I just read a most disturbing piece of news. I would contribute it to the news thread but I don't know if it has been mentioned yet.
As a student in computer science, this is the sort of thing I fear and hate. It goes against everything truly intelligent programmers believe in.
Creative labs has patented sequential menus. The "Zen Patent" marks them as the originators of the artist->album->song hierchy. Why? Because they had the audacity to patent it.
I repeat: They patented showing files the same way that most people have been organizing the music on their computer since they got one. Unfortunately, common sense is patent-worthy for a company that wants money for nothing.
For more information, look at
the zen patent.
As a student in computer science, this is the sort of thing I fear and hate. It goes against everything truly intelligent programmers believe in.
Creative labs has patented sequential menus. The "Zen Patent" marks them as the originators of the artist->album->song hierchy. Why? Because they had the audacity to patent it.
I repeat: They patented showing files the same way that most people have been organizing the music on their computer since they got one. Unfortunately, common sense is patent-worthy for a company that wants money for nothing.
For more information, look at
the zen patent.
The only distinguishing feature of 'their' concept is simply hierarchy.
If there is ANYTHING in human society that is public domain, it is the concept of organizing data into a hierarchy.
Every repository of data in the world is organized this way, from the Yellow Pages to my collection of porn downloads.
This kind of thing has happened before, and someone will simply challenge it. I suspect it constitutes some sort of negotiating strategy between apple and creative, more than anything else.
If this shit is passed...what does that say about the proposal of patenting cursors...scrollbars...and :o typing?!