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How about Microsoft and Apple? Do they get a free pass from this, because they're less likely to do it, so why even bother asking them? I'm not defending Googl

by devx 13y ago

How about Microsoft and Apple? Do they get a free pass from this, because they're less likely to do it, so why even bother asking them? I'm not defending Google, and I support EFF's request. I'm just saying this seems to happen quite often. For example, even though Apple was trying to make things better for Foxconn employees, they were actually the ones being targeted and criticized "for not doing enough", a lot more than the other Foxconn customers were.

devcpp 13y ago
They're the patent trolls we're trying to defend against. Are you also going to ask the NSA to protect people's privacy?
skore 13y ago
It's not about fairness, it's about trying to find the right point to apply pressure and create a public discussion. Both Apple and Microsoft could not care less about how terrible they are in their (ab)use of patents and they particularly don't care how customers perceive their use of patents. Challenging them gives you a zero percent chance to succeed. In fact, they have a lot of clients and customers who might even cheer them on. In any case, they have spent a lot of time and energy to spin this in the past and they would just repeat that pattern. There is a very tiny chance that you would have success with Google - even if you don't succeed with them directly, you might get the ball rolling on a public discussion. Trying Apple or Microsoft is a surefire way to kill any such discussion very quickly.
jrockway 13y ago
There are two factors at play. Imagine you want a date. Do you call up your favorite celebrity and ask him or her out? No. You find someone that you like that has a greater than 51% chance of actually saying yes. (OK, it doesn't need to be 51% since you stand to lose less than you could gain. But some mental calculation like that is going on.) The other factor is Internet hype. Try this: write a story involving Google or Apple as the protagonist, submit it to HN or Reddit, and watch as the Internet goes crazy for it. The companies are "hot" now, and merely mentioning them sells newspapers (or pageviews, or Reddit karma, or whatever). If what you're writing is technically true and contains controversy, all the better. The first factor rules out Apple. The second factor rules out Microsoft. And who's left?
- bsullivan01 13y ago
  Or maybe the two faced Google is the one trying to win brownie points with the tech crowd, while applying for patents on bill splitting?

by devx 13y ago

devcpp 13y ago

They're the patent trolls we're trying to defend against. Are you also going to ask the NSA to protect people's privacy?

skore 13y ago

It's not about fairness, it's about trying to find the right point to apply pressure and create a public discussion. Both Apple and Microsoft could not care less about how terrible they are in their (ab)use of patents and they particularly don't care how customers perceive their use of patents. Challenging them gives you a zero percent chance to succeed. In fact, they have a lot of clients and customers who might even cheer them on. In any case, they have spent a lot of time and energy to spin this in the past and they would just repeat that pattern. There is a very tiny chance that you would have success with Google - even if you don't succeed with them directly, you might get the ball rolling on a public discussion. Trying Apple or Microsoft is a surefire way to kill any such discussion very quickly.

jrockway 13y ago

There are two factors at play. Imagine you want a date. Do you call up your favorite celebrity and ask him or her out? No. You find someone that you like that has a greater than 51% chance of actually saying yes. (OK, it doesn't need to be 51% since you stand to lose less than you could gain. But some mental calculation like that is going on.) The other factor is Internet hype. Try this: write a story involving Google or Apple as the protagonist, submit it to HN or Reddit, and watch as the Internet goes crazy for it. The companies are "hot" now, and merely mentioning them sells newspapers (or pageviews, or Reddit karma, or whatever). If what you're writing is technically true and contains controversy, all the better. The first factor rules out Apple. The second factor rules out Microsoft. And who's left?

bsullivan01 13y ago
Or maybe the two faced Google is the one trying to win brownie points with the tech crowd, while applying for patents on bill splitting?