Tuesday, January 28, 2003

SBC Wants Your Money So here's the plan. If you are a web designer or were involved with the design of web pages prior to May 17, 1996 and can come up with an example of a page that would appear to violate the SBC patent but that was available for use before the SBC application date, then please come forward and show that the patent isn't valid. [Robert X. Cringely] Here's one. The Mountaintop went online sometime in 1995, with its first article posted on September 20th of that year, with the type of navigation covered by this patent. And I wasn't early to the game. Like most web designers, I was merely copying what I had seen elsewhere. Apparently, the patent is invalid. This appears to be yet another example of the corporate world trying to squeeze money out of people by patenting the obvious.   1:46:25 PM

Global Leaders Respond to U.N. Reports "The conclusion that Iraq is in material breach is an incontrovertible one," Straw said, adding that the Iraqi regime "does not have long to change its behavior fundamentally" or face war. Australia's Howard said Iraq should be given "some more time, but not a lot" to disarm.[AP World News] Sadly, I believe Mr. Straw is correct. The testimony of Hans Blix made it quite clear that the Iraqis have not abided by Resolution 1441, and in fact do not seem to have any intention of disarming. I only hope that, while the United States may be justified in going to war according to UN Resolutions, it will go the extra mile to prevent it. We need be in no rush. Now is the time to pray that events within Iraq would avert this war. For I fear that unless there is a regime change there, the die has already been cast and we will be at war within a month.   12:31:09 PM