Anne P. Mitchell, Esq. <amitchell(_at_)isipp(_dot_)com> said:
They serve the
interests of their stock holders and Bill Gates... period.
Umm...bear in mind that primarily that's their job. You really can't
fault them for that. *Especially* with Sarbanes-Oxley, sharehold
suits, etc..
Absolutely!
Thus any useful participation by them in the development of a standard
supposed to be deployable by everyone is not warranted and should not be
allowed.
In addition we've now seen just how useful software patents are.
Copyrights are fine... if your algorithm is better then you can certainly
compete. Patents don't care about algorithms... they deal more with
concepts than algorithms and thus a patent on software is equivalent to
putting a lock on the water fountain or the refrigerator.
I could go on but I already know who's in the choir and who is not. I
simply want to encourage those of us who have witnessed and experienced
this process *NOT* to go hide and never say another word about it. Talk
about it... and be *LOUD* when you do it!
--
csm(_at_)moongroup(_dot_)com
Chief Tech and Bottle Washer