Inside View

Against software patents

KILKENNY -- For many reasons, including those articulated in the comments left behind on blog posts I've published, I believe software patents are a bad idea. Europe has avoided the spate of patent litigation that runs rampant in the US. Back there, even Microsoft,  a strong advocate for software patents in the EU, has called for patent reform. I've added my voice to the chorus representing an economic majority against software patents in Europe. If you care about innovation, competitiveness and the importance of making things better, you should voice your opinion as well. In Ireland, the MEPs need to hear from people in the industry. As it stands, the lobby groups have gained an upper hand above the fold in newspapers and on nightly news programmes. They often have never programmed software and wouldn't mind settling down with solutions devised by mainstream corporates. This is not the best way to conduct business in a world dependent upon innovative ICT. We need a patent-free existence for software. I'm in sync with many Irishblogs. We know that system is the best way forward for innovation in the field.

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Recommended: Declare your interest with the Economic Majority. Then make a point of seeing, calling or writing your MEP.

Previously seen by IrishEyes -- "Richard Stallman on software patents"

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Social Bibs

GNOMEDEX -- Considering the reach of social networking, the on-message of well-polished electronic presentations archived online and the cost of flying from Europe to Gnomedex in Seattle, it's hard to justify a long-haul jaunt to an event anymore, especially if you're serious about reducing activities that contribute to global warming. Take Julie Leung's compelling presentation on "Blogging as a Social Tool". It's one I would like to see in person but the generous online bibliography that she offers could weigh against all the hassles of traveling to the presentation.

Teaching programming

WWDC --Wil Shipley's talk to students at WWDC is worth acknowledging and using by software lecturers everywhere. His main points:

• Developing for windows vs. developing for mac
• Working for the man
• Working for a company you like, or working for yourself

Irish gates meet Chinese

DUBLIN -- On the day the Sunday Business Post carries a story about overtures made by Ireland to the Chinese government, I know the immigration control queue at Dublin Airport has a different story. I watched Chinese displaying lengthy documents to the Garda National Immigration Bureau (GNIB) while the staff behind the plate glass barked, "What is your job? What do you do?" (The visitor was politely saying the words "integrated circuit" but the man-behind-glass was having none of it.) From my vantage point, there will be no quarter given to Chinese trying to sneak in and possibly disrupt Irish employment by serving in takeaways. The only way to receive a thousand welcomes is to carry GNIB card with its accompanying passport stamp.

FlagToEurope

LONDON -- I spent part of the weekend running around London with a crew of four American backpackers where I discovered I was slipping back into my American accent while teaching them essential European vocabulary words. As they push off into France, Spain, and Italy, I told them that I would update this page so anybody Googling for "flagtoeurope" could use this as a jump page that listed other blog entries and photo albums. So this is the start of that effort.

The Ultimate Point

HEATHROW -- As I sit in the departures area listening to grunts and pops from Wimbledon, I realise there comes a time in all discourse when the players know they have surpassed game, set and match point. In the blogging world, I know I have reached an ultimate point where there is more demand and more reward for action in the real world than can be achieved through musings in the virtual world. Instead of a URL to images, people ask me for prints and CD copies of albums. Instead of give-and-take in discussion forums, people want seminal opinions. Instead of wanting weekly udates on the state of e-learning in Ireland, people formally request guest presentations for educators. These are ultimate points that benefit an extended community. All of them require time that I will shave from other activities. That means text postings on the front page of this weblog will diminish to accommodate time spent in the skunkworks completing essential work--the kind of work that contributes to well-finished ultimate points.

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Sent mail2blog using Nokia 9500 O2-UK Typepad service.

Whispers from Grosvenor Square

LONDON -- Walking around the bristling complex that is the US Embassy in London I can't help but hear voices that warn about the overreaching arm of government. I have issues with the long nose of the American government because it seems that it is peering into private things and then it lies about its justification. This tendency evolved after citizens told their government to stand tall and protect them. But the citizens have to be vigilant as well.

Nokia 9500 instead of laptop

OVERHEAD BIRMINGHAM -- A passenger aboard my Aer Lingus flight saw the notes from a presentation I made in Dublin yesterday. He quipped, "With that kind of mobile phone you don't need to be getting laptops for students". How astute. That's also a conclusion reached by John Kennedy when he reviewed the Nokia 9300 for the Irish Indepedent (23 June 2005).

Friday filings

DUBLIN AIRPORT -- There is wobbly Wi-Fi in Terminal B of Dublin Airport and you can put that down to the Dublin Airport Authority throttling Bitbuzz last year when it requested permission to install hotspots. The Wi-Fi game at Dublin Airport belongs to Eircom and that presence is in the food court and Terminal A--although a weak signal does sneak through to Terminal B for those with a big stick antenna. I don't have a super-sniffer so there's time to glance at The Irish Times where the back page has Karlin Lillington reports from aboard Larry Ellison's yacht. In other news:

London Budget Accommodation

DUBLIN -- I'm using free Wi-Fi at the Dublin Airport to check out budget accommodation in London. I need a cheap option for a student media trip that will visit in September and I'm headed into London for a walking tour of the places we will cover near University College London. Some quick links for follow-up and vetting by my British readers: