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What if the alphabet was patented?







What if the alphabet was patented?

What if the alphabet was patented? 04/01/2005 10:39 PM

CNET Asia Apr 2 2005 2:13AM GMT




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What if the alphabet was patented?

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Alphabet 26 is Bradbury Thompson’s
radical proposal for the redesign of the
alphabet


Alphabet 26 is Bradbury Thompson’s
radical proposal for the redesign of the
alphabet
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Alphabet26

pbtweb.com/alpha26/index.html
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Tessellating Alphabet


Tessellating Alphabet 08/21/2004 10:39 AM
tessellating alphabet

scottkim.com/inversions/gallery/tessellatingalphabet.htmltrack this site | 2 links


FAQ: Wi-Fi alphabet soup


FAQ: Wi-Fi alphabet soup 04/14/2005 07:02 AM
Untangling wireless network confusion, from compatibility to speed to 802.11a and MIMO.

"Movie Alphabet Game #1"


"Movie Alphabet Game #1" 03/06/2004 02:05 AM

Lingua-Alphabet-Phonetic-0.04


Lingua-Alphabet-Phonetic-0.04 02/11/2004 11:12 PM

Movie Alphabet Game #1


Movie Alphabet Game #1 03/06/2004 01:53 AM
this movie alphabet game .. cool little online game .. movie letter learning .. Show me what you got .. L'alphabet des films .. Challenge 1 .. It's hard .. Pure Hell

hampusgard.se/AlphaGame_1.aspx
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Rustic found alphabet


Rustic found alphabet 12/18/2003 08:40 PM
Nick sez, "Dean Allen at Textism created a found alphabet in a rural setting. The alphabet has a pleasant rustic feel, using mostly earth tones." Link (Thanks, Nick!)

Type in the brain-alphabet


Type in the brain-alphabet 12/18/2003 02:19 PM
Lucas Gonze has created an app to render out text in the alphabets made from astronomical phenomena and human brain-whorls. Link (Thanks, Lucas!)

Lingua-Alphabet-Phonetic-0.03


Lingua-Alphabet-Phonetic-0.03 02/11/2004 06:08 AM

Retail Alphabet Game


Retail Alphabet Game 03/22/2005 07:23 PM
retail alphabet, 4 editions .. Retail Aplhabet Game

joeykatzen.com/alpha/index.html
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Diva: Alphabet soup


Diva: Alphabet soup 08/12/2004 10:36 PM
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Neuroscience for Kids - Brain Alphabet


Neuroscience for Kids - Brain Alphabet 12/18/2003 05:45 AM
alphabet made from snapshots of brainfolds .. Neuroscience for Kids - Brain Alphabet .. neuroscientific wag

faculty.washington.edu/chudler/alpha.html
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WiFi alphabet soup and new standards


WiFi alphabet soup and new standards 12/05/2003 06:34 PM
Two new standards, 802.11e and 802.11i look to extend the current functionality of 802.11b/g by increasing security and allowing certain types of network traffic to take priority

JiLetters - kids can learn the alphabet


JiLetters - kids can learn the alphabet 11/15/2003 06:34 AM
Version 0.0.1 released

Making sense of the J2ME alphabet soup


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Found alphabet made from human brains


Found alphabet made from human brains 12/17/2003 02:40 AM
The Brain Alphabet is a set of 26 Roman letters visible in the bumps and valleys of photos of real human brains. Link (Thanks, Armand!)

Oz Music Code releases Alphabet Soup
version 2


Oz Music Code releases Alphabet Soup
version 2
12/27/2004 11:44 PM
Oz Music Code www.ozmusiccode.com The good chefs at Oz Music Code have just released version 2 of their product Alphabet Soup.

[[ Visit http://www.macmegasite.com for full article ]]

The Alphabet Photo Gallery by Abba
Richman at pbase.com


The Alphabet Photo Gallery by Abba
Richman at pbase.com
06/26/2004 05:58 AM
The Alphabet Photo Gallery by Abba Richman at pbase.com .. Letter form photos

pbase.com/abbarich/the_alphabet
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Has HP Patented Refilling Ink?


Has HP Patented Refilling Ink? 03/28/2005 06:33 PM
In a case that sounds somewhat reminiscent of Lexma rk's (failed) attempts to use intellectual property law to block the competition, HP has decided to sue two companies that offer refilled ink cartridges for their printers. The ink business, of course, is big business -- with ink costing more than vintage champagne or high end perfume (depending on whose study you want to read). HP claims that they have nothing against customers choosing to buy refilled cartridges, but they have problems with these two refilling companies. The first one is accused of patent violations, which seems like an odd issue. The details (buried all the way at the end of the article) say the patents are about the type of ink -- which seems bizarre. Even more bizarre is that HP seems to make it very clear in the filing that if the three patents they've picked out don't stick, they have another 9,000 to choose from (which sounds eerily like IBM's patent attack on Sun years ago: "OK, maybe you don't infringe these seven patents. But we have 10,000 U.S. patents. Do you really want us to go back to Armonk and find seven patents you do infringe? Or do you want to make this easy and just pay us $20 million?"). The other claim makes a bit more sense, as HP says the second firm is packaging the refilled cartridges as if they were new -- which could lead to consumer confusion. Still, these lawsuits do seem like a simple attempt to scare off certain ink refillers.

Patents are obviously patented


Patents are obviously patented 02/10/2004 02:55 AM
In a surprise move, the US Patent Office has granted a patent which patents the patent office itself!

Hehe. Actually, the patent is meant to patent the concept of "digital ownership", i.e. the idea that you can "own" things in online multiplayer games. The patent is just so broad that it covers pretty much any database, including the patent database.

This is another example on how the USPTO has just thrown its hands up in the air and basically says "accept them all and let courts sort them out." This is an example on so many countless things that have gone wrong with the system I can't even be bothered to enumerate them anymore... Let me just begin with the notion that the idea of ownership could be patented at all, and end up with how big companies can use this to trounce upon the smaller ones, and you can imagine the rant between those yourself.


Stopping Spam Patented (Again)


Stopping Spam Patented (Again) 06/02/2004 10:10 AM
Earlier this year, we noted that Postini had receive d a patent for the incredibly obvious concept of anti-spam filtering. Well, it looks like they may be in for some competition, because Network Associates/McAfee has now been awarded a patent for an idea that (sarcasm alert) no one could have possibly come up with prior to December 2002 when they applied for it: us ing a combination of methods such as "filters, paragraph hashing, and Bayes rules" to stop spam. What this really means is that there are now going to be anti-spam patent battles which will slow down the process of stopping spam, and do no one any good, other than a few lawyers who will get rich. Why can't these companies just compete in the marketplace? Still, it would be great if, at some point, AT&T finally made it clear why they patented spamming itself last year.

Regifting Not Just A Seinfeld Gag --
It's Patented


Regifting Not Just A Seinfeld Gag --
It's Patented
12/08/2003 09:28 PM

Now It Turns Out That Burning CDs Is
Patented As Well


Now It Turns Out That Burning CDs Is
Patented As Well
12/15/2003 09:21 PM
Because the day just isn't complete unless another silly patent lawsuit is filed, Optima Technology now believes that they own a patent on CD-burning and are suing Roxio for refusing to license their patent. This fits in with plenty of other patent lawsuits that have been showing up recently which clearly demonstrate just how off-course our patent system has become. The purpose of a patent is to protect and encourage innovation. The idea behind CD-burning is not innovative, and Roxio didn't come along and steal the idea from Optima. There are simply too many cases these days of some company sitting on a patent until someone else discovers the same thing and then suing them. How that "encourages" innovation is beyond me. Meanwhile, Optima says they basically plan to sue anyone who has anything to do with CD burning unless they all come running to license the patent.

Samsung's 2 Technologies Patented


Samsung's 2 Technologies Patented 04/27/2004 06:10 AM
Hankooki Apr 27 2004 9:09AM GMT

trademarked, patented shrubbery


trademarked, patented shrubbery 05/23/2004 12:19 PM

As I'm planting my front yard, I'm doing a lot of research on various plants and trees. One tree that caught my eye for one spot is this Ri ver Birch. But the wacky thing about it is that the name is a registered trademark and it also carries this warning "Propagation of this plant is prohibited due to patent protection."

Patented garden plants? I suddenly had visions of a sci-fi future where Johnny Appleseed works for Monsanto, and you're not allowed to eat the apples or graft new trees since it's all copyrighted, patented, and trademarked up the wazoo.

I think I'll get a different tree for that spot.


Apple really patented by Microsoft?


Apple really patented by Microsoft? 05/04/2004 07:49 PM
globetechnology.com May 4 2004 10:50PM GMT

Apple patented by Microsoft


Apple patented by Microsoft 05/04/2004 02:03 PM
Calm down, it's not that Apple, it's an actual, edible apple. An entire tree, to be exact: the Burchinal Red Delicious. By Microsoft. At least that's what the patent says.

Star Trek Communicator: Patented


Star Trek Communicator: Patented 07/07/2004 06:04 PM
Xybernaut, the grandfather of well-hyped "wearable computing" that perpetually seems to have problems actually selling products has now announced two wearable computing patents, both of which seem pretty questionable. The first is for an "ergonomic display," which apparently is a display unit that includes rubber handgrips with "tactile ridges." The second, though, is for a "personal communicator" system, that "combines the functionality of a cell phone (or mobile phone), a body supported computer and a pager." Star Trek may want to claim prior art, but Xybernaut claims this is a bit different from previous wearable patents in that this version includes "detachable" parts. Who knew that by making something detachable, it was suddenly patentable? Maybe King Missile should claim prior art...

Automatic Software Downloading Now
Patented


Automatic Software Downloading Now
Patented
06/15/2004 11:49 AM
The latest in a long line of patent hoarding companies to come out of nowhere with a patent for something obvious to threaten lots of companies is British Technology Group. They're now waving around a a patent for automatic software downloads for things like anti-virus updates and are threatening a number of companies, including Microsoft, if they don't pay up. First off, there must be some prior art on this. Automatic software downloads are hardly a "new" technology. It would also be interesting to hear how this is possibly "non-obvious" considering that tons of companies offer this feature on their software, and its unlikely that most of them did so because they dug up some obscure patent and "stole" the idea. Instead, they just implemented a perfectly obvious idea to improve their own software. Now, thanks to the patent hoarding process, just about any software product that needs regular automatic updates will be more expensive, or won't work properly. This is innovation?

'Matrix' idea patented by Sony


'Matrix' idea patented by Sony 04/07/2005 10:40 AM
Sony has patented an idea for transmitting data directly into the brain, with the goal of enabling a person to see movies and play video games in which they smell, taste and perhaps even feel things, it was reported today. The patent - based only on a theory, not on any invention - marks the first step towards a "real-life Matrix", New Scientist says. In the sci-fi film of that name, cyber-reality is projected into the brains of people via an electrode feed at the back of their necks. In Sony's patent, the technique would be entirely non-invasive - it would not use brain implants or other surgery to manipulate the brain. The patent has few details, describing only a device that would fire pulses of ultrasound at the head to modify the firing patterns of neurons in targeted parts of the brain. Sony Electronics spokeswoman Elizabeth Boukis said the work was a "prophetic invention" and no experiments at all had been done on it.

Microsoft patented tasks grouping


Microsoft patented tasks grouping 07/01/2004 11:51 PM

Offering Internet In Public Places:
Patented


Offering Internet In Public Places:
Patented
09/21/2004 12:29 PM
Just as more people are finally realizing the potential for a "pate nt apocalypse" if our patent system isn't fixed soon, we have yet another example of idiotic patents getting in the way of actual business. Wayport, the company that has offered both wired and wireless internet access in hotels, airports and random other places (such as McDonald's) for years has now been hit with a patent lawsuit from a tiny company in New Hampshire, called PowerOasis, that claims they've just received a patent on offering internet access in public places -- because, obviously, no one had ever thought of that idea before this company came along and patented it. Exactly which patents they're suing over isn't entirely clear. The company claims 2 patents in the space, but a search of the USPTO finds 3 patents in the company's name, all for a "Power and telecommunications access vending machine." No matter which patents are the ones they're suing over, the company's statements help demonstrate how bad our patent system has become: "Wayport has deprived PowerOasis of the ability to sell and expand its services in airports and other locations, including hotels, to an extent that cannot be calculated but that has severely hampered PowerOasis in its effort to expand its businesses." Read that a second time. Basically, PowerOasis is admitting that Wayport has a better sales and marketing force. No one at Wayport deprived PowerOasis of anything. They just beat them in the market. Too many patent holders these days seem to think that a patent (no matter how ridiculous it may be) entitles them to simply have the market, rather than still having to go out and win the market with a good product, backed up by a good sales and marketing team.

Patented Signal Handoff Hype, Promise


Patented Signal Handoff Hype, Promise 04/16/2005 06:42 PM

UCSD did a great job getting into the media this week with a fast Wi-Fi handoff technology: SyncScan drops a Wi-Fi adapter or appliance, like a VoWLAN phone, out of its associated mode for a few milliseconds at a regular, defined interval to check on signal strength. This avoids adapters swapping to a new AP only when signal strength becomes unusable or nearly so.

SyncScan relies on a feature in Atheros's chipsets that's available from the open-source madwifi drivers; it's the same sort of feature (if not the identical one) that allows Atheros's WLAN switch partners to offer RF monitoring on the same APs that are also handling client data interchange.

Two problems with SyncScan's approach: first, it requires firmware to be installed on the access point, which is fine for experimentation and open-source projects, but otherwise needs signoff from major firmware developers and their manufacturing partners; second, it's got that patent-pending label attached, which always has the caveat of causing resistance until fees are revealed.

SyncScan puts all APs within listening range of each other into a synchronized beaconing mode so that the "I'm alive" signals happen at fixed intervals. This allows adapters to only listen at discrete periods and to get a clear idea of precisely what's happening in the local RF space. But this coordination adds overhead and there has to be a cost to synchronization and the inevitable resynchronization.

One of the IEEE 802.11 groups, 802.11f, was dedicated to fast reassociation through preauthentication--tokens exchanged among APs at Layer 3--but that doesn't help with fast reassociation on an RF level, or Layer 1.


Wireless Management Of A Computer
System: Patented


Wireless Management Of A Computer
System: Patented
09/03/2004 02:40 PM
The patent system is just getting out of control. The latest is that a company named Expand Beyond has paten ted a system for wireless monitoring and management of computer systems. The patent (6,772,169) sounds incredibly broad, covering any systems where someone is using a portable device with a wireless connection to monitor computer systems. Why is this patentable? The big difference here is the "wireless" aspect -- which isn't a new technology. All they're doing is taking something that existed over a wired network before and making it wireless. To say that's "non-obvious" (as a patent must be) is a joke.

Sony's patented method to make the
Matrix


Sony's patented method to make the
Matrix
04/07/2005 12:49 PM
David Pescovitz: Apparently, Sony has received a patent on a purely theoretical method for transmitting sensory experiences directly into the brain. Their approach would non-invasively fire ultrasound pulses at various parts of the brain. Details are sparse as the inventor declined interview requests from New Scientist.
Elizabeth Boukis, spokeswoman for Sony Electronics, says the work is speculative. "There were not any experiments done," she says. "This particular patent was a prophetic invention. It was based on an inspiration that this may someday be the direction that technology will take us."
Link to article and Link to patent

AirIQ and Aircept Promote Key Patented
Technology


AirIQ and Aircept Promote Key Patented
Technology
08/18/2004 06:39 AM
Stockhouse Canada Aug 18 2004 11:29AM GMT

Contextual Advertising In Email May Be
Patented - And Not By Google


Contextual Advertising In Email May Be
Patented - And Not By Google
05/19/2004 07:17 PM
Here we go again with more pointless patent battles that will do more to hold back, rather than encourage, innovation. While Google has made the big publicity splash (with both good and bad publicity) concerning their Gmail offering that puts contextual text ads alongside email based on the contents of the email, anothe r company applied for a patent on a similar idea well before Google applied for their own patent. Now, there's almost certain to be some sort of patent battle concerning this type of offering, which will do little (if anything) to help ensure better solutions reach the public. Instead, it will just tie up lawyers in a long term battle that will pay off handsomely for lawyers - but only delay innovation for end users. Besides, I still wonder how such an idea is patentable? It's not as if it wasn't obvious. Hell, even I came up with the idea before Google announced their product - and if I could think it up, it's pretty hard to say that it's "non-obvious."

Monsanto Wins Case Over Patented Canola


Monsanto Wins Case Over Patented Canola 05/21/2004 03:47 PM

Apple patented by Microsoft | CNET
News.com


Apple patented by Microsoft | CNET
News.com
05/05/2004 04:04 AM
Microsoft has patented Apple

news.com.com/2100-1008_3-5205574.html
track this site | 5 links


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