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23 October, 2002
Patently Absurd
You may have heard about the San Diego company, PanIP LLC, that has sued more than 50 small companies for patent infringement (summary here). These companies all have web sites that utilize common e-commerce procedures. PanIP claims that these sites infringe its two U.S. patents. The patents cover an "automated sales and services system," and an "automatic business and financial transaction-processing system." In other words, every web site that sells anything over the Internet is infringing upon their patents.
PanIP's business plan seems to be: Go after the small companies first, and demand a $30,000 settlement. Then, when their coffers build up they'll tackle the big guys such as Amazon and eBay.
Some of the defendants have banded together, and created a web site with an ominous domain name: youmaybenext.com.
PanIP's web site, by the way, has been down since last night. It's either been hacked, or it has crushed under the pressure of a massive amount of visitors who can't believe this is really happening.
Here's the ironic part. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office site also engages in e-commerce. So it appears that this government agency is infringing upon a patent that they issued!
Posted on 23 October, 2002
Here Come the Damned Butterflies
It
starts today. The $300
million ad campaign for MSN 8 -- and that's just budget for the U.S..
You can expect to see this obnoxious butterfly campaign every where you go, on the Web and elsewhere.
The sad part: Some people will actually spend time weighing the pros and cons of MSN vs. AOL. And the remaining 99.5% who don't give a damn about MSN or AOL will have to put up with the butterflies.
And finally, why would a software company feature a BUG in an advertising campaign?
Posted on 23 October, 2002
Put Words into George W's Mouth
This Flash app lets you create your very own speech, and then listen to it delivered by the President of the United States. Well done!
For a less Flashy and more low-tech approach to do-it-yourself Bush speech writing, go here.
Posted on 23 October, 2002
Men Who Look Like Kenny Rogers
Come
to think of it, there are a lot of people who look like
Kenny Rogers. Maybe
even too many.
Kenny Rogers is a man of many talents. Besides his singing career, he's got the chicken thing going. It appears that his online casino didn't work out, but he has been doing lots of promotional work for Barona Casino in San Diego. And if that's not enough, he still finds time to pitch for the Texas Rangers.
Posted on 23 October, 2002
Whoah! A Surprising Customer Service Story
Just when you thought the concept of customer service vanished sometime in the 20th century...
About six months ago, I noticed that one of the queen palm trees in my yard was not doing well. Specifically, the new growth was stunted and yellowed. I did some research on the Web, and discovered that the most likely cause was a manganese deficiency. I checked a few likely stores locally, but couldn't find any manganese spikes. So I ordered some online from the LUTZ Corporation.
Unlike every other online order I've placed, Lutz doesn't take your credit card information. Rather, it just collects you name and address and sends the merchandise along with an invoice! The order arrived quickly, and I also got a follow-up phone call to make sure it arrived, and to respond to any questions.
Yesterday I got another call from Lutz -- a follow-up to see how my tree was doing! It wasn't a sales call, but a truly genuine follow-up call. All this for an order that came to a whopping $16.09.
Oh yeah, the tree is doing much better.
Posted on 23 October, 2002
Got an Idea? Post It
ShouldExist.org is an
interesting site that accepts and publishes ideas, along with comment by
others. A few are presented tongue-in-cheek, but most appear to be serious.
From their FAQ:
It's a place to exchange ideas and dreams about our future. It's a prototype review. It's a platform for electing ideas instead of people. It's a community of original thinkers and implementers talking about how to make the world a better place.
Ideas are grouped into about two dozen categories, so it's likely that you'll find something that interests you. Here are a few of the actual ideas posted at the site:
- Screen Savers for Walls
- Magic Bubble Wrap (it never stops popping)
- An Anti-Microwave
- Just-In-Time Post-Concert CDs
- Soundproof and/or Smellproof Public Restroom Stalls
- Idiot-Proof Turn Signals
Posted on 23 October, 2002