I Can Still Patent Stupid Things, Though, Right?

Today the Supreme Court ruled that patents need to go through a more intense "obvious test" before being issued. The case was that of KSR v. Teleflex that was over a sensor in automobile pedals that would adjust the height of the pedal to fit the driver.
I don't really know a ton when it comes to patent law, but this sounds like a really good thing. There are people that go around patenting just about everything. In many cases, these patents should probably have never been issued. On top of that, the recipient of the patent will sometimes go along and sue someone for patent infringement, when the truth of the matter is that the original patent isn't a very good one to begin with (see Vonage and Verizon).
Hopefully, this is a step in the right direction towards seeing some patent reform. I don't expect anything major to happen overnight (or in the next decade), but this is still a good sign that such things could be coming.

Tony Soprano in Charge of RIAA?

In my continuing rant about the absurdity that is this whole mess with royalties and internet radio, I bring you yet another horrendous act. The company that the RIAA created to collect royalties on behalf of artists, SoundExchange, has the blanket coverage of collecting royalties for all artists, regardless of whether they are members of the RIAA or not. In fact, even if artists don't want SoundExchange to collect money on their behalf, they still do. The biggest kicker here is that if the artist wants to collect these royalties that have been collected for them they have to pay a fee to join SoundExchange. So what you have here is an organization collecting your money, and then charging you to get it from them. Yeah, that sounds about right. This post over at Daily Kos has more.

Internet Radio Equality Act

This is pretty much just an addendum to what I posted this morning. It sheds some more light on the situation. Also, I like Ars Technica so I figured that I'd link over to their article on the issue.

Bye Bye Net Radio :(

First, let me say that I live on Pandora radio while I'm not at work. If you are not familiar with this, let me give a quick explanation. You put in the name of a song or artist that you like, and it plays things that are similar to that, which you can then rate as liking or disliking to further tailor your channel. I know that some of you may have seen something similar, and not been too thrilled with the recommendations you get, but this one is pretty different. I actually find that it is pretty rare that a song comes up that I don't like. When I do have one, I just click the little thumbs down button, and I don't get songs like it anymore. Anyway, the service is great, and you should definitely check it out.

Now then, onto the important topic. Internet radio, like Pandora, is pretty much about to disappear. This is a very bad thing. It is not simply bad for consumers, such as you and me, but it is bad for musicians as well. There are a lot of artists that the only radio on which they get played is an internet station. On May 15, a new royalty system will go into effect that will basically kill all the internet radio stations. The royalties that are going to have to be paid will pretty much force all (maybe not all, but most) stations to have to shut down. Basically what is going to happen is that us listeners are getting screwed because we won't be able to listen to such a variety of music, and the artists are going to get screwed because they count on these stations for exposure and for money.

So, if you actually care about any of this, and you should, let me point you to where you can go to help. There is a site set up at www.savenetradio.org that has all sorts of information about what is going on here. It also has a lot of information on what you can do to help. There was recently a bill that has been introduced to help stop the madness, and you can help by contacting your congressperson and telling them that they need to support this bill. I normally don't really get involved in the whole activist thing. Sure I might talk about something that is going on, and how it is stupid, but that is not exactly the same. Also, there is usually something that is being blown way out of proportion, and there really isn't a problem. This time, though, you really need you act because from what I've seen, this is not just some BS.

Look Out for This MySpace Predator

An article that I came across is about the lack of knowledge in the general public about the whole Web 2.0 thing, and social networking sites like MySpace or Facebook. However, the part that I find hilarious is the example that brought this to mine. Someone was concerned about a 31 year old pervert befriending hisyoung daughter right after she signed up. He was convinced that the only reason an older man would friend her like that was to try to get it on with her. Upon asking if the daughter perhaps had posted a risque photo, or something else to prompt the pervs, the father responded not at all, and that she hadn't posted anything at all before getting this friend. He says that the guy is a Tom. At this point the author easily sees what is happening and explains that there is no 31 year old stalker out after his daughter.

This raises a good point, though. There is a surprising amount of news and information out there about these sites, yet there still remains a vast lack of knowledge about them in the general public. It goes beyond just web stuff, though. I mentioned something about John Stewart to my mom the other day, and she didn't know anything about him other than hearing his name before. This is a lady that spends hours a day online reading the news. She knows all about MySpace, and the like, and even uses Gaim (now Pidgin) as her IM client. It just goes to show that no matter how much we can try to educate the older generations, some may still never get it. Even Dvorak seems to be out of the loop on some tech stuff.

Someone is Going to be Hungry

I thought that this was a decent story and would share it. The governor of Oregon (the state I like to say I'm from) is going to try to live for a week on $21.00, which is the amount a person on food stamps spends on groceries. He says he is doing it in order to raise awareness that people who have to live on food stamps have a harder time than most think. Given that I have first hand experience of what it is like to be on food stamps, I think this is a good idea. Subsisting on a small amount of money is not the easiest thing in the world. When you add kids to the equation, things get exponentially more difficult. However, I also know that it is possible to eat for 20 to 25 dollars a week if you put your mind to it. I'm not saying that allowing someone to live on such a small amount is okay, just that it is possible for a single person. The downside, of course, is that it usually results in a fairly unhealthy diet. While I agree that what he is doing is a good idea, and that there are a lot of people out there that need help, I still will be the first to criticize the welfare system and tell you that there are far too many people that abuse it. I'll save that rant for another time, though.

Exxon Posts More Record Earnings

I'll be the first to tell you that I am a fairly strong believer in capitalism, and allowing companies to make crazy profits if they deserve it. However, when I see that Exxon is once again making record earnings while the price of gas continues to rise, I really have to wonder. From the article, it looks like the main reason that they are able to make such gains is largely due to cost savings. That is all well and good, but if this company is going to tell consumers that the price of gas is rising due to increased cost of oil, and increased demand, why then are they able to post such huge profits? When you look at another large company that is usually hated for making money, Wal-Mart, you see that they are making money hand over fist, but at the same time the price of my groceries is actually getting lower. Sure, you may say that they are able to do that because they treat their workers like crap, or because they get a bunch of freebies from the government, but the fact remains that they are passing those savings on to the consumer, albeit just barely. If Exxon is able to keep such a tight lid on its costs, does it not make sense that it should also be able to keep a lid on the prices it charges? I mean, they essentially say that the cost of production is decreasing, while they are also increasing their prices. Don't get me wrong, I don't think that they should just be giving us the gas for free, but the least they can do is not tell consumers that the price of oil is skyrocketing so they have to increase the price of fuel while at the same time they make record profits. They should at least just honest and say, "Hey, we're charging more for gas because we can, and there is not much you can do about it."

Anthills are Nifty

For your daily dose of oddness, check out these pictures of anthills. Researchers poured plaster down nests in order to study the structure and construction of them. It is pretty crazy at how deep and complex some of these nests can be. The link is to the pictures, but you can scroll up if you feel the need to read the science.

Texting Making You Lazy?

Ars Technica has an article about a new study by the Irish State Examination Commission that states that teens' writing skills have decreased due to the rising popularity of using text messaging. This is contradictory to a study from the University of Toronto that found the use of text messaging does not hurt writing communication. From personal experience, I think I agree with the Irish. Perhaps it is just that people have become lazier, but the lack of decent grammar and spelling that I see in emails, chats, and text messages is absurd. Now, I'll give you that it is easier to type "ur" instead of "you're," especially while texting from a phone, but that is no excuse to carry that same behavior into your other communication. As an aside, try using the intuitive text option on your phone, such as T9, when texting. This way, you can still use proper words and punctuation without a major hit to efficiency. That said, I'm willing to cut some slack when I get a text message that is like that. However, if I see an email that contains that type of writing, you re just being an idiot. Holding down the shift key before hitting the i, or at the start of each of each sentence, is not a difficult endeavor. Periods are also your friend, feel free to use them at the end of complete thoughts. Email is definitely a place that this does not belong, but it really shouldn't be showing up when you post a message on my Facebook either. You are sitting at a computer with a full keyboard in front of you; use it.

Politics the MySpace Way

I think the best response to this article over at Reuters is, "Noooo!" Apparently, MySpace and Mark Burnett are teaming up to create a new reality show that focuses on creating a politician that represents the young people of America. This has got to be one of the worst idea ever. Lets be honest, the youth in America are a bunch of idiots. On top of this, the part of the article I found most frightening is this part.

The process begins with the close to 100 million unique users who flirt, discuss and attack each other on Rupert Murdoch's online social network MySpace. Those people decide the winner, the losers and their issues on the new show.

That is good thinking. Let the same morons that have five videos load on their page at once and post pictures of themselves in their underwear decide who a good candidate is. I take that back, they probably could pick a good candidate to represent them, but the thing that is bad is that they also get to pick the issues? Do we really need that? If you know me personally, you know that I hate MySpace with a passion. I've gone so far as to not just boycott the site, but actually have the myspace.com domain blocked on my hardware firewall. The thought that these same people are going to be picking someone to represent them is repulsive. Older people already see my generation as a bunch of degenerates (which most are, but that is true of the older generations too), do we really need to just reinforce this? I can hardly wait to see what kind of idiot they wind up picking. I could just be exposed to the wrong groups of young people, but I seem to just encounter a lot of complainers without anyone ever offering realistic alternatives. Even when they complain about things with which I agree I still think they look like idiots. Things will be nice once we finally install my friend into office. Doty in 2032, baby.

Solid State Drives getting cheap is a good thing

This article over at Engadget talks about how the prices of SSDs are going to continue dropping by quite a bit (no real surprise), but that they are still going to be quite a lot more than HDDs. According to Samsung, who provided the information, solid state drives are currently about five times the cost of mechanical drives. By the year 2010, they expect this to fall to just three times the cost. While this would still translate to a significant premium, when you consider what SSDs offer, it seems like it might be worth the cost. The part that I found to be interesting is that they are using the cost per GB of 1.8 inch hard drives for comparison. This is all well and good given that solid state drives are small, but if what you want is raw storage, 3.5 inch dries are way ahead in terms of cost. You can find these drives for as low as 20 cents a GB right now, which is about seven times cheaper than their little brothers. So when you consider that people are willing to pay seven times the amount just for a smaller form factor, shelling out a bit more money for the benefits of solid state doesn't seem like much of a stretch.

What a stand up guy

I don't know how many of you read Penny Arcade, but I usually enjoy them. Their comics can often be hilarious, and the news posts they make are pretty entertaining too. Today they have one about how Todd Goldman is lame. If you are unfamiliar with this particular person, let me give you a quick history. This Goldman guy ripped off another artist and then just blew it off when an issue was raised. Check out this thread over at Something Awful for better details, as mine is the condensed, abridged Readers Digest version. Well, as the Penny Arcade post mentions, he jokingly calls the guy from whom he stole a pedophile. That's not the kicker, though. The gold is that this guy has his lawyers suing the same forum where he called the other guy a pedo for slander against Goldman. How great is that? I mean, personally, I always make sure to slander other people in a place before I turn around and sue the same venue for slander against me.

Why early high-def disc adoption rates don't really matter

Here is a good article over at Ars Technica about the current high definition format war. It talks about how the Blu-ray people are all excited about Blu-ray passing the 1 million discs sold mark. It puts into perspective just how unimportant such a statistic is. One thing I found particularly amusing is when it points out that in its first week of release, Borat sold more DVDs than there have been of Blu-ray and HD-DVD combined. It kind of puts the whole thing into better perspective.

Personally, I want Blu-ray to fail miserably. Most of this stems from my hatred of Sony moreso than any technical reasoning. Sony has had a history of just being a generally bad company, and the whole rootkit thing was pretty much the straw the broke the camel's back. Had a person done what they did, the person would be thrown in jail. Hopefully, the PS3 will wind up being some sort of failure, and we can kiss the company goodbye for good. Don't get me wrong, I'd be sad to see the TVs go, as Sony does make some darn nice one. And no, I'm not so naive as to think that Sony would actually go away, or that the PS3 will be that big of a flop, but a man can dream, right? Speaking of the PS3 and Blu-ray sales, I've got a feeling that the only reason the disc sales have been as good as they are is because there are roughly 3 million players out there in those consoles.

Awake

It is about 1:30 in the morning on a Tuesday, and I'm awake. Why am I awake, you might ask? Am I doing another all night session of Sim City 4? Did I stay up late watching a really good movie? Can't stop chatting with all the hot babes online? No, unfortunately, it is nothing quite so nice. Plus, if I were playing Sim City, I wouldn't be wasting time with this post. Instead, I'm awake because I have an incredible pain in my chest. Broken hearted, you might think, but again, not quite. Try bruised rib/strained muscle. I've had this for, oh I think this is week three now. It comes and goes somewhat, but just about the time it starts to go, I do something to make it come back. This time, that something was a sneeze. Not really a sneeze, actually, as that would have probably caused even more pain. It was one of those sneezes that you start, but then have to stop. This one let me in writhing agony. I've been taking 2400 mgs of ibuprofen a day for it for the whole time, and still no help (that's per the doctor, before anyone freaks out). Right now, though, I've taken the last to hydrocodone pills I had, in a desperate attempt to dull this enough that I can get to sleep. It has had only minimal effect. While the rest of my body feels rather drugged, and my mind is drifting a bit, the pain in my chest is still going strong. So strong, in fact, that I'm still awake. Why am I posting this? Well, I figured that I was awake at 1:30, I might as well get online. I am hoping to find something on here that will help me drift off into dreamland.

Pissed

Oh, I forgot to mention this in the first post so I figured I'd make another. Yes, I realize it has been all of 2 minutes.

When I was setting this thing up, I was first just going to grab a yourname.blogspot.com type of address. My first choice for this, of course, was southboard.blogspot.com. Given that Southboard is the name of my site. However, some chump has already taken that. How in the world did someone else get that first on here? More importantly, if they are going to steal my name, the least they can do is have the decency to add a post that is more recent than December, 2005. I mean, for crying out loud, even I am not that bad.

Trying this again

I am wondering if I make this as easy as possible, if maybe then I'll actually post stuff. My gut says no, but obviously, that is not going to stop me from trying. We'll see how it goes. Given that I can't keep my main site going, I highly doubt this one will work. I haven't posted to that one since September, after all.

One thing that might make this easier is that I can just use the Google Toolbar to send something to this thing without having to really do anything at all. That alone is good enough for me. I am waiting for Google to just take over the world, so I've got no problems with having them be part of everything in my life.