6 ms·

Seriously - what the fuck Google? It's only a matter of time until a patent troll writes a for loop on the store index to send out infringement suits DMCA-take

Seriously - what the fuck Google? It's only a matter of time until a patent troll writes a for loop on the store index to send out infringement suits DMCA-takedown style.

deleted 10y ago
[deleted]
deleted 10y ago
[deleted]
daenz 10y ago
> It's only a matter of time until a patent troll writes a for loop on the store index to send out infringement suits DMCA-takedown style. Perhaps a competing troll owns the iteration patent.
- krisdol 10y ago
  No, iteration is fair game, but `for` is an API name patented by Oracle. Legally, a patent troll would have to write a `whenceforth`, `do...thither`, or `oft` loop.
  - greydius 10y ago
    The next time I'm forced to write C code... #define whenceforth for
    - Zikes 10y ago
      #define supposing if #define whereas else
      - dopamean 10y ago
        I know nothing about C. You can alias keywords like that?
        odbol_ 10y ago
        #define is part of the preprocessor, which does very basic string substitution on the code before compiling. Useful in small doses, but also regularly abused.
        david-given 10y ago
        An old classic --- pascal.h: http://thedailywtf.com/articles/_0x23_include__0x22_pascal_0x2e_h_0x22_ http://thedailywtf.com/articles/_0x23_include__0x22_pascal_0...
        goldenkey 10y ago
        Boost has macro header libs that allow pretty much anything within the macros system limits to be computed. Lookup Boost preproccessor and youll be even more impressed.
        eric_the_read 10y ago
        My dad used to tell idiots that he was very impressed with their ideas; one day, he pointed out to me that the impression was not always a positive one. Edit: Not saying Boost is idiotic; just that you may not be positively impressed with their use of preprocessor magic.
        goldenkey 10y ago
        Pretty funny. I have to use that "impressed" fib one day and silently chuckle. Ive actually used Boost preprocessor macros in C for huge benefits to compute variadic functions at compile time. You may not like boost templates or libs but the preproccessor stuff is merely just a turing complete arithmetic language that includes arrays, tuples, lists, and a whole slew of other great things. Its actually quite marvelous how its implemented all from standard macros. A treatise in limited functional programming. I would not want to produce those macros myself..they are insanely clever, just take a look at the source. They use something similar to Church encoding for representing numbers. You can use it without any of the other boost libs or headers. Repetitive code sucks and the BOOST_PP macros are godsend. Im pretty sure you are referring to other 'magic' most likely C++ template stuff. All boost PP does is give you data structures, loop, and arithmetic at compile time. [1] [1] http://www.boost.org/doc/libs/1_61_0/libs/preprocessor/doc/index.html http://www.boost.org/doc/libs/1_61_0/libs/preprocessor/doc/i...
  - mpitt 10y ago
    *copyrighted, not patented
  - Bjorkbat 10y ago
    They can use dogescript. In dogescript it's a much loop. https://github.com/dogescript/dogescript/blob/master/LANGUAGE.md https://github.com/dogescript/dogescript/blob/master/LANGUAG...
    - ben174 10y ago
      I'm just waiting for one of these languages to catch on, gain traction, and become a real respected language used in business settings.
      - c_c_c 10y ago
        Not respected maybe but lolcode is functional, complete, and extensible.
      - aylons 10y ago
        This is Javascript.
      - mortenlarsen 10y ago
        I am hoping for INTERCAL. "COME FROM" is very much needed now that GOTO is considered harmful.
- rhinoceraptor 10y ago
  Simple, you instead just write totalMoney = googlePlayAuthors.reduce((money, author) => money + abusePatentSystem(author), 0)
petersellers 10y ago
That would almost assuredly force Google to get involved. I think it's more likely that they will continue to sue just a few small time developers here and there to try and keep things under the radar.
doktrin 10y ago
Absolutely. At least Apple pledged nominal, vocal support when their developers were being similarly threatened.
droopybuns 10y ago
Google offers pretty handcuffs that developers mistake for bracelets. Consider how Google is helping the OEMs get Android updates out. Consider how easy it is to call google customer care. The real question should be: what the fuck developers? Why do you keep hitching yourself to such an unreliable partner? When is it enough?
- hellbanner 10y ago
  Good question. What's the alternative for delivering software to a consumer market? Many people have Android phones.
  - ChuckMcM 10y ago
    It would be interesting to offer a curated App store with patent indemnification and malware scanning on Android. Do the whole thing, the APIs the eco-system. Without a particular vendor lock in (like amazon fire for example) you might be able to capture the Chinese OEM market which would be a lot of devices. Very hard road to travel though.
    - arm 10y ago
      Speaking of app stores for Android, there’s also F-Droid¹, although admittedly, it’s not much of a 'store' considering it only lists FOSS (Free and Open Source Software). ―――――― ¹ — https://f-droid.org/ https://f-droid.org/
  - cm2187 10y ago
    Webapps...
    - corndoge 10y ago
      Web does not and will never have the same quality of experience as a native application.
      - 10y ago
muddi900 10y ago
As the video mentions, people have been sued for App Store and Steam as well. Google, and Apple and Valve, can send their own lawyers to defend these clients, but since there are dozens of cases, it will be quite expensive. They can maybe sue these trolls for tortous interference, but that may not stick. So they can't do much.
- caf 10y ago
  If the same plaintiff is suing the a bunch of different developers over the same alleged infringement then I believe the defendants could request that the cases be combined?
- tomlock 10y ago
  Those three companies all have tonnes of cash on hand! Its the right thing for them to do, also!
- thinkpad20 10y ago
  A couple million dollars would bankrupt the average freelance developer, some many times over. A couple million dollars to any of those companies is negligible. I'm not saying that money is no object, but on the other hand, that Google or apple or whomever allows patrons of their store to be bullied like this is, in my opinion, an embarrassment. It not only shows a lack of concern, but it also loses them money because the apps in question probably have to be pulled from the store. I might be off base but I absolutely think that any of those companies could sue these trolls for their behavior. Instead they seem to be showing that they only care about number one.
- Joeri 10y ago
  If they systematically defended these clients it would not take long for the patent trolls to seek greener pastures. After all, patent trolls are in it to get a settlement or payout. If there's a class of lawsuits where they have no hope of seeing any money, they would steer clear.

Seriously - what the fuck Google? It's only a matter of time until a patent troll writes a for loop on the store index to send out infringement suits DMCA-takedown style.

deleted 10y ago

[deleted]

deleted 10y ago

[deleted]

daenz 10y ago

> It's only a matter of time until a patent troll writes a for loop on the store index to send out infringement suits DMCA-takedown style. Perhaps a competing troll owns the iteration patent.

krisdol 10y ago
No, iteration is fair game, but `for` is an API name patented by Oracle. Legally, a patent troll would have to write a `whenceforth`, `do...thither`, or `oft` loop.
- greydius 10y ago
  The next time I'm forced to write C code... #define whenceforth for
  - Zikes 10y ago
    #define supposing if #define whereas else
    - dopamean 10y ago
      I know nothing about C. You can alias keywords like that?
      - odbol_ 10y ago
        #define is part of the preprocessor, which does very basic string substitution on the code before compiling. Useful in small doses, but also regularly abused.
        david-given 10y ago
        An old classic --- pascal.h: http://thedailywtf.com/articles/_0x23_include__0x22_pascal_0x2e_h_0x22_ http://thedailywtf.com/articles/_0x23_include__0x22_pascal_0...
      - goldenkey 10y ago
        Boost has macro header libs that allow pretty much anything within the macros system limits to be computed. Lookup Boost preproccessor and youll be even more impressed.
        eric_the_read 10y ago
        My dad used to tell idiots that he was very impressed with their ideas; one day, he pointed out to me that the impression was not always a positive one. Edit: Not saying Boost is idiotic; just that you may not be positively impressed with their use of preprocessor magic.
        goldenkey 10y ago
        Pretty funny. I have to use that "impressed" fib one day and silently chuckle. Ive actually used Boost preprocessor macros in C for huge benefits to compute variadic functions at compile time. You may not like boost templates or libs but the preproccessor stuff is merely just a turing complete arithmetic language that includes arrays, tuples, lists, and a whole slew of other great things. Its actually quite marvelous how its implemented all from standard macros. A treatise in limited functional programming. I would not want to produce those macros myself..they are insanely clever, just take a look at the source. They use something similar to Church encoding for representing numbers. You can use it without any of the other boost libs or headers. Repetitive code sucks and the BOOST_PP macros are godsend. Im pretty sure you are referring to other 'magic' most likely C++ template stuff. All boost PP does is give you data structures, loop, and arithmetic at compile time. [1] [1] http://www.boost.org/doc/libs/1_61_0/libs/preprocessor/doc/index.html http://www.boost.org/doc/libs/1_61_0/libs/preprocessor/doc/i...
- mpitt 10y ago
  *copyrighted, not patented
- Bjorkbat 10y ago
  They can use dogescript. In dogescript it's a much loop. https://github.com/dogescript/dogescript/blob/master/LANGUAGE.md https://github.com/dogescript/dogescript/blob/master/LANGUAG...
  - ben174 10y ago
    I'm just waiting for one of these languages to catch on, gain traction, and become a real respected language used in business settings.
    - c_c_c 10y ago
      Not respected maybe but lolcode is functional, complete, and extensible.
    - aylons 10y ago
      This is Javascript.
    - mortenlarsen 10y ago
      I am hoping for INTERCAL. "COME FROM" is very much needed now that GOTO is considered harmful.
rhinoceraptor 10y ago
Simple, you instead just write totalMoney = googlePlayAuthors.reduce((money, author) => money + abusePatentSystem(author), 0)

petersellers 10y ago

That would almost assuredly force Google to get involved. I think it's more likely that they will continue to sue just a few small time developers here and there to try and keep things under the radar.

doktrin 10y ago

Absolutely. At least Apple pledged nominal, vocal support when their developers were being similarly threatened.

droopybuns 10y ago

Google offers pretty handcuffs that developers mistake for bracelets. Consider how Google is helping the OEMs get Android updates out. Consider how easy it is to call google customer care. The real question should be: what the fuck developers? Why do you keep hitching yourself to such an unreliable partner? When is it enough?

hellbanner 10y ago
Good question. What's the alternative for delivering software to a consumer market? Many people have Android phones.
- ChuckMcM 10y ago
  It would be interesting to offer a curated App store with patent indemnification and malware scanning on Android. Do the whole thing, the APIs the eco-system. Without a particular vendor lock in (like amazon fire for example) you might be able to capture the Chinese OEM market which would be a lot of devices. Very hard road to travel though.
  - arm 10y ago
    Speaking of app stores for Android, there’s also F-Droid¹, although admittedly, it’s not much of a 'store' considering it only lists FOSS (Free and Open Source Software). ―――――― ¹ — https://f-droid.org/ https://f-droid.org/
- cm2187 10y ago
  Webapps...
  - corndoge 10y ago
    Web does not and will never have the same quality of experience as a native application.
    - 10y ago

muddi900 10y ago

As the video mentions, people have been sued for App Store and Steam as well. Google, and Apple and Valve, can send their own lawyers to defend these clients, but since there are dozens of cases, it will be quite expensive. They can maybe sue these trolls for tortous interference, but that may not stick. So they can't do much.

caf 10y ago
If the same plaintiff is suing the a bunch of different developers over the same alleged infringement then I believe the defendants could request that the cases be combined?
tomlock 10y ago
Those three companies all have tonnes of cash on hand! Its the right thing for them to do, also!
thinkpad20 10y ago
A couple million dollars would bankrupt the average freelance developer, some many times over. A couple million dollars to any of those companies is negligible. I'm not saying that money is no object, but on the other hand, that Google or apple or whomever allows patrons of their store to be bullied like this is, in my opinion, an embarrassment. It not only shows a lack of concern, but it also loses them money because the apps in question probably have to be pulled from the store. I might be off base but I absolutely think that any of those companies could sue these trolls for their behavior. Instead they seem to be showing that they only care about number one.
Joeri 10y ago
If they systematically defended these clients it would not take long for the patent trolls to seek greener pastures. After all, patent trolls are in it to get a settlement or payout. If there's a class of lawsuits where they have no hope of seeing any money, they would steer clear.