TidBITS#878/07-May-07
=====================
Issue link: <http://db.tidbits.com/issue/878>
The personal blog of Steve Jobs - that would be Apple's Web site -
saw its second entry last week, an open letter about the company's
environmental practices that appears to be a response to a
Greenpeace campaign. Adam examines what Jobs wrote and the role that
PR spin can play when it comes to environmental protection. He also
contemplates audio-enhanced swim training with the SwimMan
waterproof iPod shuffle, and looks at an egregious case of patent
insanity whose solution might lie in the depths of Mac history.
Elsewhere in this issue, Glenn Fleishman sees a promising future in
connecting to public wireless hotspots thanks to Devicescape, and we
note the releases of QuickTime 7.1.6, AirPort Extreme Update
2007-003, and Security Update 2007-004 v1.1.
Articles
QuickTime, AirPort, Security Updates Released
SwimMan Waterproofs the iPod shuffle
Steve Jobs Talks Green
Devicescape Aims to Ease Wi-Fi Hot Spot Connection Pain
Busting the Disc Link CD-ROM Patent
Take Control News/07-May-07
Hot Topics in TidBITS Talk/07-May-07
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QuickTime, AirPort, Security Updates Released
---------------------------------------------
by Jeff Carlson <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
article link: <http://db.tidbits.com/article/8975>
Responding to a security flaw discovered two weeks ago (see "Money
Meets Mouth on Mac Exploits," 2007-04-23), Apple has released
QuickTime 7.1.6 for Mac (43.6 MB) and Windows (19.1 MB), available
as stand-alone downloads or via Software Update. The update patches
a flaw in QuickTime for Java that could enable a maliciously crafted
Web page to gain access to a computer. QuickTime 7.1.6 also adds the
capability to display timecode and closed captioning in QuickTime
Player, adds support on the Mac for the upcoming Final Cut Studio 2,
and fixes unspecified bugs.
<http://db.tidbits.com/article/8957>
<http://www.apple.com/support/downloads/quicktime716formac.html>
<http://www.apple.com/support/downloads/quicktime716forwindows.html>
<http://www.apple.com/finalcutstudio/>
AirPort Extreme Update 2007-003 is a release for Intel-based Macs
that "includes compatibility updates for certain third-party access
points configured to use WPA or WPA2 security." It's a 3 MB
download, and is also available via Software Update.
<http://www.apple.com/support/downloads/airportextremeupdate2007003.html>
Apple also released Security Update 2007-004 v1.1 for Intel-based
Macs (15.7 MB), PowerPC-based Macs (9.1 MB) and Macs running Mac OS
X 10.3.9 (36.7 MB). According to Apple, this update includes the
contents of Security Update 2007-004, which arrived a couple of
weeks ago (see "Security Update 2007-004 Released," 2007-04-23), but
also delivers two specific fixes. An AirPort update corrects a
glitch under Mac OS X 10.3.9 that appeared with the last security
update, and an FTPServer update fixes problems with FTP under Mac OS
X Server 10.4.9.
<http://www.apple.com/support/downloads/securityupdate2007004v11universal.html>
<http://www.apple.com/support/downloads/securityupdate2007004v11ppc.html>
<http://www.apple.com/support/downloads/securityupdate2007004v111039client.html>
<http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=305445>
<http://db.tidbits.com/article/8958>
SwimMan Waterproofs the iPod shuffle
------------------------------------
by Adam C. Engst <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
article link: <http://db.tidbits.com/article/8977>
Although I run regularly and enjoy splashing around in our pond, I'm
a thoroughly mediocre swimmer. The summer after my freshman year of
Cornell, when I was 18, I did lap swimming several times a week with
a friend who worked with my mother. At 36, Anne was twice as old as
I was, and having been the Alaska state backstroke champion, she was
also twice as fast. She could swim a mile in 30 minutes at lunch
while I flailed hard to cover half that distance.
I've never done lap swimming since, because you can't have
conversations with friends while doing it, and also because looking
at the bottom of a blue pool for 30 minutes while trying not to
inhale chlorinated water simply doesn't give me a rush like running
through wooded trails. But I'm contemplating a triathlon next year,
when I turn 40, so some lap training in the pond might be in order,
and an iPod could help while away the repetitive back-and-forth
time. I haven't tried this yet, since the pond is still good only
for cryotherapy.
<http://www.tidbits.com/resources/2007-05/Adam-in-cryo.jpg>
"But but but," you sputter, "you can't swim with an iPod!" Ah, but
it turns out you can, thanks to a company called SwimMan, which
sells waterproofed second-generation iPod shuffles ($150) and
waterproof headsets ($100), separately or in a bundle ($250). If you
already own a second-generation iPod shuffle, you can send it to
SwimMan and have it waterproofed for $75. SwimMan claims that a
waterproofed iPod shuffle looks and works exactly like a normal one,
but since the waterproofing is entirely on the inside of the case,
the On/Off button and the Shuffle button will be rendered
inoperative, and the other buttons will be a bit stiffer. The
company says you can replicate the function of the on/off button by
pressing the center button for On and disconnecting the headphones
for Off; the Shuffle button's functionality can reportedly be
controlled from iTunes when the iPod is connected to your computer.
<http://www.swimman.com/main.html>
Steve Jobs Talks Green
----------------------
by Adam C. Engst <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
article link: <http://db.tidbits.com/article/8974>
Steve Jobs has done it again, posting an open letter on the Apple
Web site. The previous "Thoughts on Music" letter generated much
discussion and coverage of Apple (see "Steve Jobs Blasts DRM,"
2007-02-12), and foreshadowed the Apple/EMI deal to drop DRM that
followed shortly afterwards (which we covered in "Apple and EMI
Offer DRM-Free Music via iTunes," 2007-04-02).
<http://www.apple.com/hotnews/thoughtsonmusic/>
<http://db.tidbits.com/article/8856>
<http://db.tidbits.com/article/8937>
In "A Greener Apple," Jobs turns his attention to the criticism that
Apple has received from environmental groups - most notably
Greenpeace - regarding Apple's manufacturing and recycling
practices. In it, he runs down what Apple is doing to reduce or
eliminate toxic chemicals from the manufacturing process and then
explains Apple's recycling programs. In a departure from the norm,
he also discusses Apple's goals for the future with regard to
further reductions in toxic manufacturing chemicals and increased
recycling efforts.
<http://www.apple.com/hotnews/agreenerapple/>
Greenpeace's Green Electronics Guide and accompanying Green My Apple
campaign have garnered a great deal of media attention, and the
organization's sometimes-confrontational tactics at Macintosh
conferences has been a source of, well, more media coverage.
Although Greenpeace may have other data, my impression from talking
with Mac users is that Greenpeace's tactics have generally worked
more to polarize than to persuade, with diehard environmental
activists becoming all the more vocal about Apple's ills and
longtime Mac users rising to defend the company (as they've become
accustomed to doing in response to criticism from PC users for so
many years).
<http://www.greenpeace.org/international/campaigns/toxics/electronics/how-the-companies-line-up>
<http://www.greenpeace.org/apple/>
<http://emperor.tidbits.com/TidBITS/Talk/996/>
Adding confusion to the situation is the fact that neither
Greenpeace nor Apple is necessarily motivated by the most noble of
principles, despite what both say. And oddly, much of Greenpeace's
complaint and Apple's response revolve not so much around what is
being done in the here and now, but what will or should be done. Put
another way, it's largely a war of words, of plans, and of policies.
**Orthogonal Motivations** -- An entirely rational outside observer
might say that Greenpeace is acting in line with traditional
environmental principles in its attempts to reduce toxic chemical
usage and encourage increased recycling. I don't think anyone
questions that Greenpeace does have that as the overall goal. But it
also feels as though Greenpeace is targeting Apple not because Apple
is necessarily worse than other, much larger companies, but because
anything surrounding Apple generates media attention and
controversy, and that attention is good for Greenpeace's ultimate
goal. Therein, I think, lies the reason why many Mac users have
reacted so defensively to Greenpeace's attacks; it seems as though
Greenpeace is specifically targeting Apple for other-than-stated
reasons.
Apple isn't entirely free of culpability here either. As much as
Apple fans sometimes lose track of this fact, Apple is a public
company, and a big one at that. Above all else, Apple's loyalties
lie with serving its shareholders by improving the bottom line.
There's no question that many of the individuals who make up the
company believe strongly in the goals of the environmental movement,
but Apple as a company will always put the health of the company
before the health of the environment.
That doesn't mean that Apple as a company gives no thought to the
environmental impact of its actions, nor does it mean that Apple
will always take the cheapest approach, regardless of impact. That's
because Apple, much more so than companies like HP or Dell, lives
and dies by its public image. Buying an iPod, and even a Mac these
days, is considered cool, and any tarnish on Apple's highly polished
brand could drastically hurt the company's fortunes. Thus, Apple
must play a balancing act between trying to produce goods as cheaply
as possible to bolster the bottom line and spending more to protect
the environment and the company's reputation.
**He Said/She Said** -- When you read Greenpeace's rating of Apple,
the latest version of which predates Jobs's letter, the most
striking aspect is how many of the scores are based not on any
quantitative measurement, much less on one that would be verifiable
by an independent auditor, but on what the company has said it will
do. Greenpeace was concerned that Apple hadn't previously given a
timeline for the elimination of brominated flame retardants and
polyvinyl chloride, that Apple's published definition of the
Precautionary Principle didn't meet Greenpeace's standards, that
Apple hasn't described its approach to "Individual Producer
Responsibility" sufficiently explicitly, and so on.
What I find troubling about this approach is that, speaking as a
writer, words are cheap. A company can say anything it wants.
Realistically, how many people will notice if, several years down
the road, those promises don't come to pass? Heck, we (at least the
cynical or realistic among us) assume that many promises made by
politicians during their campaigns will never be fulfilled.
Greenpeace itself might notice, assuming this thrust to reduce
pollution from the electronics industry continues for the next few
years. To continue down the cynical track, a clever company could
essentially play with its public statements to spin the situation in
its favor. Or, worse, the company could simply lie, saying it was
meeting certain standards without actually doing so. In today's
Internet, keeping that lie going might be harder than in the past,
but there are certainly plenty of instances of companies sweeping
inconvenient facts under the rug.
I am by no means accusing Apple of having done this in the past, nor
am I suspecting that Apple will do so in the future. In general, I
tend to believe that Apple is a pretty good corporate citizen,
despite the company's now-famous level of secrecy. But such
corporate slipperiness has happened before at other companies and
certainly could happen again, and I worry that even Greenpeace's
well-meaning scorecard could be subverted in this way. Perhaps the
situation is simply too complicated, but I'd prefer to see an
approach that would provide quantitative rankings that could be
objectively and independently verified.
In the meantime, though, I'm pleased to see Apple deviating from
tradition and being more forthcoming about the company's current
reality and future plans regarding manufacturing and recycling
practices. Particularly interesting will be Greenpeace's next
scorecard. Apple is currently dead last, with only 2.7 points out of
10, although the main page for the Green My Apple campaign now
features an interactive Flash animation that, when you mouse over
the appropriate spot, claims a "preliminary calculation" of 5
points. (The fact that a public letter on a Web site could change a
company's environmental ranking in a significant way supports my
claim that it's all about rhetoric.) The main criticism Greenpeace
has made in the wake of Jobs's letter is that Apple's recycling
program operates only in the United States. However, Jobs claims
that it operates in countries that account for more than 82 percent
of all Macs and iPods sold.
<http://www.greenpeace.org/usa/news/tastygreenapple>
Let me leave you with what I felt were the two most interesting
details in Jobs's letter. First, for the Apple product watchers, he
said that Apple plans to introduce the first Macs with LED-backlit
displays in 2007, and the speculation is already rampant as to which
product will include such a display first. From the usability
standpoint, of course, it's mostly a detail; I don't care much about
how my LCD screen is backlit, just that it is, although if switching
to LED-based backlighting results in reduced power consumption and
increased battery life on laptops, I'm all for it. Second, while the
entire letter is a textbook exercise in controlling the PR message,
there's an unusual sentence at the end, something you won't often
hear from Apple: "We apologize for leaving you in the dark for this
long."
Devicescape Aims to Ease Wi-Fi Hot Spot Connection Pain
-------------------------------------------------------
by Glenn Fleishman <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
article link: <http://db.tidbits.com/article/8931>
I tire of hitting gateway pages at Wi-Fi hot spots that ask me to
enter account information I've already set up. Shouldn't there be a
simpler way than what feels like a 1995 interface - you know, maybe
some software that makes the connection easier? Devicescape has my
number: Their eponymous Devicescape software and ecosystem lets your
Mac connect with less tedium to Wi-Fi networks at which you have
accounts. But there's a lot more to their approach.
<http://www.devicescape.com/>
<http://www.devicescape.com/download/>
Boingo Wireless has long offered a software client for Wi-Fi network
connection, although it came to Mac OS X several years after its
introduction for Windows. Boingo aggregates many different hot spot
networks worldwide and repackages 60,000 combined locations for a
uniform per-session price (usually $8) or a flat monthly rate of $22
for unlimited access at North American locations and negotiated
metered access in most of the rest of the world. Their client
software recognizes Boingo partners and connects you with a single
menu selection or automatically. (Boingo doesn't yet support Macs
with Intel Core 2 Duo processors.)
<http://boingo.com/>
<http://boingo.com/download_mac.html>
Devicescape has thrown out a rather larger net that aims to catch
every possible piece of electronics that might want to make a Wi-Fi
network connection. (Don't count Boingo out, however; more on that
in a moment.)
**Browser-less Devices, Frustration-free Connections** -- Devicescape
wants to make it simple for mobile devices to hop onto Wi-Fi
networks without that tedious entry of user name and password, made
even more tedious by the lack of an interface or a Web browser on
most handheld devices. Devicescape sees a world full of
Wi-Fi-enabled phones, cameras, game consoles, PDAs, and other
devices that don't even exist yet, and a world of frustration in
connecting.
I share this frustration. I've tried some early Wi-Fi phones and
music devices, and the pain in entering WPA network keys or logging
onto hot spot networks - especially open networks that require a
click-through on a Web page to agree to the terms of service - show
me that there's no way average users will make it past the first
steps.
Connecting to a public Wi-Fi hot spot almost always involves a
gateway page that intercepts your attempt to reach the Internet via
a Web browser. Until you go through the gateway page in your Web
browser, no other application can access the Internet. That gateway
page is a login screen to which your browser is redirected and on
which you enter account information, if you have it, or payment
details if a fee is required, or sometimes just agreement to terms
of service. If you don't have a Web browser embedded in the device
you're using, you can't get to the login page; if you have a
browser, and you're using a mobile device, it might be cumbersome to
navigate and enter appropriate details.
Devicescape's software and system go even further than just getting
rid of hassle. The idea of one person, one account seems antiquated
to them, when you might wind up with (or may already be carrying)
several devices of varying sorts that each might need unique network
access. In that device-centric approach, you might have a single
overarching account with a network, and then a profile that lists
all your associated devices under that account. Why would anyone pay
$20 to $40 per month per device for unlimited Wi-Fi on for-fee
networks? That adds up fast. In the Devicescape model, you might pay
a small amount per month for each device or its usage, making
networks affordable to use, while still profitable for the hot spot
or network operators. (A not-so-big secret in the services world is
that managing accounts, presenting bills to users, and collecting
payment costs as much as $10 to $20 per month; additional services
added to existing accounts are gravy beyond the overhead of the
service itself.)
In Devicescape's outlook, you store all your authentication
information, such as a user name and password or other tokens that a
network might employ, on an account that you maintain via their Web
site. You then use devices that have Devicescape software embedded.
You pair these devices with your account in some simple manner, and
then, when you roam, these devices communicate with Devicescape's
servers through a secured means to retrieve your account information
and log your device onto a hot spot network.
**Embedding the Software** -- There are a lot of stumbling blocks for
Devicescape, which makes it all the more impressive how they have
wired together their beta test so that it works.
The first stumbling block is getting software on so-called embedded
operating system (OS) platforms. An embedded OS is what powers a
piece of electronics that's not designed to be a general-purpose
computer. Typically, it's a stripped-down or optimized version or
offshoot of a larger OS, like Windows Mobile/Pocket PC or Linux - or
an OS designed from the ground up, like those from VxWorks.
<http://www.microsoft.com/windowsmobile/pocketpc/>
<http://www.linuxdevices.com/>
<http://www.windriver.com/vxworks/>
Devices that used embedded platforms are often closed to additional
software, even if the platform they use supports third-party
development. These closed devices require close cooperation with the
maker of a device if you want to get your software into their
product. Apple's iPhone leaps to mind. The iPhone isn't unusual in
the larger device world, but it is strange in the smartphone
segment, in which the major platforms like Symbian, Windows Mobile,
and Palm OS allow arbitrary third-party-developed software to be
installed by end users.
<http://www.apple.com/iphone/>
<http://www.symbian.com/symbianos/>
<http://www.palm.com/>
It's the true gadgets that are hard nuts to crack. Devicescape has a
proof-of-concept package with the Linksys WIP300 Wireless-G IP
Phone, an expensive wireless IP phone designed for
metropolitan-scale Wi-Fi network service providers to resell. This
is the only closed mobile device for which Devicescape currently
provides embedded software. To make real inroads in this market,
Devicescape will have to form partnerships with companies like
Nintendo, Kodak, and Nokia to get the Devicescape software
pre-installed.
<http://www.linksys.com/servlet/Satellite?c=L_Product_C2&childpagename=US%2FLayout&cid=1139845857386&packedargs=site%3DUS&pagename=Linksys%2FCommon%2FVisitorWrapper>
In these early stages, Devicescape's software works on a handful of
handheld devices, including Windows Mobile 5 smartphones and some
Nokia tablets. They've also released software for computer operating
systems, adding Mac OS X and Windows Vista support to existing
Windows XP releases.
<http://www.devicescape.com/learnmore/devices.php>
Smartphone users are a great audience, because they will be able to
install Devicescape's software directly, but smartphone users may
also be bound to existing Wi-Fi networks run by their cellular
providers through bundled deals, like T-Mobile HotSpot or AT&T
Wi-Fi.
<http://hotspot.t-mobile.com/>
<http://www.att.com/gen/general?pid=5949>
**Sneaking onto the Network** -- The next nut to crack is the hot spot
networks. Devicescape currently supports or is testing support for
accounts that you may already have on a large array of major
networks, including the two just mentioned, the grassroots network
Fon, the major U.S. operator Wayport, the UK giant The Cloud, and
several others.
<http://www.devicescape.com/learnmore/services.php>
Devicescape makes an interesting end run around the fact that they
don't have formal partnerships with these networks. When I was first
briefed by the company in December 2006, I asked, "If you don't have
a relationship with a network, how do you get the software on your
device to communicate over the Internet with your servers to
retrieve the authentication information that logs that user's device
in?"
They hemmed and hawed, but I figured out what their trick was, and
they confirmed it; it's not illegitimate, just clever. They use DNS,
the method by which any Internet-connected computer turns
human-readable domain names into IP addresses. Hot spot networks
block nearly all Internet traffic, but they do pass DNS queries to
decentralized DNS servers, and thus Devicescape can pass small
amounts of encrypted data back as a response from the DNS server.
(At least two software packages exist that let you tunnel traffic
via DNS queries to bypass this approach to access control!)
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domain_name_system>
<http://thomer.com/howtos/nstx.html>
**Many Networks, How Many Accounts?** The final issue is the
heterogeneity of hot spot networks, something Devicescape can't
control. There are now hundreds of thousands of Wi-Fi hot spots in
the world, a good majority available on a for-fee basis. To use any
arbitrary hot spot, you typically have to pay a walk-up rate or be a
subscriber, paying recurring monthly fees that often come with a
term commitment. Free hot spots have lower or no bars to usage; the
highest bar might be viewing an advertisement or clicking on a usage
agreement to gain access - something often difficult or impossible
on a mobile device.
This melange of networks means that users can't always predict where
they will have access, nor what it might cost. Devicescape has the
notion that by centralizing your account information on their
servers they could aggregate access to networks and sell you
discounted access without you re-entering credit card information at
the network venue - the transaction would happen between their
servers (where you'd stored payment information) and the hot spot
network, reducing friction in gaining access in a strange location.
One scenario: You're on vacation and want to upload photos from your
Wi-Fi capable camera. You fire up the camera, which has Devicescape
software installed, use arrows and a select button to choose "Find a
network," and then select "Pay $3 for 24 hours access" to use the
network. Easy as pie, perhaps.
Another is the "obscene calling rate" problem: Your plane lands in
London, and you find you have a five-hour layover. Making a call
with your cell phone would cost $2.35 per minute or something
equally insane. But with Skype and a Wi-Fi-enabled handheld, it's
just $0.02 per minute. You bring up the Devicescape software on the
handheld, accept an 8 euro charge - seemingly cheap compared to the
metered phone rates - and Bob's your uncle. Rather, Bob's on the
other end of the line, hearing you clearly.
**Devicescape and the Competitive Landscape** -- Devicescape will face
competition, of course. Boingo has already entered the fray with
their Boingo Mobile option, a new direction for the company that
offers voice over IP (VoIP) access with Wi-Fi IP phones over their
worldwide aggregated network for $8 per month. Where Boingo's laptop
access runs $22 per month for unlimited service in North America,
most locations elsewhere in the world charge a metered rate for
access by computer. The Boingo Mobile plan, by contrast, includes
all voice usage in every supported location for that one $8 per
month rate. (Not all Boingo laptop locations are included in their
mobile plan yet, but they're working on it.)
<http://mobile.boingo.com/>
Skype has worked with many handset makers to embed their software in
Wi-Fi and cordless IP phones, and they also work with Boingo. I've
tested an early phone from Belkin that combines Skype calling with
Boingo service. You pay $200 for the phone and $8 per month for
unlimited Boingo calling. (Skype charges nothing for intra-network
calls, $30 per year for unlimited calls to numbers in the United
States and Canada, and $38 per year for unlimited incoming calls to
a "real" phone number; this includes voicemail.)
<http://www.belkin.com/skype/howitworks/>
<http://www.skype.com/products/skypeout/>
<http://www.skype.com/products/skypein/>
The ultimate result of Devicescape's approach and the simultaneous
emergence of cooperating partners and competing firms will be that
it should become ever easier for these new devices with their fancy
high-speed wireless adapters to, you know, actually do something.
I can't tell you the frustration I experienced when I read that
Microsoft's Zune had Wi-Fi - but couldn't connect to Wi-Fi networks,
download music over Wi-Fi, or even synchronize over Wi-Fi (see "Zune
Doom," 2006-11-13). Apple is poised to force on us the same
limitations for music (not Web browsing or email) and syncing with
the iPhone (see "iQuestion the iPhone," 2007-01-22). Devicescape
wants to make sure that those crimes against technology don't become
the norm.
<http://db.tidbits.com/article/8750>
<http://db.tidbits.com/article/8822>
Busting the Disc Link CD-ROM Patent
-----------------------------------
by Adam C. Engst <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
article link: <http://db.tidbits.com/article/8976>
As the last president of the now-extinct Info-Mac Network, I have
several times in the last few years received requests from lawyers
or their staffs for certain CD-ROMs, originally produced by a
company called Pacific HiTech, containing snapshot copies of the
Info-Mac Archive at various points in its history. (There were eight
of these CD-ROMs, the first created in August 1992, the last in May
1996; TidBITS noted the first in "Internet CD-ROMs" 1992-10-19, and
published a fairly extensive and historically quite interesting
review of the second one in "Info-Mac CD-ROM II: The Monster
Archive," 1993-07-05.) I don't have any of those CD-ROMs, but
TidBITS Contributing Editor Matt Neuburg, an inveterate collector,
has the complete set, and he has on several occasions provided the
lawyers a copy of a particular CD in which they were especially
interested, namely Info-Mac CD-ROM III, from January 1994.
<http://db.tidbits.com/article/2872>
<http://db.tidbits.com/article/2516>
We have of course been curious about why these lawyers wanted this
CD. We knew it had something to do with the presence of hyperlinks
in documents on the CD; those hyperlinks are there because the CD
contains, among other things, the ReadMe for Chuck Shotton's Web
server MacHTTP, which itself is an HTML document, as well as some
issues of the Trincoll Journal, a Web-based magazine. These
documents date from the very beginnings of the Web (HTML itself was
invented about 1990, and the earliest Web browsers, such as NCSA
Mosaic, were released in 1993), and thus this particular CD is one
of the earliest known to contain a hyperlinked document. But the
lawyers have always been circumspect about the exact details, merely
saying that they wanted the CD in order to defend against a spurious
patent, and never identifying the client or acknowledging that a
lawsuit had been filed. Attorney-client privilege and all that.
Thanks to a recent Information Week article, we've finally learned
what's going on. A patent infringement lawsuit was filed in April
against a number of companies, including Avid Technology, Borland,
Corel, Eastman Kodak, EMC, Novell, Oracle, and SAP, among others, by
a company called Disc Link.
<http://www.informationweek.com/internet/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=199100199>
<http://dockets.justia.com/docket/court-txedce/case_no-5:2007cv00058/case_id-102385/>
The lawsuit claims that these companies are infringing U.S. patent
6,314,574, which describes an "information distribution system." The
description is in nearly incomprehensible legalese - here's the
abstract:
"An information distribution system encodes a first set of digital
data on a plurality of portable read-only storage devices.
Additional information is stored in a database that is accessible by
using a bi-directional channel. The first set of digital data
contains a plurality of special displayable terms, a first
non-displayable symbol, a plurality of linkage references, and a
second non-displayable symbol. A user can select at least one
special displayable term. The linking reference associated with the
selected special displayable term is sent to the database via the
bi-directional channel. The database uses the linking reference to
search for information, and returns the resulting information to the
user."
If you're a masochist with time on your hands, you can read the rest
yourself at FreePatentsOnline. The translation would seem to be that
the patent describes the use of hyperlinks to network-based
resources from files or programs distributed on CD-ROM. Oddly, when
you get down to the diagrams and the part of the patent that
resembles English, the examples involve a satellite-based system for
distributing newspaper content.
<http://www.freepatentsonline.com/6314574.html>
**Making Connections** -- Disc Link turns out to be a subsidiary of
Acacia Research, a company that buys up existing patents in order to
make money licensing the technology. According to critics of the
company, Acacia Research has developed a reputation as a "patent
troll," meaning that their approach to licensing revolves around
suing companies who will agree to a licensing deal instead of
suffering through a long and expensive court battle.
<http://www.acaciaresearch.com/>
<http://www.eff.org/patent/wanted/patent.php?p=acacia>
The inventor listed in the patent is a Dr. Hark Chan, an engineer
and lawyer who has been granted a number of information technology
patents, at least some of which have been purchased by Acacia
Research. One of those patents - possibly this very same one - was
used in a 2003 case surrounding updating a CD-ROM-based database
over the Web. But Dr. Chan isn't just an engineer who has sold
patents to Acacia Research; according to the Web site of a company
called TechSearch, he's a member of their Board of Advisers. And
although TechSearch describes itself as "a private company primarily
engaged in the business of purchasing, owning and
licensing/enforcing patents," if you click the Homepage link on the
TechSearch Web site, you go to... Acacia Research's Web site. It
would seem that both Disc Link and TechSearch are essentially fronts
for Acacia.
<http://www.techsearch-llc.com/board/chan.html>
<http://www.interesting-people.org/archives/interesting-people/200311/msg00020.html>
This isn't even the first suit Disc Link has filed in relation to
this patent. Back in December 2006, Disc Link sued Adobe, H&R Block,
McAfee, Sage Software, and others for infringement of the same
patent. Both Sage Software and McAfee settled with Disc Link in
favor of contesting the patent in court, but other defendants are
fighting the patent. An Ars Technica article quotes H&R Block as
saying that Disc Link "sought to construe the '574 patent in an
overbroad and impermissible way to cause an anti-competitive effect"
and that Disc Link "knew of the invalidity and/or unenforceability
of the patent-at-issue when this suit was filed."
<http://dockets.justia.com/docket/court-txedce/case_no-5:2006cv00295/case_id-100564/>
<http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20070418-acacia-claims-patent-on-cd-hyperlinks-sues-for-billions.html>
**Putting the Pieces Together** -- So all becomes clear. Although this
patent was filed in November 1998, it's a "continuation" of earlier
filings that date back to April 1993; it will be up to the court to
determine how those earlier filings affect the issue of prior art.
The Info-Mac CD-ROMs are some of the earliest CD-ROMs that were
widely distributed, and they contain software from the online
Info-Mac Archive, some of which may have had programmatic or
documentation links to the Internet. Clearly, the hope is that the
Info-Mac CD-ROMs constitute prior art.
One potential problem is the software developers who submitted their
work to Info-Mac intended it to be made available at the Info-Mac
FTP site, and only contingently on the Info-Mac CD-ROMs produced by
Pacific HiTech. However, developers were certainly aware that the
Info-Mac CD-ROMs were being produced, because Pacific HiTech went to
the trouble of contacting all authors of Info-Mac materials,
explicitly requesting redistribution permission for each CD. Thus,
it is possible that intent to put such Web-linked documentation on
the CD-ROM could be proven.
We've finally touched base with a lawyer involved in the case, and
after discussions with him, it appears that there may be three ways
in which this spurious patent can be attacked with prior art,
relating to the three basic aspects of the patent: CD-ROMs,
hyperlinks, and a network.
* Finding a CD-ROM from that time period that provides hyperlinks to a
networked resource is proving a bit difficult, in part because it
was nearly 15 years ago, and CD-ROMs weren't all that common back
then. But is a CD-ROM necessary? What, conceptually speaking, is the
difference between a CD-ROM and a read-only floppy disk? Those were
common back in the early 1990s, and finding one with hyperlinks on
it might be significantly easier.
* The question of what is meant by a hyperlink would also seem
relevant. There were plenty of network-based games in those days,
and tons of network-enabled databases. Would a FileMaker database
that could communicate with a server over a network constitute prior
art? What about the FTP bookmarks that shipped with the earliest FTP
programs like Fetch from Jim Matthews and, even earlier, the
Hypercard-based HyperFTP that was written by Cornell's Doug Hornig?
* Similarly, what counts as a networked resource? Early online
services like CompuServe and AppleLink had graphical front ends that
ran on personal computers and provided links to resources available
only online. Apple even had a bug reporting program of some sort
that integrated with AppleLink, and Apple Developer Relations
shipped CDs to all Apple developers regularly during this time.
If you'd like to participate in invalidating this patent with prior
art, the holy grail is a CD-ROM that was distributed before April
1993 containing an application with links to the Internet or another
network. The links should consist of a visible portion (like the
text of a link in HTML or a menu item) and an invisible portion
(such as the hidden HREF tag in HTML, or the underlying code for a
Go to Web Site menu item in a program). Apparently, it's somewhat
better if the application is meant to be copied to the hard disk
instead of being run from the CD. If you have such a beast, let me
know and I'll make the appropriate introductions.
There is one other possible defense. In a very recent Supreme Court
ruling in another case the Court said, "Granting patent protection
to advances that would occur in the ordinary course without real
innovation retards progress and may, for patents combining
previously known elements, deprive prior inventions of their value
or utility." That's a significant point, since many of today's
software and business model patents feel wrong because they
encapsulate ideas that were in wide dissemination. Disc Link's claim
that it "invented" the concept of hyperlinks on CD-ROM certainly
doesn't deserve any protection as a unique invention - it's merely a
lumping together of commonplace ideas and technologies of the time.
Heck, thanks to my status as the author of "Internet Starter Kit for
Macintosh" around that time, I once made a presentation to the
publishers of all the Macmillan imprints proposing a CD-ROM-based
visual interface to the most interesting Internet resources.
<http://www.supremecourtus.gov/opinions/06pdf/04-1350.pdf>
No matter what, it will be fascinating to follow this court case as
all parties attempt to pull meaning from the nearly incomprehensible
patent and the claims made by Disc Link.
Take Control News/07-May-07
---------------------------
by Adam C. Engst <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
article link: <http://db.tidbits.com/article/8979>
**Learn Smart Ways to Buy Cheap Airline Tickets** -- If you're like
us, nearly every airplane trip involves hours spent searching the
Web to find a good deal, only to end up paying more than you wanted
or feeling that the money you saved wasn't worth the time and
aggravation. To avoid this problem next time, check out the updated
version of Sam Sellers's "Take Control of Booking a Cheap Airline
Ticket," a 148-page ebook that helps you efficiently navigate the
maze of travel-related sites in order to find the best deal without
wasting a lot of time.
<http://www.takecontrolbooks.com/airline-ticket.html?14@@!pt=TRK-0039-TB878-TCNEWS>
We just released version 1.1 of the ebook, which now includes
detailed information on when and how to use Farecast to book U.S.
domestic flights. Farecast, though still in beta, was rated by
Popular Science as being among the best of what's new in 2006, and
the site received similar accolades from Frommers.com, PC World,
Time Magazine, and Business Week. The ebook covers international and
domestic flights originating in the United States.
Updates are free for current owners of the ebook; click the Check
for Updates button on the first page of the ebook to access the free
update.
Hot Topics in TidBITS Talk/07-May-07
------------------------------------
by TidBITS Staff <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
article link: <http://db.tidbits.com/article/8978>
**Improving Services** -- Want to de-clutter your Services menu?
Service Scrubber will do the job for you. Have other ideas for how
Services could be improved? Post them here. (1 message)
<http://emperor.tidbits.com/TidBITS/Talk/1264/>
**Unable to empty trash** -- A reader who purchased a used Mac can't
get the Trash to empty, leading to suggestions for solving the
problem and other instances of files that refuse to go gently into
that good bin. (9 messages)
<http://emperor.tidbits.com/TidBITS/Talk/1266/>
**Step on a WEP Crack, Break Your Network** -- Troubles activating WPA
on an old AirPort Base Station branch off into questions of wireless
security and the risks involved in running an open network. (19
messages)
<http://emperor.tidbits.com/TidBITS/Talk/1267/>
**Stock Options at Apple** -- The SEC's investigation into Apple's
stock option backdating could be construed as clearing Steve Jobs,
but that isn't necessarily the last word. (2 messages)
<http://emperor.tidbits.com/TidBITS/Talk/1268/>
**Address Book/.Mac --> Outlook?** Is there an easy solution for
transferring contact data from the Mac's Address Book to Outlook? It
turns out Entourage can help. (6 messages)
<http://emperor.tidbits.com/TidBITS/Talk/1269/>
**iMac 24" as a display?** When the time comes to replace a reader's
24-inch iMac, can its beautiful display be used as an external
monitor? (3 messages)
<http://emperor.tidbits.com/TidBITS/Talk/1270/>
**Flash player install problems** -- Can logging in as root solve an
installation problem, or is that just opening up a different box of
problems? (6 messages)
<http://emperor.tidbits.com/TidBITS/Talk/1271/>
**Moving Apple Mail Folder** -- A reader's Mac still thinks the Mail
folder is in the same place after a move, so how do you point it in
the right direction? (3 messages)
<http://emperor.tidbits.com/TidBITS/Talk/1272/>
**APPLE-SA-2007-05-01 QuickTime 7.1.6** -- The latest QuickTime update
reveals an installation bug in Windows - dating back to Windows 95.
(4 messages)
<http://emperor.tidbits.com/TidBITS/Talk/1273/>
**Jobs posts about Apple's "green" credentials** -- Readers react to
last week's open letter from Steve Jobs, including discussions of
computer equipment recycling and LED-based lighting systems. (15
messages)
<http://emperor.tidbits.com/TidBITS/Talk/1275/>
**Quicken 2004 "Sunsets"** -- As of 30-Apr-07, Quicken 2004 apparently
won't perform online transactions, a limitation built into the
software. Is it a reasonable step to focus support on recent
software, an annoying way to force upgrades, or both? (5 messages)
<http://emperor.tidbits.com/TidBITS/Talk/1277/>
**Filtering in Eudora based on Mac OS X Address Book Group** -- The
latest version of Eudora can work with addresses from Address Book,
but a reader is having trouble using the group features. (3
messages)
<http://emperor.tidbits.com/TidBITS/Talk/1278/>
**Accessing Financial Web Sites on a Public Connection** -- Is Walt
Mossberg being paranoid when he recommends not accessing some Web
sites on public networks? Once again, we learn that paranoia is all
relative. (4 messages)
<http://emperor.tidbits.com/TidBITS/Talk/1279/>
$$
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