Brian Prentice

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Entries from August 2009

Microsoft v. i4i – The More I Read The Less I Like

August 30th, 2009 · 8 Comments

I’ve taken a little time to read Microsoft’s position on their infringement of i4i’s patent relating to a system for manipulating the architecture and content of a document separately. This is the patent case which has resulted in the initial injunction that would stop the sale of Microsoft Word. In my initial post on this [...]

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Is "Open Source Company" An Oxymoron?

August 20th, 2009 · 14 Comments

Gartner has long since tied the definition of Open Source Software to the underlying license agreement. If software code is covered under a license recognized by OSI it’s open source. Otherwise, it’s not.
Simple and straightforward.
The focal point for any open source activity has been the project. That’s the center of gravity for community participation. [...]

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Microsoft’s Word Patent Woes May Be Broadly Shared

August 12th, 2009 · 13 Comments

Few things must be more emotionally paradoxical for the anti-patentistas of the world than to see Microsoft get clobbered on a patent infringement action. Do you rejoice because one of the great advocates, and enforcers, of software patents has gotten a strong dose of their own medicine? Or do you fret at yet another example [...]

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Bing Jingle or Eurovision Song Contest – You Be The Judge

August 7th, 2009 · No Comments

Do you enjoy watching the singers that flop the American Idol auditions more than the ones that make the finals? If so, you might want to spend some time cruising the entries of Microsoft Bing Jingle contest. To give you a sense of how good it gets check out the winner.

Someone needs to remind Microsoft’s [...]

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Google, Open Source & Patent Reform

August 6th, 2009 · 10 Comments

Last year, as part of Gartner’s Special Report on Open Source Software, I wrote a report titled Open Source at Google, 2008 (Gartner subscription required). In it I made the statement that:
Open source at Google is a key part of Google’s strategy, and Gartner expects it to become one of the most significant contributors to [...]

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