Over this past week, I had to bang my head several times on the so called scam of ‘IP protection’ and software patents. First, I didn’t even know much about this term except that it had become a buzz word in last 5 years. So, when we were asked about our awareness of patents by TechStars, my immediate reaction was f***. We delved deeper and I contacted old friends who were more knowledgeable. I finally developed some awareness of the pitfalls, why it matters and how it is like digging your own grave. The issue is simple – you have an idea and you build a system. Even if your system is the first implementation of that idea, if some troll had thought about it vaguely 10 years ago and registered a patent on it, you are screwed. Even if he has no clue on how to put the idea into practice leave apart being qualified enough to build it, the law will be on his side. So – you need to know if you are violating some patent registered by someone in some world. I could stop cribbing about it but the issue is very real nuisance esp in the digital age.

Secondly, as I stumbled upon this post by Brad Burnham, I knew I wasn’t being unreasonable.

Thirdly, RX threw some light on the biggest impotency of Nexus and Google Android, one that I had been wondering since the phone was launched – why doesn’t Android have multitouch? I mean come on, iPhones have had it for a couple of years now and a company like Google didn’t provide it? How can a touch phone even imagine of competing with iPhone without multitouch? The answer is – Apple has patented the multi-touch.

Apple’s massive multi-touch patent portfolio is cited as a reason, both now for the Droid and then for the T-Mobile G1. Either Google, while CEO Eric Schmidt was still on the board, agreed not to violate them, or fears litigating them. So, they build in the functionality and let 3rd parties take advantage — and the risk that goes with it — if they so choose.

But why then does the Palm Pre have multi-touch gesture support on Sprint in the US? Wouldn’t the same patents apply? Sure. However, patents are like nukes. They can be deadly unless the guy you’re pointing yours at is pointing equally deadly ones back at you. As both TiPb and PreCentral.net have posted for a while — and Palm has explicitly stated — Palm has a heckuva mobile patent arsenal.

Apple’s massive multi-touch patent portfolio is cited as a reason, both now for the Droid and then for the T-Mobile G1. Either Google, while CEO Eric Schmidt was still on the board, agreed not to violate them, or fears litigating them. So, they build in the functionality and let 3rd parties take advantage — and the risk that goes with it — if they so choose.

But why then does the Palm Pre have multi-touch gesture support on Sprint in the US? Wouldn’t the same patents apply? Sure. However, patents are like nukes. They can be deadly unless the guy you’re pointing yours at is pointing equally deadly ones back at you. As both TiPb and PreCentral.net have posted for a while — and Palm has explicitly stated — Palm has a heckuva mobile patent arsenal.

Wow, I can still imagine Apple having come up with the technology itself first being able to patent it but in reality when it comes to software, the boundaries are really thin. As Brad said, the patents made sense for Pharmaceutical industry but software! Really?

Deadlines. Ideas. Team.

Light at the end of tunnel

For sometime, I’ve been looking into few tech ideas. For sometime, I’ve been looking for people with same level of adrenaline and impromptu attitude. And for sometime, I’ve been researching the inane immigration and visa laws of Uncle Sam.

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The fun is where startups are. I would rather be a failed entrepreneur than be underemployed. This piece generated quite a buzz through NY Tech Meetup – http://www.speakertext.com

As this CNN opinion piece points out -

Job creation? Look to entrepreneurs

According to the Census Bureau, nearly all net job creation in the U.S. since 1980 has been generated by firms operating less than five years.

Fred Wilson talks of interesting VC areas for this year-

I don’t think it makes much sense to think very much about what others are doing. Focus on what you are doing. This is what I’d like to be doing in 2010: mobile, gaming, commerce/currency, cloud platforms/APIs, and eduction/energy/environment.

Read full post here.

iSlate imagined

The web is rife with speculations on an Apple Tablet and with Amazon kindling the market of ebook readers and iPhone’s spectacular success, it might just be the right time for one because it is time the consumers got a one-for-all solution to personal computing.

Found this post by Mark Potts describing it excellently-

Apple’s Tabula Rasa

Most of those speculating about Apple’s tablet aren’t thinking big enough. They’re concentrating on narrow possibilities—it could be a book reader! It could play movies!—without seeing the much bigger picture of what Apple may be on the verge of creating. To its users, it will be: All Of The Above. And that’s huge.

These are grand expectations. Truth is, nobody really knows what Apple is up to except Steve Jobs and a handful of other insiders. And certainly a handful of naysayers are suggesting that nobody really wants to lug around a tablet computer, and thus it could be a Newton-like bust (although the Newton, in retrospect, seems remarkably prescient). Indeed, Apple, full of hubris and swagger after the enormous success of the iPod and iPhone, could well blow it with an overpriced, unfocused product.

But like Gruber, I’m betting on Apple to break ground, yet again, with its tablet, and in a big, big way. It could bring together so many threads of innovation that have been developing for the past few years. I truly believe that we could be on the verge of an important turning point for the way we get and use all sorts of media. I can’t wait to see what Apple comes up with. It could change everything.

Apple had tried something this big in laptops in MacAir which was a failure due to the unjustifiable price tag although the idea was quite good. All I am hoping for is that Steve Jobs keeps it realistic and affordable this time. Keep it under $1000 and I am in. After all, the idea is revolutionary and truly what we need in the market today – can it be done at an affordable price, we shall see on Jan 26th, Tuesday. The Mac lovers are already drooling on the possibilities.

Today’s feature-

If Thomas Paine were alive today, there’s little doubt you would find him blogging from www.commonsense.org, challenging concentrated power, conspicuous wealth, and a culture amusing itself to death. Paine would likely have cherished the chance to engage his readers in debate, and spur them to direct action for better government and a more equitable economy. When people pick up a newspaper or view it online, they need to feel that the multitude of voices within are devoted to them: a democratic people determined to stay that way. One man, with one voice, did that for the American colonies—and it changed the world.

No matter what form journalism takes in the coming years, it will only remain relevant if it follows Paine’s example and treats people like citizens worthy of serious conversations. The profession forgets this at its own peril. Or, as Paine would say: “Character is much easier kept than recovered.”

-Matthew Harwood

A good solid read at Columbia Journalism Review. The name ‘Thomas Paine’ has crossed my eyes much too often recently, no wonder since it’s his death anniversary week. But first things first- Who is Thomas Paine?

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