Microsoft Owns Patent to Restricting Your Software

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blackthorne

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maybe MS is just worried someone is going to sue them after purchasing the watered down version (without knowing it) and then having to fork over cash to upgrade...not really sure if a "patent" would have anything to do with that though...
 
We'll see if the OS to be will be worth it. Hey, if I could buy a cheap version of the OS that didn't have windows mail, IE, movie maker, or any of the other extras I didn't use I'd go for it. The most useful tool to me is Notepad ^_^. The Areo interface is nice, so I guess I would pay a few bucks for that, but then I'd also like to pay less for not having ready boost since I never use that :D.
 

cryogenic

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[citation][nom]IronRyan21[/nom]Doesn't Microsoft own half the patent dept. It seems every other day we hear about some new patent.[/citation]

IBM could give Microsoft a run for its' money regarding the number of patents owned.

Quote from http://www.ibm.com/ibm/licensing/patents/
IBM's worldwide patent portfolio exceeds 40,000

Quote from http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/features/2009/feb09/02-10PatentMilestone.mspx
Microsoft has been awarded its 10,000th U.S. patent
 

guess who

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Just shifts the balance towards open source, where you do not have to put up with all the MS BS where they try to control your life.

Talking about control, Toms HW does not play nice with my NoScript. Drop down menus do not work, sign in link does not work etc. UNLESS I allow the entire page, which kind of makes NoScrip pointless. Anandtech does not have any trouble with my NoScript settings. I rarely read the articles any more because of the BS I have to put up with on this site. Guess Toms HW will be the loser in this battle, because I am tired of the control this site is trying to exersize over my browser settings.
Bye
 

DeadlyPredator

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Lol, nice patent... so I could buy a computer with a 4 ghz max CPU but because I decided to pay less by choosing the basic version it will only be clocked to 1.8 ghz until I buy a key which I enter in my BIOS and that will unlock it to its full potential?

Sounds like M$ wants more money from your pockets
 

jsloan

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i dont see how they could get a patent on this, software developers have been doing this for decades... look at all the software you can download, use limited copies, pay for an upgrade which gets you a new key which unlocks higher end features in the software. the patent office is like aig, insuring junk and making it appear like something. it just all ends up in the courts...
 

Tedders

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[citation][nom]guess who[/nom]Just shifts the balance towards open source, where you do not have to put up with all the MS BS where they try to control your life.Talking about control, Toms HW does not play nice with my NoScript. Drop down menus do not work, sign in link does not work etc. UNLESS I allow the entire page, which kind of makes NoScrip pointless. Anandtech does not have any trouble with my NoScript settings. I rarely read the articles any more because of the BS I have to put up with on this site. Guess Toms HW will be the loser in this battle, because I am tired of the control this site is trying to exersize over my browser settings.Bye[/citation]
See ya
 

daggs

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mmm. strange, moving from one type of os to another, where did I saw that? ho, ubuntu, opensuse and etc. now microsoft wants to patent something that they didn't invented? what will happen next if it will be approved? they will sue ubuntu, opensuse and etc for patent stealing?
 

MoUsE-WiZ

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guess who, you only need to allow toms+bestofmedia. Yeah, it's still annoying, but you do get to get rid of most of the useless possibly infected 3rd party scripts.
 

jsloan

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[citation][nom]Daggs[/nom]mmm. strange, moving from one type of os to another, where did I saw that? ho, ubuntu, opensuse and etc. now microsoft wants to patent something that they didn't invented? what will happen next if it will be approved? they will sue ubuntu, opensuse and etc for patent stealing?[/citation]

that is exactly what happends, there are companies out there that all they do is troll the patent system for things that exist, but are not patented, then they patent it, sue the manufacturers and settle out of court, law firms and lawyers run amoc... large companies like ibm, intel, microsoft see the $$$ and for some now have been patenting anything and everything, reguardless of who actually invented it, then it goes to court they settle with each other and rake in the bucks, it, like our financial system, is quite crooked and a scandal, then again we have the best government money and buy.
 

Greatwalrus

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[citation]Talking about control, Toms HW does not play nice with my NoScript. Drop down menus do not work, sign in link does not work etc. UNLESS I allow the entire page, which kind of makes NoScrip pointless. Anandtech does not have any trouble with my NoScript settings. I rarely read the articles any more because of the BS I have to put up with on this site. Guess Toms HW will be the loser in this battle, because I am tired of the control this site is trying to exersize over my browser settings.Bye[/citation]

Lol, do you actually think a site would go out of its way so that you can use your adblocking tools without issues?
 

fuser

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I have a feeling that many of Microsoft's patents are defensive in nature. Everyone knows that MS has a ton of cash and some companies exist on a business model of: 1) Purchase IP patent, 2) sue anyone using it.
 

sublifer

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It seems like so many corporations are trying out "tiered" methods now. It's now all about delivering less, and then charging more for "normal."--Ed.
Exactly... I hate companies that do this and when I can will completely avoid using them. Reminds me of the rumors of Win7 being more expensive...
 

A Stoner

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[citation][nom]jsloan[/nom]that is exactly what happends, there are companies out there that all they do is troll the patent system for things that exist, but are not patented, then they patent it, sue the manufacturers and settle out of court, law firms and lawyers run amoc... large companies like ibm, intel, microsoft see the $$$ and for some now have been patenting anything and everything, reguardless of who actually invented it, then it goes to court they settle with each other and rake in the bucks, it, like our financial system, is quite crooked and a scandal, then again we have the best government money and buy.[/citation]
Nah, our government now has the best voting blocks money can buy...
 

cadder

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Good for them, maybe bad for consumers if it is a way to get more money for the same product. My business is exactly the opposite- we get paid a set amount for our services and then people try to get us to do more for them.
 

vertigo_2000

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You also have to look at it from another POV. There are people out there that are going to get a 4 ghz machine clocked down to 1.8 ghz and never, ever upgrade.

To me, that's the biggest waste.

MS should just leave well enough alone... so someone's going to buy a dual core and 2 months later figure that for some reason he/she needs 4 cores. Oops... to me, that's your own fault. Shoulda thought ahead a little more about it before pulling the trigger on your PC purchase.

When is the world going to stop trying to save everyone from their own stupidty/ignorance/naivity/laziness?
 

B-Unit

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This title is pretty misleading, there not restricting anything. There offering an easy way to move to a superior version of their product. Now instead of having to uninstall/reinstall to move up, you just type in the code and BAM everything youve already done is intact.

 

wiyosaya

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This patent should never have been granted.
In exchange for payment, a software or hardware vendor will acquire a digital signature(s) for the appropriate program files from the supplier of the program files … so that the next time he or she attempts to execute the application or driver the appropriate signatures will be in the digest catalog and the program files will be loaded.
This has been in various software for years. Speaking as a programmer who worked on such a scheme about ten years ago, there are many professional software packages out there that include the full code to run all the features included in the package, however, they are not enabled unless the appropriate digital key is present somewhere on the machine. IMHO, that makes this patent open for challenges and, perhaps, invalidation.

And here we have it, another example of the garbage patent laws in the US.
 

jsloan

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[citation][nom]wiyosaya[/nom]And here we have it, another example of the garbage patent laws in the US.[/citation]

it's not just the patent system, it's everything that government touches is rotten, a ripoff, a fraud.

basically the government changes what should be illegal into legal for a price, contributions.

think about the insurance industry, financial industry, ect. they are all doing the same.
 

Humans think

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[citation][nom]guess who[/nom]Just shifts the balance towards open source, where you do not have to put up with all the MS BS where they try to control your life.Talking about control, Toms HW does not play nice with my NoScript. Drop down menus do not work, sign in link does not work etc. UNLESS I allow the entire page, which kind of makes NoScrip pointless. Anandtech does not have any trouble with my NoScript settings. I rarely read the articles any more because of the BS I have to put up with on this site. Guess Toms HW will be the loser in this battle, because I am tired of the control this site is trying to exersize over my browser settings.Bye[/citation]

I feel you man, I have been experimenting a while, you need to enable the following scripts for Toms HW to be fully functional (without unnecessary scripts):
tomshardware.com
dl-rms.com
bestofmedia.com
That works fine for me till now, but the request for cleaner websites is sticky. I hope most readers feel this way too...
 
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