3 ms·

> spending on research and development has grown significantly > to $3.4 billion—an increase of $1 billion over 2011 This can be construed as either a positiv

> spending on research and development has grown significantly > to $3.4 billion—an increase of $1 billion over 2011 This can be construed as either a positive or a negative. It's positive if the R&D has a particularly focused scope, resulting in coherent products/technologies that actually hit the market. Often when there's a lack of vision a company (Microsoft is a great example) will produce a plethora of solutions in search of a problem and patent the shit out of everything along the way. Hopefully this isn't a case of lack of vision where Apple is throwing crap at the wall until they find something that sticks and packing IP in the piggy bank for future lawsuits. Big R&D budgets can be a sign of this. We'll see.

mmanfrin 14y ago
> Often when there's a lack of vision a company (Microsoft is a great example) will produce a plethora of solutions in search of a problem and patent the shit out of everything along the way. What sort of patents has MS exercised in this fashion? They've shown some amazing tech demos over the past 4-5 years and a lot of them have materialized in to actual products. Even perhaps the biggest 'demo noshow' has been used: Surface (i.e., the surface of 4 years ago).
- caycep 14y ago
  Nathan Myrvhold's patent troll firm that has some ties so MS is probably what was being referred to.
  - tptacek 14y ago
    Nathan Myrvhold did not build a patent portfolio out of Microsoft's R&D budget.
- alwaysinshade 14y ago
  First, I have a huge respect for Microsoft and use many of their products, so this isn't a brand-love pissing contest... > What sort of patents has MS exercised in this fashion? Ask manufacturers of Android phones how Microsoft exercises its patents. > a lot of them have materialized in to actual products. http://news.cnet.com/8301-10805_3-20064439-75.html http://news.cnet.com/8301-10805_3-20064439-75.html "A little more than three years after opening Pioneer Studios, a skunkworks operation to develop consumer electronics and experiences, Microsoft has closed the unit" "The ill-fated Courier tablet--something of a dual-screen tablet that predated Apple's iPad--emerged from Pioneer." "the group zeroed in on opportunities that offered revenue opportunities north of $100 million a year. And because the group focused on those opportunities so early, it had a 20 percent success rate."
tar 14y ago
http://research.microsoft.com http://research.microsoft.com
Jacobi 14y ago
I think that MS R&D is valuable for the research community because they do publish in peer reviewed journals.

mmanfrin 14y ago

> Often when there's a lack of vision a company (Microsoft is a great example) will produce a plethora of solutions in search of a problem and patent the shit out of everything along the way. What sort of patents has MS exercised in this fashion? They've shown some amazing tech demos over the past 4-5 years and a lot of them have materialized in to actual products. Even perhaps the biggest 'demo noshow' has been used: Surface (i.e., the surface of 4 years ago).

caycep 14y ago
Nathan Myrvhold's patent troll firm that has some ties so MS is probably what was being referred to.
- tptacek 14y ago
  Nathan Myrvhold did not build a patent portfolio out of Microsoft's R&D budget.
alwaysinshade 14y ago
First, I have a huge respect for Microsoft and use many of their products, so this isn't a brand-love pissing contest... > What sort of patents has MS exercised in this fashion? Ask manufacturers of Android phones how Microsoft exercises its patents. > a lot of them have materialized in to actual products. http://news.cnet.com/8301-10805_3-20064439-75.html http://news.cnet.com/8301-10805_3-20064439-75.html "A little more than three years after opening Pioneer Studios, a skunkworks operation to develop consumer electronics and experiences, Microsoft has closed the unit" "The ill-fated Courier tablet--something of a dual-screen tablet that predated Apple's iPad--emerged from Pioneer." "the group zeroed in on opportunities that offered revenue opportunities north of $100 million a year. And because the group focused on those opportunities so early, it had a 20 percent success rate."

tar 14y ago

http://research.microsoft.com http://research.microsoft.com

Jacobi 14y ago

I think that MS R&D is valuable for the research community because they do publish in peer reviewed journals.