TidBITS#880/21-May-07
=====================
Issue link: <http://db.tidbits.com/issue/880>
The past and the present come together in this issue: we celebrate
the anniversary of Samuel Morse's historic telegraph message with a
50-percent-off Take Control sale, Jeff traces the path of the
now-stagnant FreeHand, Glenn marvels at the arrival of a 1 terabyte
hard drive mechanism, Mark is surprised to learn how dependent he's
become on his MacBook's two-fingered scrolling trackpad, and Matt
looks at how the future of Drop Drawers lies with the long-standing
DragThing. Elsewhere in the issue, Adam covers Microsoft news: the
Mac BU's release of a converter for Word 2007 documents and how the
company's legal department is going after open source with patent
threats. On the Apple side of the fence, last week saw a minor
update to the MacBook and FCC certification for the iPhone.
Articles
MacBook Receives Performance Bump
Microsoft Office Open XML File Format Converter in Beta
iPhone Receives FCC Approval
Dropping Drawers Become Dragging Things
Where No Drive Has Gone Before
DealBITS Drawing: SmileOnMyMac's PageSender
DealBITS Winners: Parallels on USB Drive from Small Dog
Call Me 'Two Finger' Mark
Farewell FreeHand
Microsoft Acting Like a Patent Troll?
Telegraphing a 50%-Off Take Control Ebook Sale
Hot Topics in TidBITS Talk/21-May-07
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MacBook Receives Performance Bump
---------------------------------
by Adam C. Engst <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
article link: <http://db.tidbits.com/article/8992>
Almost exactly a year after its initial release (see "MacBook Fills
Out Laptop Line," 2006-05-22) and six months after the last
processor jump ("MacBook Gains Core 2 Duo Processor," 2006-11-13),
Apple has updated the MacBook line of laptops with faster Intel Core
2 Duo processors that add roughly .16 GHz to each model, a standard
1 GB of RAM across the line, and larger hard disks. Prices remain
the same, but the stock choices now include a white 2.0 GHz model
with an 80 GB hard disk for $1,100, a 2.16 GHz model with a 120 GB
hard disk for $1,300, and the black 2.16 GHz model with a 160 GB
hard disk for $1,500. Apple is also now advertising the MacBook as
supporting 802.11n, which presumably means that the 802.11n enabler
is no longer necessary.
<http://db.tidbits.com/article/8534>
<http://db.tidbits.com/article/8742>
<http://www.apple.com/macbook/macbook.html>
Microsoft Office Open XML File Format Converter in Beta
-------------------------------------------------------
by Adam C. Engst <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
article link: <http://db.tidbits.com/article/8995>
If you find yourself needing to access Office Open XML documents
created by Windows users in Word 2007, Microsoft now has a free beta
converter that may help. The Microsoft Office Open XML File Format
Converter for Mac 0.1b can convert .docx and .docm documents (the
latter are Word macro-enabled documents) into RTF format, which can
be opened in Word 2004 and Word X on the Mac. The converter provides
both individual file and batch conversion.
In this beta release, macros and Visual Basic scripts are dropped
from the converted file, and charts and SmartArt graphics are
converted to pictures. Other problems that might crop up in the beta
include resizing of graphics, loss of color fills and shading in
tables, loss of certain document formatting and layout, loss of some
Unicode characters and picture bullets, and font substitution. The
conversion might fail entirely if the document contains a
bibliography, citations, WordArt, or very large pictures, or if you
use an SMB network volume as the destination. To summarize all that,
most documents should convert fine, but some that use less-common
features may have troubles. Nonetheless, it's great to see
Microsoft's Mac Business Unit releasing this beta now; even though
it's clearly not done, it will undoubtedly be useful to Mac users
right away. Now if only they could give it a snappier name.
<http://www.microsoft.com/mac/downloads.aspx?pid=download&location=/mac/download/Office2004/ConverterBeta.xml>
The Microsoft Office Open XML File Format Converter for Mac beta is
a 24.9 MB download and expires on 31-Dec-07. It requires Mac OS X
10.4.8, and either at least Office 2004 11.3.4 or Office X 10.1.9 to
open the converted documents. Free upgrades to both versions of
Office are available from Microsoft's Mac Downloads page.
<http://www.microsoft.com/mac/downloads.aspx>
If you find yourself needing a conversion capability that this free
beta doesn't support, it's worth taking a look at Panergy's $20
docXConverter, which promises to convert the majority of Word 2007
features to RTF as well.
<http://www.panergy-software.com/products/docxconverter/features.html>
Microsoft tells us that updates to the converter in a few months
will include support for PowerPoint and Excel documents, and a
version of it that provides read/write conversion will be integrated
into Office 2004 six to eight weeks after the release of Office 2008
for Mac. For more about it, check out Geoff Price's post in the Mac
Mojo blog.
<http://blogs.msdn.com/macmojo/archive/2007/05/15/get-converted.aspx>
iPhone Receives FCC Approval
-----------------------------
by Glenn Fleishman <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
article link: <http://db.tidbits.com/article/8996>
The U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has certified the
iPhone for use. When Steve Jobs announced the new smartphone at
Macworld Expo in January 2007, he said it would take some time to
pass the necessary FCC tests (see "iPhone Seeks to Redefine the
Mobile Phone," 2007-01-15). With a release that still seems likely
in June, Jobs estimated the time frame accurately. Apple filed many
testing reports and documents with the FCC in February and March,
but a few items have early May dates, indicating re-tests or new
tests. Certification is required in advance of offering the phone
for sale.
<http://db.tidbits.com/article/8810>
AppleInsider appears to be the first news site to have noticed the
FCC filings, which are available in a database when released, but
typically are not announced by the agency or manufacturers. Apple
later confirmed the timing with Reuters based on this certification.
<http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/07/05/17/news_flash_apple_iphone_receives_fcc_approval.html>
<http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070517/tc_nm/apple_iphone_dc>
Because the iPhone handles cellular calls and data, plus Wi-Fi, the
FCC certification is in four parts, two for each set of frequencies.
The iPhone uses the worldwide GSM standard, which only AT&T and
T-Mobile employ in the United States. AT&T's licensed cell
frequencies are grouped in two separate ranges. The iPhone also
features Wi-Fi for browsing and email - the major two services
initially announced by Apple - and Wi-Fi also requires
certification. (Verizon uses only one cell standard, called CDMA,
which is in widespread use only in South Korea and the United
States; Sprint Nextel primarily uses CDMA, and is working to move
its Nextel customers from an even less-used standard.)
The iPhone is a quad-band phone, Apple said at launch, but two of
the four frequency bands aren't available for use in the United
States, and thus not only can they not be used here, but the FCC
doesn't need to - cannot really - certify them. Other regulators
will issue their own certifications in their own countries for use
of those bands.
<http://www.engadget.com/2007/05/18/debunk-sleep-easy-the-iphones-still-a-quad-band-worldphone/>
You can view the filings at the FCC site through its engineering
site search engine. The FCC unfortunately fails to provide
persistent URLs for searches. At the top of the search engine in the
Grantee Code field enter BCG; in the Product Code field enter A1203.
<https://gullfoss2.fcc.gov/oetcf/eas/reports/GenericSearch.cfm>
IDG News Service reports that AT&T employees may now take iPhones
outside their offices for testing, according to an unnamed AT&T
employee. Features on the phone are being lit up one by one, the
report says, with music, video playback, and visual voicemail
currently disabled - three of four features most in demand from this
device, I'd wager! (The fourth? Web browsing.)
<http://www.infoworld.com/article/07/05/17/FCC-approves-iPhone_1.html>
Dropping Drawers Become Dragging Things
---------------------------------------
by Matt Neuburg <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
article link: <http://db.tidbits.com/article/8994>
In what may be the first (and last?) press release datelined
simultaneously "Glasgow, Scotland" and "Tel Aviv, Israel," TLA
Systems and Sig Software have announced that, henceforward, the
upgrade path of the latter's Drop Drawers is now the former's
DragThing 5.8.
<http://www.sigsoftware.com/dropdrawers/>
<http://www.dragthing.com/english/whatsnew.html>
DragThing is essentially a launcher - a Dock supplement or
substitute - and TidBITS has been covering and recommending it since
it first appeared over 12 years ago (see our first mention in
"Making Choices: Desktop Launchers, Part III of IV," 1995-05-15, and
"Version 5.1: A DragThing of Beauty," 2004-04-12, for more
up-to-date details). Drop Drawers is also a launcher, which restores
the Mac OS 9 feature of tabbed pop-up windows that slide into view
from the edge of your screen and lets you put aliases into them (see
"Top Mac OS X Utilities: Alternative Controls," 2002-04-29). But
DragThing, too, has long employed the sliding drawer visual metaphor
as a way of accessing its windows; thus, a merger between the two
applications is a natural fit.
<http://db.tidbits.com/article/1488>
<http://db.tidbits.com/article/7634>
<http://db.tidbits.com/article/6805>
To enable this merger, DragThing 5.8 can now import Drop Drawers
files, maintaining settings and appearance so that Drop Drawers
users will find the transition comfortable. At the same time,
DragThing's drawer behavior gets a number of tweaks that even
long-time users will find very welcome.
Drop Drawers users can keep using Drop Drawers if they like, but
support and development will stop at version 1.6.6. The cross-grade
to DragThing is $20 for Drop Drawers users, and Sig Software has
provided an extensive guide to the importing process, explaining how
the DragThing experience will differ. DragThing 5.8 requires Mac OS
X 10.3.9 or later, and is a universal binary. It's a 7.3 MB download
and costs $30. DragThing 5.8 is a free upgrade for DragThing 5.x
users.
<http://www.dragthing.com/english/download.html>
Where No Drive Has Gone Before
------------------------------
by Glenn Fleishman <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
article link: <http://db.tidbits.com/article/9001>
My first computer, purchased in 1979, had 8K of RAM and 8K of ROM,
BASIC baked in, and no persistent storage. My first hard drive was
60 MB and cost $600 in 1989. Now you can purchase one terabyte (TB)
of storage in a single 3.5-inch Hitachi hard drive mechanism for
about $400.
<http://www.google.com/search?q=%22osi+c1p%22>
<http://www.hitachigst.com/portal/site/en/menuitem.8027a91c954924ae4bda9f30eac4f0a0/>
It's easy to purchase 1 TB of storage in a single package. LaCie,
for instance, has offered a 1 TB Big Disk for some time, using two
500 GB drives in one enclosure; their USB 2.0-interface version
costs just $350, less than Hitachi's raw drive.
<http://www.lacie.com/products/product.htm?pid=10188>
But form factor is important for devices that can accept only a
single hard drive, and in the drives included in basic consumer
systems. For instance, a digital video recorder like a TiVo could
store 1,000 hours of programming on a terabyte drive; adding an
external drive is problematic (though possible) with most DVRs.
The more storage packed into a single mechanism, the cheaper smaller
units of storage become as well. Expect the release of the 1 TB
drive to cause 500 GB drives to drop even further in cost (they're
already closing in on $100).
<http://www.pricewatch.com/hard_drives/sata_500gb.htm>
With the ongoing focus on video - particularly high-definition video
- and the increasing resolution of still cameras, needing a terabyte
of storage doesn't seem nearly as far fetched as it used to.
DealBITS Drawing: SmileOnMyMac's PageSender
-------------------------------------------
by Adam C. Engst <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
article link: <http://db.tidbits.com/article/8998>
Fax technology, as I mentioned in "PageSender 4.0 Shows Fax Isn't
Dead" (2007-05-14), is alive and kicking, and a comment in TidBITS
Talk also suggests that it's even healthier outside the United
States. If you're one of those for whom fax remains a useful mode of
communication, you'll want to enter this week's DealBITS drawing for
PageSender 4.0 from SmileOnMyMac, which provides a full-featured
send-and-receive solution right from your Mac. We're giving away
three copies, each worth $40.
<http://db.tidbits.com/article/8982>
<http://emperor.tidbits.com/TidBITS/Talk/1293/>
<http://www.smileonmymac.com/pagesender/>
Entrants who aren't among our lucky winners will receive a discount
on PageSender, so be sure to enter at the DealBITS page. All
information gathered is covered by our comprehensive privacy policy.
Be careful with your spam filters and challenge-response systems,
since you must be able to receive email from my address to learn if
you've won. Remember too, that if someone you refer to this drawing
wins, you'll receive the same prize as a reward for spreading the
word.
<http://www.tidbits.com/dealbits/pagesender/>
<http://www.tidbits.com/about/privacy.html>
DealBITS Winners: Parallels on USB Drive from Small Dog
-------------------------------------------------------
by Adam C. Engst <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
article link: <http://db.tidbits.com/article/8989>
Congratulations to Angus Davol of mac.com, whose entry was chosen
randomly in last week's DealBITS drawing and who received a copy of
Parallels Desktop on a 512 MB Kingston USB drive, worth $69.99. For
those who didn't win, Small Dog is offering a $5 discount on the
bundle through 05-Jun-07, dropping the price to $64.99. Thanks to
the 1,241 people who entered this DealBITS drawing, and we hope
you'll continue to participate in the future!
<http://db.tidbits.com/article/8988>
<http://www.smalldog.com/wag17414/at_dealbits>
Call Me 'Two Finger' Mark
-------------------------
by Mark H. Anbinder <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
article link: <http://db.tidbits.com/article/8991>
I've been using a Mac for 20 years, and a mouse for even longer.
Clicking is second nature to me. For the last 13 years, I've been
using trackpads, on laptops and even as external devices.
(Amusingly, a trip to the TidBITS archive revealed that I covered
the release of the PowerBooks in which the trackpad debuted, back in
"The PowerBook 500 series," 1994-05-23.) And for less than a year,
I've been using the Apple Mighty Mouse with its secondary-click
capability and clever scroll ball, and the MacBook trackpad with its
two-finger secondary-click and scrolling features. I appreciate
these features, but it would never have occurred to me that I
couldn't live without them.
<http://db.tidbits.com/article/3924>
So imagine my surprise to discover myself hamstrung by the
one-button, uni-click trackpad on the PowerBook G4 I've borrowed
from work while my MacBook is off being repaired by Apple.
Even after three days using the loaner laptop, my fingers keep
insistently trying to scroll, despite the PowerBook's stubborn
refusal to recognize the two-fingered gesture. I did manage to slip
back into the habit of using Control-tap instead of the two-fingered
tap to bring up the contextual menu, though I miss that shortcut as
well. (Similarly, I have apparently been spoiled by the Apple Mighty
Mouse's right-click feature, and now find myself a bit lost on
older, single-button devices.)
Thanks to Adam for pointing out the availability of Raging Menace
Software's $15 SideTrack, a replacement trackpad driver for most
iBook, PowerBook, MacBook, and MacBook Pro models. (The developer
says an upcoming version will support MacBook and MacBook Pro models
released after October 2006.) SideTrack looks terrific, offering a
scrolling zone at the edges of the trackpad and even configurable
secondary click features. For just a few days on an old laptop, I
can't see trying to retrain myself, but if I were going to be using
a laptop without the two-finger features for a while, I'd definitely
give SideTrack a try.
<http://www.ragingmenace.com/software/sidetrack/>
The Mac's point-and-click user interface has changed so little over
the last 30 years that it's hard to imagine growing so dependent on
small enhancements, but as the graphical interface we're controlling
with that mouse, trackball, or trackpad grows ever more complex, I'm
finding myself taking advantage of - and becoming quite tied to -
these capabilities.
Farewell FreeHand
-----------------
by Jeff Carlson <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
article link: <http://db.tidbits.com/article/8997>
I knew this day would come, but I honestly didn't think it would
take this long.
Earlier this week, Adobe's John Nack, senior product manager of
Adobe Photoshop, confirmed on his blog that my favorite drawing
application, Macromedia FreeHand, is no longer being updated. It's
an Adobe Illustrator world, it has been for quite some time, and now
the company is making it official. Adobe has written a migration FAQ
(PDF, 180K) that explains some of the reasons for halting
development.
<http://blogs.adobe.com/jnack/2007/05/freehand_no_lon.html>
<http://www.adobe.com/products/freehand/>
<http://www.adobe.com/products/illustrator/>
<http://www.jnack.com/adobe/illustrator/FreeHand_to_Illustrator_Migration_FAQ.pdf>
FreeHand has followed an odd orbit around Adobe for its entire
history. Originally created by Altsys, FreeHand was the main
competitor for Adobe's Illustrator. Aldus snapped up FreeHand from
Altsys so that it could complement its page-layout application
PageMaker, and eventually, in 1994, Adobe bought Aldus (see "Adobe +
Aldus = Adobus?," 1994-03-21).
<http://db.tidbits.com/article/4019>
That merger left FreeHand in an awkward position. As Adam
presciently put it then, "The new company may find it difficult to
market two such closely competing programs without in some way
differentiating them. The companies have also used competition to
push advances in interface and features, each attempting to leapfrog
the other. Will that disappear once they're on the same side?"
FreeHand then passed back to Altsys (which allowed Adobe to avoid
any antitrust issues involving owning the two dominant illustration
programs on the market), which was sold to Macromedia. Ultimately,
in 2005, FreeHand found itself once again at Adobe's door when Adobe
acquired Macromedia (see "Adobe Swallows Macromedia," 2005-04-25).
<http://db.tidbits.com/article/8077>
FreeHand and Illustrator inspired heated wars akin to the Mac versus
PC flare-ups of the day: FreeHand was so obviously superior, with
its elegant interface, why would anyone use clunky Illustrator?
You see what I mean.
In truth, FreeHand was the first application that made me realize
that software preference can be a nature versus nurture experience.
Both programs did roughly the same thing - drawing vector artwork -
with mostly similar feature sets that occasionally leap-frogged each
other. (I remember my friend Olav Martin Kvern pointing out in his
book "Real World FreeHand" that FreeHand's new zoom capabilities
enabled artists to draw bacteria at actual size!)
<http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0201874857/tidbitselectro00/ref=nosim>
But because I learned FreeHand first, aspects of Illustrator
continue to drive me nuts. For example, even at version 13.0,
Illustrator CS3 can't create multiple pages within a document. One
of my design clients recently needed some changes to a two-sided
postcard that was created by another designer some time before it
reached me. The card arrived as two Illustrator files that had to be
tracked and edited separately. Although not a terrible hardship, it
was annoying, yet not irritating enough to re-create the piece in a
layout application such as InDesign.
Long-time Illustrator users would probably point out that it's a
drawing program, not a layout program, and I'm crazy to want one
program to do everything. (But like most customers, I do want
everything, I want it right now, and I'd really like it to be free.
Is that really too much to ask?)
In fact, that's a key reason Illustrator ultimately outlasted
FreeHand. When Adobe began bundling Illustrator as part of the
Creative Suite (which included Photoshop, InDesign, and GoLive at
the time), it was hard for designers to justify paying for a
separate application that did the same thing (see "Adobe Checks Into
the Creative Suite," 2003-09-29). The interoperability among the
Adobe programs gave Illustrator a further competitive edge.
<http://db.tidbits.com/article/7371>
Although essentially retired, FreeHand will still be sold for some
time, and technical and customer support will be provided. However,
FreeHand runs only under Rosetta on Intel-based Macs and won't be
receiving any code updates, so buying a new copy now doesn't seem to
be a wise investment. Adobe is encouraging FreeHand users to move to
Illustrator by offering a $200 upgrade to Illustrator CS3 and
providing resources for switching.
<http://www.adobe.com/products/illustrator/switch/>
Microsoft Acting Like a Patent Troll?
-------------------------------------
by Adam C. Engst <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
article link: <http://db.tidbits.com/article/8993>
In an article in Fortune, several high-level Microsoft executives
talked about the company's plans to take on the open source world -
notably Linux - on patent infringement grounds. Needless to say,
attempting to go after open source developers themselves is like
boxing with a cloud. And while Microsoft could theoretically try to
hit up Linux distributors like Red Hat and IBM for licensing fees,
the GNU Public License (GPL) expressly forbids them from agreeing to
patent licenses on GPL-licensed code, saying, "We wish to avoid the
danger that redistributors of a free program will individually
obtain patent licenses, in effect making the program proprietary. To
prevent this, we have made it clear that any patent must be licensed
for everyone's free use or not licensed at all." Microsoft's third
option would be to convince large corporate Linux users to pay
licensing fees, a strategy that could backfire, given that many of
those companies are also big Microsoft customers and could suffer
from the anger of the open source community.
<http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/2007/05/28/100033867/>
<http://www.gnu.org/>
Instead, Microsoft and Linux redistributor Novell came up with a
clever workaround by which Microsoft bought "coupons" for Novell
Linux that it could resell to customers, who would then redeem them
with Novell for Linux server subscriptions. This approach avoided
the GPL's requirements that Linux redistributors like Novell cease
distribution if conditions of a lawsuit or patent license caused a
conflict with the GPL. Some large Linux redistributors endorsed the
Microsoft/Novell agreement, but the open source community reacted
hotly. Work was begun on the in-progress draft of version 3 of the
GPL to plug the loophole that Microsoft had exploited, and
potentially to make Microsoft, as a distributor of Novell Linux via
the coupons, subject to the GPL.
<http://gplv3.fsf.org/>
What's most telling in this imbroglio is just how broken the U.S.
patent system has become. The philosophy behind patents is entirely
reasonable - as the U.S. Constitution says, it is "to promote the
Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times
to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective
Writings and Discoveries." But in the software world, a vast number
of programmers have learned in roughly similar ways and have had to
solve roughly similar problems over the years, meaning that any
given solution to a problem has probably been arrived at
independently by many people who may have thought the work
potentially clever, but not so unique that it deserved to be
patented. The problem is that once a patent has been granted, it
could cost millions of dollars in legal fees to invalidate, leading
to a situation where it's cheaper for infringing companies to
license even clearly spurious patents than it is to fight in court.
I recently explained all this to a Cornell sophomore during a
noontime run, causing her to exclaim, "But that's just legalized
extortion!" Well, yes, and that's particularly concerning in cases
where the existence of a patent is being used as a legal weapon
rather than a tool for innovation.
The U.S. Supreme Court has never ruled on the patentability of
software, so it's possible that Microsoft's efforts to wield its
patent portfolio against open source could generate a legal
backlash. The Supreme Court decision I mentioned in "Busting the
Disc Link CD-ROM Patent" (2007-05-07) might indicate opinions on the
Court against the willy-nilly granting of seemingly obvious patents.
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." With software,
"advances that would occur in the ordinary course" are the rule, not
the exception. Another rule with software is that the advantage of
coming up with an idea first is not that you can extract patent fees
from other companies, but that you can be first to market and can
stay six months ahead of the competition through constant
innovation.
<http://db.tidbits.com/article/8976>
Might this affect Apple in some way? Although Apple uses a lot of
open source software in Mac OS X, none of the reports I've seen have
indicated that Apple is infringing on the 235 patents that Microsoft
says apply to Linux, OpenOffice, and other open source programs. Of
course, Apple and Microsoft agreed to broad patent cross-licensing
back in 1997 (see "Microsoft is Jobs #1," 1997-08-11), so it's
possible that any infringement problems have already been cleared
away.
<http://db.tidbits.com/article/4090>
That raises another point. A friend at a large chip maker who has
been granted a number of patents and who has been involved in patent
licensing discussions describes them as akin to the card game War.
Each company starts with a stack of patents, and the companies
compare the patents, one by one, until it's clear whose portfolio is
stronger. The loser then pays some amount of money to the winner,
and a "broad cross-licensing agreement" is signed, a press release
is issued, and everyone goes home. Needless to say, this approach
favors the largest of companies, since a small company could neither
win the game of Patent War nor afford to pay to license a larger
company's portfolio. (It also makes me wonder if anyone has created
a fantasy patent trading game, along the lines of fantasy sports.
Although I couldn't find evidence of such a thing, I did find a
number of patents covering fantasy sports.)
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_%28card_game%29>
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fantasy_sports>
<http://www.google.com/search?q=patent+fantasy+sports>
Another question that comes up is why Microsoft is exploring how to
utilize its massive patent portfolio against open source now. An
article in Macworld, from Elizabeth Montalbano of the IDG News
Service, offers a number of suggestions:
<http://www.macworld.com/news/2007/05/14/patentanalysis/>
* It's an attempt to spread fear, uncertainty, and doubt (FUD) about
open source to large customers by suggesting that using open source
might expose a company to a patent infringement lawsuit or to the
need to pay licensing fees.
* Given the way Windows Vista incorporates draconian DRM capabilities
that could hamper adoption, it may be an attempt to eliminate a
competing operating system that will always err away from DRM.
<http://www.cs.auckland.ac.nz/~pgut001/pubs/vista_cost.html>
* Conceivably, there's nothing special about the timing, since
Microsoft has long seen the open source world as a competitive
threat. Because open source avoids the conventional rules of
business, Microsoft has long looked for - and with this patent
claim, perhaps found - a way to attack open source's business model.
* The commercial failures of the Xbox game console and Zune digital
media player may be creating additional internal pressure to protect
the company's core businesses. In contrast, Apple successfully made
the transition from a pure computer company to one that makes large
portions of its income on entertainment devices, a market that seems
to have a greater growth potential.
Perhaps most telling is that Microsoft has merely asserted that open
source software infringes 235 of Microsoft's patents. According to
Microsoft, the Linux kernel violates 42 patents, Linux's user
interface infringes on 65 patents, OpenOffice violates 45 patents,
open source email applications rely on work covered by 15 more
Microsoft patents, and various other open source applications
infringe on a final 68 patents. But Microsoft has not given any
further details, such as the exact patent numbers and the features
or programs that infringe. Were Microsoft to provide those details
or to actually file a patent infringement lawsuit based on them,
things would get interesting. Without that information, there's
nothing but FUD here. For another way of looking at that (summarized
as the annual "Be Very Afraid" Tour), see the transcript of and
comments on Eben Moglen's talk at the Red Hat Summit 2007.
<http://www.groklaw.net/article.php?story=20070517083516872>
Telegraphing a 50%-Off Take Control Ebook Sale
----------------------------------------------
by Adam C. Engst <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
article link: <http://db.tidbits.com/article/9000>
It's time for a big Take Control sale, so you can save 50 percent on
all our ebooks through 29-May-07 when you order with this link.
<http://www.takecontrolbooks.com/catalog.html?14@@!pt=TB880&cp=CPN70518TB17>
Whether you're interested in setting up a solid backup strategy with
the help of our best-selling "Take Control of Mac OS X Backups,"
getting the most from your new AirPort Extreme Base Station with
"Take Control of Your 802.11n AirPort Extreme Network," or figuring
out the best way to use Windows software with "Take Control of
Running Windows on a Mac," we have the expert help you need, coupled
with instant-gratification downloads, free minor updates, and a
carefully designed ebook reading experience.
Why have a sale now? History has been sneaking into our lives of
late, as it is wont to do, and it turns out that 2007 marks the
200th birthday of Ezra Cornell, founder of Cornell University here
in Ithaca. The university has been making a fuss over this
anniversary, and in checking out the bicentennial exhibits at
Cornell's Division of Rare & Manuscript Collections, I learned that
Ezra Cornell strung the telegraph lines from Washington, D.C. and
Baltimore over which Samuel Morse's famous "What hath God Wrought"
message would be transmitted. That message came on May 24th, 1844,
or 163 years ago this week.
<http://rmc.library.cornell.edu/Ezra/>
Ezra Cornell continued in the telegraph industry, the dot-com boom
of its time, founding and investing in companies, building telegraph
lines, and working non-stop. Since he took most of his pay in stock,
he ended up with lots of little telegraph companies scattered around
the Northeast (none of which were particularly successful), and in
1855 merged with his largest competitor to form the Western Union
Telegraph Company, becoming the largest shareholder for 15 years.
Yes, that's the same Western Union that's still around today. All
that stock eventually made him incredibly wealthy, and he used his
money first to found a free public library in Ithaca in 1863, and, a
few years later, to found Cornell University.
<http://rmc.library.cornell.edu/presidents/view_item.php?sec=2&sub=4>
All this made me think that Ezra Cornell would have particularly
appreciated the concept of the electronic book, coupling as it does
his interest in the telegraph with his enormous respect for the
influence of books. Books as artifacts may not command the respect
they did long ago, but I hope you too appreciate our efforts with
Take Control to produce something that's better conceived, written,
edited, and published than run-of-the-mill content on the Web. And
if you haven't turned to Take Control ebooks for technical
assistance before, this sale is a great excuse to give them a try.
(Print books aren't included in the sale.)
Hot Topics in TidBITS Talk/21-May-07
------------------------------------
by TidBITS Staff <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
article link: <http://db.tidbits.com/article/9002>
**Powering down without losing state** -- Apple's recent environmental
announcements bring up the issue of leaving computers running all
day and night, and what can be done to conserve energy. (14
messages)
<http://emperor.tidbits.com/TidBITS/Talk/1292/>
**Fax death is exaggerated** -- The demise of faxing appears to be a
U.S. phenomenon, as usage around the world is still quite high. (2
messages)
<http://emperor.tidbits.com/TidBITS/Talk/1293/>
**Video conferencing with PCs** -- What are the best options for
video-based chat between people running Macs and Windows-based PCs?
(5 messages)
<http://emperor.tidbits.com/TidBITS/Talk/1294/>
**Good deals on .Mac renewals?** Apple's .Mac service can be renewed
for less than the $100 the company charges, but where are the deals
found? (3 messages)
<http://emperor.tidbits.com/TidBITS/Talk/1296/>
**Good deal on Applecare** -- Apparently, everyone is looking for a
deal this week! In addition to .Mac renewal specials, AppleCare can
also be bought for less than what Apple charges directly. (2
messages)
<http://emperor.tidbits.com/TidBITS/Talk/1297/>
**Microsoft Acting Like a Patent Troll?** Readers ponder Microsoft's
latest legal maneuver that appears intended to intimidate Linux
users. (2 messages)
<http://emperor.tidbits.com/TidBITS/Talk/1298/>
**Little Window on OS X 10.4 Desktop** -- After a mysterious tiny
window appears on a reader's Mac, other TidBITS Talk participants
provide suggestions for how to banish it. (3 messages)
<http://emperor.tidbits.com/TidBITS/Talk/1300/>
**Restoring keychain from .Mac** -- A reader's keychain data goes to
the great lockbox in the sky, but he can't resurrect it from the
copy that exists on his .Mac archives. (1 message)
<http://emperor.tidbits.com/TidBITS/Talk/1301/>
$$
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