News (202)
Web guru Tim Bray takes Google Android job
Tim Bray, co-inventor of XML, notable tech blogger and until recently a Sun Microsystems employee, has joined Google's Android team in part to show the world what he thinks is wrong with Apple's iPhone. Read more »
Sun threatened by Microsoft, Apple over patents
Revealing a bit of previously hush-hush history that's relevant today, Sun Microsystems' former chief executive said that both Apple CEO Steve Jobs and Microsoft founder Bill Gates had threatened Sun for infringing their patents. Read more »
Microsoft seeks another hearing in i4i case
Microsoft filed another appeal on Friday in its patent dispute with i4i, but also said that it will comply with the injunction against Office that is set to go into effect on Monday. Read more »
Microsoft loses Word patent appeal, will change code
Microsoft has lost an appeal in a patent case that will force it to alter Microsoft Word to avoid an injunction on sales of the product. Read more »
Start-up claims Microsoft China took its code
A start-up says that a microblogging service recently launched by Microsoft in China "rips off" its user interface and also contains a huge percentage of similar code. Read more »
Microsoft gets big patent verdict overturned
A federal court on Tuesday reversed an earlier ruling that Microsoft's product activation technology infringed on another company's patent, overturning a $388 million verdict in the case. Read more »
Microsoft reiterates case against Word injunction
Microsoft on Monday reiterated its case in an appeal of an injunction ordering it to stop selling Word in its current form and argued against fines totalling $240 million for patent infringement and wilful infringement. Read more »
Microsoft accused of 'scare tactics' as judge grants a stay in Word case
Microsoft has been granted a stay of a landmark injunction in a patent infringement case that would have required the software giant to stop selling its popular Word in its current form by next month. Read more »
Microsoft pushes for single global patent system
A senior lawyer at Microsoft is calling for the creation of a global patent system to make it easier and faster for corporations to enforce their intellectual property rights around the world. Read more »
Microsoft asks for stay of Word injunction
Microsoft on Tuesday asked an appeals court to halt an injunction that would force the company to stop selling Microsoft Word in its current form. Read more »
Features (17)
'Electric Slide' on slippery DMCA slope
The inventor of the "Electric Slide," an iconic dance created in 1976, is fighting back against what he believes are copyright violations and, more importantly, examples of bad dancing. Read more »
Building on top of osCommerce
By choosing to modify an existing open source e-retailing system, Damian Hickey was able to accelerate the development process, but also took on board a score of additional problems. Read more »
The importance of IP in Australia
With an increase in patent activity across the globe, we ask if businesses need to be concerned with their intellectual property. Read more »
The open-source patent conundrum
The latest tactic in the software-patenting battle is the granting of patent rights to open-source developers. But are the grants really the equivalent of wolves in sheep's clothing? Read more »
Developer spotlight: James Gosling
We recently caught up with James Gosling, the creator of Java about his new role at Sun, software patents, the open source movement, and the future of Java. Read more »
The Patent Trap
Is IBM's recent software patent giveaway a generous gift to the public, or is the corporate giant just getting rid of old junk? David McAmis investigates what's on offer. Read more »
Sprucing up open source's GPL foundation
Modernisation is coming to the General Public License, a legal framework that supports a large part of the free and open-source software movements and that has received sharp criticism from Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates. Read more »
A patently bad idea?
So you've developed software that is going to change the world only to discover another company holds the patent for your idea. Are patents protecting or destroying the software industry? Read more »
The problem with US patents
Commentary-- Many patented ideas required little more than half a brain, five minutes of uninterrupted privacy, a napkin, and a pen for scribbling. We need some changes. Read more »
Open source: Prepare for attack
Users face a convergence of issues that may ultimately lead to other claims being brought against Linux and open-source software. Read more »
Blog (10)
Google launches Apps Marketplace
-- Google launches and app store, while Mozilla plans to re-write its open-source license. More of this week's news in the Roundup. Read more »
You've got patched flaws!
-- Patents and Symantec were made to look very silly this week. Microsoft said that open source was a bigger threat than Google and no prizes for guessing which month the final version of Firefox 3 will appear in. Read more »
Samba gets an inside look at Microsoft documentation
-- A complicated third-party arrangement means that the open-source Samba project will be able to make use of proprietary documents describing Microsoft file-sharing software. Read more »
Where are all of those donated XO laptops going?
-- Given all the interest around One Laptop Per Child's "Give One, Get One" program, I've been wondering just where all those laptops that are being donated are actually going. Read more »
Blogger declares shenanigans on advertisers -- piracy or plagiarism?
-- MIT academic calls notices some suspicious similiarities between a lecture he wrote and an Australian made printer ad. Could this be piracy, or merely plagiarism. I call in the lawyers to find out. Read more »
Is facesquatting becoming a problem?
-- Could name squatting on Facebook applications become a new litigious area for the Web? Read more »
All this matter and make up and déjá vu
-- There are some weeks when you could be mistaken for thinking that the record had skipped and the players involved were simply going through the motions -- this week was one of them. Read more »
Weekly Roundup -- 3rd August 2007
-- Welcome to the new Weekly Roundup. We continue to recap the last seven days and point out the stories that were interesting and thought provoking. Read more »
The Fud is Flying! (Again)
-- It seems like that the latest marketing technique for software vendors is to sling a little FUD and see if it sticks. Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt make for some attention-grabbing headlines and are great for scaring potential customers away from a competitors offering. Read more »
Software piracy rates and the BSAA
-- The annual Business Software Association (BSA) report into global piracy rates of packaged software was released last week. Interestingly enough the BSA claim that Australia's piracy rates have dropped slightly by one percent making 31% of all packaged software pirated. The Australian arm of the BSA, called the Business Software Association of Australia (BSAA) claim the losses through piracy cost Australia $446 million in 2005. Read more »
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In a split decision by the judges, the winner of the W3C/WHATWG video codec consensus is H.264, taking home the future of video playback on the internet while loser Ogg goes home with nothing but thoughts of what might have been. Read more »
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Google launches Apps MarketplaceGoogle launches and app store, while Mozilla plans to re-write its open-source license. More of this week's news in the Roundup. Read more »
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TechFest, Microsoft's internal even took place this week with researchers showcasing some new interfaces the company is working on. Read more »
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