Doug's Mailbag: The Immortal War for Patents Rages On
Here are some readers' thoughts on the unending court battles over tech patents and the current mobile landscape:
If Apple and Microsoft don't stop this so-called patent war on Android, let them go to hell.
I only started as a newbie app developer a year ago and without Android open source software this would have been impossible for me.
I love Android, and I love open source.
-Ali
I was in Redmond at the Microsoft campus six years ago visiting a friend who is a product development manager. I had a chance to meet with four more of his peers for lunch. As we were making idle chit chat I more than casually said that Microsoft needs to get into the mobile handheld game in a large way now before it's too late. I suggested it buys a company that it can make sexy and appealing like Apple. Never before did I feel like so many deer caught in headlights were looking at me.
It feels like all players now realize the real deal in today's world has never changed. Most want it now, don't want to be late to the party and get there in a Porsche or Ferrari. What the players are realizing is that whether it sounds or looks ugly it's all about self preservation. I see a bunch of deer and the perception is that Google owns the forest, city and most of the utilities. The deer want to make sure that they will get fed and have a small stake as they see the stark reality of digital domain dominance/ownership. I asked my kid four years ago if you need to figure things out where do you turn to? He said "that's easy dad. I would just Google it."
It's clear that if you don't have an invitation to a party and are not an invited guest, the only way to get in the doors is to buy your way in. In effect this is what all the players are doing to be at the party and catch a small piece of the cake.
-Alan
Share your thoughts with the editors of this newsletter! Write to [email protected]. Letters printed in this newsletter may be edited for length and clarity, and will be credited by first name only (we do NOT print last names or e-mail addresses).
Posted by Doug Barney on 08/24/2011 at 1:18 PM