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25 Apr 2011 20:28

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Tech: Note to aliens: We’re out of money, not really looking anymore

  • SETI’s broke, guys: The search for extra-terrestrial intelligence will take a breather for a little while. The SETI Institute, which owns these sweet-looking satellites, ran out of money for its Allen Telescope Array, and the program will take a breather. Paul Allen (who recently became a patent troll) provided a big chunk of the original funding, and the State of California and the National Science Foundation provided the rest. The government sources, however, had to cut their funding recently. There is good news, however: Apparently the Air Force may want to use the technology to study space debris. So they could be functioning again soon. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

12 Dec 2010 12:14

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Tech: Best news ever: Paul Allen’s patent troll lawsuits thrown out

  • whatThe patent-troll lawsuit Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen filed against every major technology company in the world failed in court on Friday. Good for everyone but Paul Allen.
  • whyHis company wasn’t specific about how the many companies he was suing violated the patents. They have until December 28 to refile to prove specific damages. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

27 Aug 2010 21:40

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Tech: Patent troll: Paul Allen is a jerk who hasn’t been relevant in 20 years

  • Why do patents exist? Apparently so a multi-billionaire can choose to be a jerk and sue the entire Internet over obvious ideas he isn’t even using. Paul Allen, who’s giving away most of his fortune to charity anyway, is the head of Interval Licensing, which appears to be a patent-trolling firm based around patents that an old company of his, Interval Research Corp., created in the ’90s but never used. Now he’s suing Google, Facebook, eBay, Apple, Yahoo, Netflix and Youtube over what seem to be obvious patents. Our patent system is pretty much the worst thing ever, it’s being used to screw people over on obvious technologies, and it’s getting worse. If you really thought these patents were so bad, Paul, why did you choose not to sue Microsoft, which you own a stake in, or Amazon? source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 1 Comment • Permalink

17 Nov 2009 00:19

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Tech: Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen goes through second cancer bout

  • He had Hodgkin’s disease in 1983. He made bank as a result. Paul Allen, who was just diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, was able to find silver lining in having cancer last time he had it. He left Microsoft’s day-to-day operations as a result of his treatment, but still owned a ton of stock. When the stock blew up, so did his bank account. That’s not to say he’ll be so lucky this time, and he’s making his health his main focus. “This is tough news for Paul and the family,” said his sister, Jody, who he works with at Vulcan Capital, an investment firm. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
 
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