What’s extra ironic is that with how slow Valve is at changing things, Epic had a window where they could’ve released a superior user experience to out compete Steam and sustainably attract users away from Steam. But they’ve taken so long that slow moving Valve has actually improved things, further solidifying their position, and now Epic is even further behind.
You can copyright software code, just like any other written work, to protect you from people literally copy and pasting your work, but the idea that you could patent things like “slide left to unlock” is just stupid, as it’s a fundamental concept and software is full of fundamental concepts.
Compression algorithms being patentable is even more stupid, as it would be like somebody claiming they own Pi, just because they figured it out first. Imagine not being able to compute the circumference of a circle without paying somebody for the privilege.
Without arguing the benefits/drawbacks of software patents, isn’t slide to unlock only a fundamental concept because Apple invented and popularized it? To me, it only seems trivial because it’s ubiquitous, whereas that might not have been the case before the iPhone.
Software patents that boil down to “real life action, but we did it on a computer” are just obnoxious. Sliding a bolt to unlock something is something we’ve been doing for centuries, but suddenly Apple put it on a screen and gets to prevent anybody else from doing it? That makes no sense.
I don’t see why this is unique to software. As long as the proof is convoluted enough, how would it differ from making a physical D-pad? Both are made from already discovered axioms/materials, and both are transformed via known ways in a unique order into new tools to accomplish a particular task. If a D-pad patent should be allowed, why not a compression algorithm?
Hardware patents make sense, as it’s actually possible to come up with multiple solutions to the same problem. You can create a D-pad multiple different ways, as proven by the many different D-pad patents, as the goal is just to create an interface between electronic inputs and a logical physical shape. How you do it doesn’t matter as long as the result is reliable and satisfying for the end-user. The 4-directional shape of the d-pad wasn’t the patent, it was how the d-pad worked. Sure some people have preferences to one design or another, but that’s where they made the innovation.
But there isn’t multiple ways to create Pi. Pi is Pi. Just because you discovered a math equation to define it first doesn’t mean you get to claim dibs on it. You could claim that you wrote code that calculates Pi more quickly on a specific computer chip or something, but that’s copyright, not a patent. Patents shouldn’t be used for things that can be copyrighted, and vice versa.
There’s a reason why we have separate systems for copyrights, trademarks, and patents. Copyrights protect creative authorship, ways to express things. Trademarks protect identification, how people recognize you and your creations. Patents protect invention, novel processes to accomplish an action.
Patents are for protecting the processes you develop, not the resulting actions. You can’t patent boiling water to create steam, but you can patent the steps you took that led to water boiling and becoming steam.
To bring it back, what process did Apple develop for slide to unlock? Slide to unlock itself is an action, not a unique method of solving a problem. Like patenting the mere action of putting a key into a hole, instead of how the mechanics of the key itself actually opens the lock. They wrote code that interpreted “Box moving from position A to Position B allows access”, but that’s a copyright. Nobody would argue that they should be able to copy what Apple wrote to make that happen. But why does Apple get to claim that the action of moving a box is something they invented? Because the user can use a human finger on a screen now? Apple didn’t invent the capacitive touchscreen, somebody else did, and Apple paid them or a licensor of the tech for using their patent, they didn’t invent anything there. So all you’re left with is the action, moving a box with a finger, which shouldn’t be patentable. And the code that interprets the action, which should be a copyright not a patent.
Hi people, since we see more and more complaints regarding old movies being not politically correct anymore, I am getting more and more concerned about some purchases I made some years ago. Specifically, there is a set of local movies in my mother tongue which I bought and therefore want to download them in case they are...
I’ve given up on any direct download methods. It’s a game of wack-a-mole and the players often don’t share their tricks anymore, or charge a pretty penny.
Try OBS screen recording if you want a free option.
For anything that doesn’t work with, I’ve just gone the extra mile and now have a Streaming Stick plugged into an HDMI Splitter and then piped into an HDMI capture card, which then pipes into OBS. My setup can only do 1080p SDR, but that’s enough for me.
So I’ve been wanting to try to move to linux for the past few months but have been waiting to be done school, so I could the MS office suite behind me. I’m mostly writing this to share my experience for people who are considering switching....
Buy franchise -> quickly eventually release sequel -> spend time making sequel as good as previous game -> quickly release another sequel -> repeat
freemoney
Onyx Boox has the Note Air 3(10in) and the Tab X(13in). They aren’t cheap though, $400 and $900 respectively, mostly because of how expensive those large eInk screens are.
DRM removal is not a feature of Calibre, but of plugins you can add to it. Kobo and Adobe DRM have plugins available. Amazon DRM plugin is in a poor state as Amazon cracked down on a major method earlier this year.
Kinda basic for the price, and the built-in store is the B&N Store. But they at least have EPUB and PDF support, and Adobe DRM compatibility, so you can hook them up to a PC and transfer books.
They do run a stripped down Android underneath, so you might be able to Root them and install a third-party launcher and apps on it, I’ve done this in the past, but I haven’t kept up in recent years(I’ve switched to Boox devices) so it might not be as easy to Root these days.
But for real, if I can point to any other developed country in the world and they’re paying way less for the same thing sold in the US, then it shouldn’t be that high in the US either. I get making a profit off your research, but especially when taxpayers helped fund said research, there should be no reason we’re essentially subsidizing the cost of the drug in the rest of the world.
luckily this is just a 32; i had a 70 from the same brand with the same INSANELY FUCKING STUPID STAND DESIGN that i had to find something for…literally at the most extreme edges of the thing, what the fuck is this? this is so fucking stupid, it cannot be meaningfully cheaper than a proper design and it looks fucking dumb as...
The ESRB has started slapping blockchain games with Adults Only ratings, so Epic has changed its store policy to allow them (www.pcgamer.com)
I absolutely love VideoLAN's stance regarding patents (lemmy.dbzer0.com)
HP raising Instant Ink subscription pricing significantly (www.ghacks.net)
VW Is Putting Buttons Back in Cars Because People Complained Enough (www.thedrive.com)
Ripping Amazon movies
Hi people, since we see more and more complaints regarding old movies being not politically correct anymore, I am getting more and more concerned about some purchases I made some years ago. Specifically, there is a set of local movies in my mother tongue which I bought and therefore want to download them in case they are...
Just moved to linux
So I’ve been wanting to try to move to linux for the past few months but have been waiting to be done school, so I could the MS office suite behind me. I’m mostly writing this to share my experience for people who are considering switching....
Kerbal Space Program 2 update For Science arrives on December 19, adding progression and a tech tree to the space simulation sequel. (www.pcgamesn.com)
None of these anchors are real: Channel 1 plans for AI to generate news, broadcasters (www.usatoday.com)
Channel 1 AI released a promotional video explaining how the service will provide personalized news coverage to users from finance to entertainment.
What Amazon Kindle? Here's an Open Source eBook Reader (itsfoss.com)
The White House is threatening the patents of high-priced drugs developed with taxpayer dollars (apnews.com)
Directed by JJ Abrams (pixelfed.social)
Stanley Kubrick is a magician (pixelfed.social)
Hydra in training [Goofy Gods Comics] (startrek.website)
Website: m.webtoons.com/en/canvas/goofygodscomics/list?tit…
Lucid dream startup says engineers can write code in their sleep. Work may never be the same (fortune.com)
As a lefty it feels extra special when I get that glide finally (startrek.website)
Final Patch - by MonkeyUser.com (lemmy.world)
cross-posted from: feddit.it/post/3680481...
Why do all the new TVs expect me to have a platform AS WIDE as the fucking thing?? Fucking shit!! God awful absolutely dumb thoughtless design choice (lemmy.world)
luckily this is just a 32; i had a 70 from the same brand with the same INSANELY FUCKING STUPID STAND DESIGN that i had to find something for…literally at the most extreme edges of the thing, what the fuck is this? this is so fucking stupid, it cannot be meaningfully cheaper than a proper design and it looks fucking dumb as...
Based KDE 🗿 (lemmy.ml)
How much for a gram? (lemmy.world)
Via Cyanide and Happiness
OpenAI brings Sam Altman back as CEO less than a week after he was fired by board (ground.news)
Google's Manifest V3 changes will soon disable uBlock Origin on Chrome (www.androidauthority.com)