software patents suck

More and more, I'm coming to the realization that software patents are a VERY bad thing. I recently discovered that one of my favorite utility apps for Windows was permanently suspended because it infringed on a software patent. The patent in question is located here.

The patent describes, in brief, a GUI element that allows for selecting and launching programs from a "drawer-like" toolbar. The first question I have concerns prior art. This patent was filed in late 2000. How is there not prior art? Microsoft had the Office toolbar going well before that (not to mention the Start menu or the quick launch toolbar). Both KDE and GNOME have had "drawer-like" GUI elements for some time.

The problem is just that software patents tend to be overly broad and it seems blatantly obvious that those reviewing the patent submissions typically are completely ignorant of the subject matter. This alone should be enough of an argument against software patents, not to mention the fact that software patents are basically patents on ideas and concepts. Can a musical artists patent a chord progression, or a type of composition? Of course not! Why then are software companies able to do the exact same thing; especially when most of the software patents tend to deal with something overly broad or blatantly obvious (such as "one-click shopping")? It seems that most companies nowadays like to earn their money through the legal system instead of producing quality software.

harrrrr....

Jest in case ye scurvy dogs didn't mark ye calendars, today be National Talk Like a Pirate Day.

the apathy monster pays a visit

I don't know what it is, but I have been downright apathetic about everything today. It's just one of those days that I wish I could've just stayed home and vegged out. Seems I've been having more and more days like this lately; perhaps I need a vacation or something. All I know is that 5 o'clock just won't come fast enough...

happy birthday to me

Woohoo! I turned 23 today!

In other news, I've come to the realization that, in the software development industry, the clients never know what they want. I've been working on a project for the past two months or so. Everything was supposedly figured out and the software was designed according to the current spec. We actually had plenty of time for testing (which is generally a rarity), and only had a few minor issues to work out.

Now, two weeks before the software is supposed to be used in the "real world", the clients call us up and tell us that the software needs to work in a completely different way because they changed the way they were doing things. Wonderful. We'll get our crack team of ONE programmer (me) on this right away. I just wish that some things would be thoroughly thought out before coding started. I always laugh at those software development books and articles that proselytize the Software Development Lifecycle. To actually have an analysis phase; how utopian would that be? Unfortunately, there is always a deadline pressing down and the first two steps to get thrown out of the SDL are the analysis and design phases.

I guess I shouldn't complain too much though; all this extra time is not neccessarily wasted, per se. There's just so many other projects that I actually want to be working on that I hate being bogged down by this one in particular. Such is the life of a developer, I suppose.

let the music play

Check out iRate Radio. It's a fledgling project on SourceForge.net that allows you to rate tracks of music and get more music based on your ratings. Best of all, the tracks all come from unsigned, independent artists who allow their music to be freely downloaded. No more legal worries from the RIAA! Joy!

skeletons in the digital closet

Wow...
Starting this blog got me to thinking of all the previous homepages that I've built in the past. Somehow, someway, GeoCities has kept my oldest site online. Ah, the days when the web was young and so naive.... It's hilarious, yet somewhat humbling to see retrospectively my tastes, ideas, and passions. Just be glad that my appreciation for visual style has improved somewhat. I probably included every flashy gimmick I could find on that web page. Of course, in my defense, so did everyone else! Times on the web back then were so much simpler. Advertisers had yet to discover the reach of the web, Netscape 2 and 3 were the browsers of choice, and Java had only recently come on the scene. Geez....I feel old now.

My second site, which was hosted on a computer I had in college and is no longer available, but was at least easier on the eyes. If any site had survived, I wish it would have been that one, as it definitely reflected a much more mature and intelligent side of me. I've definitely learned the lesson that simple web sites are better. If you can't impress, entertain, or educate with actual content, then flashy graphics and obnoxious music certainly won't do it for you.

first post and all that jazz...

I've considered starting a blog for some time now, but apathy and procrastination have always shot the idea down. But tonight, for whatever reason, the urge struck me to force upon the world my musings, ramblings, and meandering experiences.
Now that we have the trite, yet obligatory "Reasons For Starting Your Blog" out of the way....

I'm currently pining away for the latest episodes of Naruto and Scrapped Princess, constantly refreshing my browser like the little anime fan-boy I am. I swear, AnimeSuki.com is probably the worst thing to ever happen to my bandwidth... :) Seriously, if you need an anime fix, they have plenty to sate your appetite. Just be sure to grab a copy of BitTorrent in order to download things.