Thirteen years ago, LSI Logic filed for – and it was granted! – a patent on linked lists. I found out about this on Digg.
I wanted to be sure, so I read and re-read the text of their submission, and no matter how you slice it, that’s multiply-linked lists and nothing else.

This patent, unlike another linked-list-related patent, does not add anything to the concept.

OK, so what’s the big deal? Oh, nothing, apparently the patent system has been broken for quite some time now. But that’s not even what I wanted to talk about here. A real silly patent? Mac Donald’s trying to get the sandwich patented! Take a look: http://www.metro.co.uk/news/article.html?in_article_id=26183&in_page_id=34

I was getting tired of this blog’s old look, so I’m trying this new one. I know, I know: the gear looks really crappy. I need to spend some time fixing it.

In the forums on the Sony Music website, Tim Foreman of the band Switchfoot talks about the copy protection on their CD:

Hello friends,

my heart is heavy with this whole copy-protection thing. Many PC users have posted problems that they have had importing the new songs (regular disc only, not the dual disc) into programs such as Itunes. Let me first say that as a musician AND as a music fan, I agree with the frustration that has been expressed. We were horrified when we first heard about the new copy-protection policy that is being implemented by most major labels, including Sony (ours), and immediately looked into all of our options for removing this from our new album. Unfortunately, this is the new policy for all new major releases from these record companies. It is heartbreaking to see our blood, sweat, and tears over the past 2 years blurred by the confusion and frustration surrounding this new technology. It is also unfortunate when bands such as ourselves, Foo Fighters, Coldplay, etc… (just a few of the new releases with copy protection) are the target of this criticism, when there is no possible way to avoid this new industry policy.

Of course, no need to mention that the whole thread has now disappeared from Sony’s forums, as well as Google’s cached version.

Professionally:

First of all, I work for a Telecom company. We design and sell smart switches and routers. Our company is very innovative and was the first one to come up with the concept of layer 2 VLANs and ports mobility.

Personnally, I am a “Manager of Software Development”, which means that I oversee a group that creates Network Management Software.

Open-Source:

I have also been part of the open source movement for many years.

My latest projects are:

• NextBBS, a feature-laden and performant Message Board System.
• nWizard, an online installation and helper wizard for programers, regardless of their level of expertise.

My Web Sites:

• Well, there are many of them.I used to be a web host, but that activity got absorbed by a bigger fish. You can still take a look: ReadySetHost, formerly known as Hosting Group
• Free Message Boards Hosting: Clic!Dev
• An Anime and Video Games Online Community: Militate
• …and many more!

Well that’s it for now. Cheers.