Amiga.org
Amiga computer related discussion => General chat about Amiga topics => Topic started by: Matt_H on May 14, 2010, 05:13:13 PM
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I've only quickly scanned this, but hooray for our favorite computer :)
http://www.groklaw.net/article.php?story=20100513121121635
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How far ahead was the Amiga? It can be used in 2010 to prove that it was the innovator, not some patent squatting troll trying to hold back an open source solution that can benefit many.
If they lost Red Hat/Novell would have had to remove the "infringing" technologies. That would have sucked.
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:uzi:
"Waste that patent troll!"
From what I can see, they patented the desktop windows... intuition to us.
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awesome :)
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it seems Acacia did not get the message, when Microsoft trampled their ass in court. (2007)
IP Innovations is a SUBSIDIARY of Acacia.
no doubt an appeal will happen :(
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The one thing that bothers me about the article, though, is the way the author talks about the Amiga like it's some ancient relic from eons ago:
one of the first comments mentioned the Amiga. I kid you not
...resulted in someone coming forward with a *working* Amiga, believe it or not...
I'll bet the lawyers on the other side never in a million years thought they'd have to deal with a working Amiga (emphasis mine)
Come on... an electronic device that still works after 25 years is not that unbelievable!
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if you are coming from the PC world.. yeah, it is :)
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if you are coming from the PC world.. yeah, it is :)
How many pcs have capacitors burning out because they are the wrong way around, or batteries puking their guts onto the motherboard, or wirewrap timing fixes, etc. etc. etc.
oh, wait actually I've seen all that myself, never mind. The oldest pc I have is a commodore pentium from 1995 or 96? still works fine :)
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The oldest PC I'm aware of still working belongs to one of my customers, it's a server running SCO OpenServer 5 and has a Pentium Pro processor, so 1995 at the earliest.
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The one thing that bothers me about the article, though, is the way the author talks about the Amiga like it's some ancient relic from eons ago:
Come on... an electronic device that still works after 25 years is not that unbelievable!
Definitely. It was a little disturbing to see so much shock over vintage hardware. That's run-of-the-mill stuff in these parts... and nothing compared to the C64 and Apple II crowd!
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(http://www.steamcrow.com/image/cache/poison_troll_kill_brn-400x400.jpg)
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(http://www.steamcrow.com/image/cache/poison_troll_kill_brn-400x400.jpg)
But can you patent it? :)
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Time has a funny effect on people who were blinkered, they forget all the true innovations that happened and only remember crap like Windows.
I wouldn't mind a précis as to what exactly we 'won'? WIMP? Specifics about windowing? Because Mac and GEM were around in 1984 and 85 respectively too.
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Nice that "Only Amiga" returns with new meaning.
Plaz
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Is "User Interface with Multiple Workspaces for Sharing Display System Objects" what I think it is? i.e. - A window that can have the same icons as another window? or I am not understanding this correctly?
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I wish this article would explain what the initial case was about. It just talks about the result of the case. I can sort of see that it involves windows switching or something, but a simple summary of exactly what patent was being contested would help.
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great news. I guess they owe us one.
Glad they remembered us.
Maybe Amiga can help defeat other patent trolls:
http://www.post-issue.org/
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How many pcs have capacitors burning out because they are the wrong way around, or batteries puking their guts onto the motherboard, or wirewrap timing fixes, etc. etc. etc.
oh, wait actually I've seen all that myself, never mind. The oldest pc I have is a commodore pentium from 1995 or 96? still works fine :)
this is true. I guess we just get used to peecee's being cycled through and discarded.
Its funny because I have an old laptop that had windows 98 on it, when a friend gave it to me. The screen is getting a bit fuzzy and there's some sort of issue with the one USB port in the back, but otherwise it works great
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This article was a nice read.
I think people have gotten too used to hardware that fails in a few years. No wonder people are surprised to see a 25 year old machine up and running :-o
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C64 here still in good health - 27th birthday is in a couple of days. So what's the fuzz?
Darl's completely nuts anyway... Oh wait, he got sacked last year - but the rest ain't any better. :smack:
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I think comparing how many original ST's (with no internal drive or TV RF modulator) or original 1984 Apple Macs are still working is a better way of looking at it than IBM PC-XTs. Both those machines are unique in a way and could have been kept alive with parts from the next model down. I think however A1000 owners are just that bit more passionate about keeping their machines alive than the equivalent Atari ST/Mac classic owner.
1. PCs of that era were only business machines.
2. The PC-AT purchased to replace the XT had 100% identical functionality so made the original redundant.
In todays world of Xbox 360 struggling to make it to 12 months use (and stupid fan boys on their 3rd console which they purchased from their own monies!) yes it seems incredible that such machines should work.
However in my summer house there is both a 1979 Atari VCS and a 1980 Commodore VIC-20 (serial number in early 3 digits) working flawlessly so for me it is no surprise. And even if one of them should fail I would fix it because a working C64 or Amiga is no replacement for a VIC-20 :) But then some models of PET are extremely rare because they had no love and were junked by the owning business when they started to play up. Sad but true :(
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In todays world of Xbox 360 struggling to make it to 12 months use (and stupid fan boys on their 3rd console which they purchased from their own monies!) yes it seems incredible that such machines should work.
One of my friends keep raving about how awesome his 360 is.. and he is on his third.
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Imagine if Xerox or their IP purchaser, Apple, tried to put out a retrospective IP Inovation claim for WIMPs.
Atari
Amiga
x86 Windows
X11
Linux and Open GUIs
Even c64 GEOs
Would all be potential targets.
But as Apple already make "passive" claim for the first "true" Personal Computer: The Apple (Apple 1 is the retrospective naming), the above is possibly moot.
BTW: it was released on "April 1st" 1976. (And we're still waiting for the punchline from Job's?)
As it was, the Apple(1) was a Kit so from an innovation perspective of a usable Personal Computer product they miss the IP boat. Back then such devices were called "Micro Computers"
It was the Commodore Pet in 1977 that was the first complete (Keyboard, base unit, monitor) micro computer for the public consumer. It was produced and marketed as a PC. Closely followed by the Apple II.
So who actualy owns the Commodore name and the IP potential to the inovation of an actual marketed product that includes a Monitor, baseunit and keyboard for personal use.?
Of course the final logical step in this possible line of legal precedent would be Charles Babbage's decendents claim.
It's a never ending story.
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And a nice counter claim on behalf of KS/WB for a multitasking GUI on a desktop computer, that is the sole property of Amiga :)
Copyright is just a dirty tin of worms anywhere in the digital world. We're not going to make it to the Star Trek age of warp drive starships with all this copyright bullshit going on!
edit: And perhaps everyone still making a GUI OS should then have to refund all profits ever made and hand the lot over to Egypt. After all those are the inventors of iconic symbolism no? Hieroglyphics after all are not art they are a system of communication (unlike cave paintings which are just art). :)
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Imagine if Xerox or their IP purchaser, Apple, tried to put out a retrospective IP Inovation claim for WIMPs.
Atari
Amiga
x86 Windows
X11
Linux and Open GUIs
Even c64 GEOs
Would all be potential targets.
But as Apple already make "passive" claim for the first "true" Personal Computer: The Apple (Apple 1 is the retrospective naming), the above is possibly moot.
BTW: it was released on "April 1st" 1976. (And we're still waiting for the punchline from Job's?)
As it was, the Apple(1) was a Kit so from an innovation perspective of a usable Personal Computer product they miss the IP boat. Back then such devices were called "Micro Computers"
It was the Commodore Pet in 1977 that was the first complete (Keyboard, base unit, monitor) micro computer for the public consumer. It was produced and marketed as a PC. Closely followed by the Apple II.
So who actualy owns the Commodore name and the IP potential to the inovation of an actual marketed product that includes a Monitor, baseunit and keyboard for personal use.?
Of course the final logical step in this possible line of legal precedent would be Charles Babbage's decendents claim.
It's a never ending story.
I don't know if the claim about the Apple 1 is correct, as S100 and SS50 bus computers were available at around the same time.
Fully assembled computers? The PET and the TRS-80 Model 1 both raced each other to market, but I think you're right, the PET did make it first (of course the Model 1 sold a lot more units).
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So who actualy owns the Commodore name and the IP potential to the inovation of an actual marketed product that includes a Monitor, baseunit and keyboard for personal use.?
There is no IP potential in there, Even if they had a patent, it would have expired. But there was too much prior art even at that point.
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I've only quickly scanned this, but hooray for our favorite computer :)
http://www.groklaw.net/article.php?story=20100513121121635
Hi,
I must be really getting old, what I take as a common every day event (ie turning on my Amiga) you younger generation types are amazed at the Amiga computer lasting so long and doing the things that it does. Makes me feel like old grandpa smerf.
smerf