Skip to main content

Is this really patentable?

I seem to recall that if I pull out my phone or wireless device and bring up a web browser, it immediately takes me to the local hotspot anyways. So what is the patent here? That you won't charge me for it if I agree to see your ads?

That isn't a patent - that's a business offering. Can I patent the fact that countries don't have to put their flag on a planet when they arrive if they choose to put GoldenCasino.com? Or better yet - how about I patent the idea that people who streak should only be allowed to do so when wearing an online casino ad?

I hope the USPTO smartens up and says you can't patent advertising - if so, then any ad that uses silhouettes can be sued by Apple, which might make up for their upcoming loss of logo in iTunes.

Google employees' wireless patents published | Tech News on ZDNet

Update: here's a link to the original post but I do want to state for the record that I'm NOT against the concept - I'm simply against its patentability. I personally look forward to having ads and content that are specific to me, provided they are done in an unobtrusive manner. They have the information already - I would rather they say "Did you like our last recommendation?" rather than "try product x" - when I've already got it.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Blogs and RSS come to Microsoft.com

MS has just introduced their portal and it's pretty comprehensive. Nothing quite like learning that some people use AIM instead of MSN messenger, or that there really may be a need for supporting 4 monitors ( Cyrus Complains ) However, it's really a great sign that MS is serious about supporting the blogging community which seems to have um, exploded in size in the past year. Blogs and RSS come to Microsoft.com

FoxInCloud Stats

FoxInCloud sent this link a while back about their statistics regarding visits to their site: http://foxincloud.com/blog/2017/12/27/VFP-community-lessons-from-foxincloud-site.html What's interesting here is the breakdown of people. Yes, I think it's understandable that the Fox community is getting older. Another factor is the growth of the mobile and web environments taking over development. These environments really do push people towards the newer non-SQL or free SQL/hosted environments but more towards hosted storage options like Amazon and Google. A tool like FoxInCloud that helps MOVE existing applications to the cloud inherently competes with those environments. But FoxInCloud also allows developers to extend their application further by giving them a starting point using Javascript and the basic CSS (such as Bootstrap). If you're not rebuilding your application from scratch, it's certainly a great step forward. FoxPro VFP

Facebook Revolt - imeem alternatives?

When Scoble noted how Facebook under major revolt , I immediately thought of a site I found yesterday. The value offered by Facebook's feeds however do seem very cool - if only they had been smart and made them opt-in, instead of opt-out. I have been impressed though with Facebook's opening of their API's - they certainly get it that they need to open it up to developers. I haven't really explored this other site, beyond my first look. In some ways, I think the whole social networking site thing is just silly , but this site (imeem) definitely showed some value. I could find music (as posted by the artist), it worked in Firefox and it allowed people to rank, add to delicious and more. And when I'm looking at someone, I can see what they're up to (or rather what they allow us to see). Anyways, you may want to check it out.