things that last even half that are a rarity.
Thanks to Amber for bringing clip this to my attention.
Did you know about the concerted energy saving challenge put to the British public that took place between 6pm yesterday and 6pm today? You’re not alone apparently. There are a lot of big names supporting E-day but it would seem that it has been an epic fail. Energy consumption was actually up. Admittedly by only 0.1% but up all the same. Not the result that was hoped for I expect.
Continue reading ‘Conservation conversation’
Giving blood is one of the few things that is totally altruistic these days and is it’s own reward (apart from a chocolate biscuit and cup of tea afterwards that is). Most people don’t do it and this annoys me. Fair enough if you have a genuine phobia of needles but if you try and tell me that you’re simply “just too busy” and you really can’t spare a maximum of two hours a year to maybe help save somebody’s life then I’m sorry, I don’t believe you.
This evening I wasn’t allowed to donate blood for the first time in the eight years that I’ve been giving blood regularly (at least three times a year since 2000). My iron level was 12.4 apparently, which is borderline acceptable but still too low to donate and a sample has now been sent off for further testing. The level is rightly set quite high for donors own safety. I’m now not allowed to donate for six months which I think is somewhat excessive.
I was given a leaflet on what foods I should be eating in order to raise my iron level and it basically just listed my diet: oily fish, eggs, pulses, brown rice, wholewheat pasta, wholegrain rice and green leafy vegetables. I also easily get my five portions of fruit and vegetables in each day too. I guess I’m just tired.
It was also recommended that I drink more red wine and Guinness which I plan to adhere to rigorously!
Is it me or is it now the job of modern day hacks and hackettes to simply regurgitate press releases and rumours while not bothering to check the facts — let alone check their copy for grammar, typso1 and decency?
A case in point is this BBC item from my RSS feeds that I saw this morning:
I checked that it wasn’t just my twisted mind that saw something not very tasteful here by asking a couple of colleagues. I do concede that this was posted pretty early in the morning so it may just have slipped through unnoticed. Someone at the Beeb has since spotted this and the offending news item has now been amended to something a little more appropriate.
Earlier this month we had the mysterious self-destructing palm tree upsetting the guys at Google Sightseeing, the erroneous reports of an alien SETI signal and most reported of all is the story of the adopted twins that got married to each other. This last item appeared in just about every media outlet despite it being a complete fallacy.
1 Before you ask, yes. That was on purpose.
It appears that the answer is very. Especially if you happen to be the Met Office who supplied the weather data that the BBC presented to me this morning.
A little on the chilly side I thought, but it looks like it will be a nice enough day so I’ll leave my umbrella at home. I took one step outside and looked up at the clouds. It was like I was about to enter Mordor. The clouds were clearly full of snow. Sure enough, after returning to pick up my umbrella, I walked to work through just about the full gamut of precipitation. A veritable blizzard was threatening to freeze my ears off by the time I arrived at the office. I passed a child on his way to school who was nearly in tears because he was that cold (he would have been in tears had his tear ducts not frozen).
The Met Office has spent a lot of money on technology and wants to spend more. They have their eye on a £200 million super computer that they hope will allow them to provide far more accurate forecasts. This shouldn’t prove to be too difficult as it appears they can just about tell me what the weather is doing at the present moment and I can look out of my window to find that out.
I have an alternative conspiracy theory brewing. Little known fact: The Met Office is actually part of the Ministry of Defense. I don’t think that the Met Office actually has all that much technology and their forecasters just wing it while the MoD pockets the cash for covert operations.
Just when Facebook stops displaying fliers for gay nights in Edinburgh to me (at least they got the city right), it now insists on serving me adverts in Norwegian for some strange reason1. Handbags and hair straighteners also make regular appearances. I’m fairly tuned out of banner ads in their normal positions but these inappropriate ones somehow make me read them regardless. I thought that the big selling point of Facebook for advertisers was supposed to be the profiling of their users?
Still, I’ll be happy enough as long as they stop short of implementing their dream business tools (and you thought the whole Beacon debacle was bad).
1 Ah yes, I forgot who is supplying the advertising for them. That’s right – Microsoft.
