Yes, call these things, “tech wars.” I wonder how many people it takes to keep track of patents? How about that for an employment opportunity? Course one probably has to have a law degree. As for whom invented what, I doubt anyone could or ever will know. Most features found in these gadgets are obvious to any and all who design them for a living. And codes are few in number.

One thing is certain: If you happened to be holding stock in Motorola, you made a killing this morning. The stock was up by 30+% in price. Cha-ching! Google was down as the purchasing company always is after an m&a. Google went in the toilet in 2008 and has yet to return, while Apple has more than doubled in price over the same period—since 2008, or tripled or more since early 2009 when the price was something like $75 per share. Not long ago the share price hit $400.

For those young enough and for whom Social Security will not be available by the time they reach 85, the likely retirement age by the time the Politburo gets done “reforming” SS, buy Apple, Google, et al. tech stocks in large numbers, using so-called “deep in the money calls,” if necessary. These stocks are expensive as hell to buy the usual way—at face value, whatever it might be at a given hour.

This method—buying individual stocks—will soon be the only means by which to attempt to build a nest egg. There are no lies concerning SS that won’t continue to be spread in order for Wall Street to one day be handed the entire fund to “manage.” (Yet one more taxpayer gift to the wealthy, by hook or by crook.) Apple is now the largest company in the universe, sitting on $75 billion in cash alone—enough to pay lawyers until our sun becomes a red giant and swallows the solar system. By then, Apple will have relocated to a different solar system, I expect, along with Google and all the rest of Wall Street, literally becoming masters of the universe, though Jobs and Gates and the rest of the boys won’t be around to enjoy that. Unless they’ve already access to bionics. (And I’d bet Apple wouldn’t share the patent on that or on how to get there, no matter consequences to customer base.)

Meanwhile, they spend days drawing up lawsuits to file.

The long civil war fought against, or rather by, big biz on its customers is long over and was won by big biz. Comrades Reagan and Clinton proved outstanding, very helpful allies on behalf of big biz, as did various manifestations of the Politburo (except with less turnover than the old Soviet version). Court battles like the one herein mentioned are minor scuffles among all-around victors over we the people as they bicker over divvying up spoils. Patent infringement claims are just means to ends.

And if you’re really having a problem, just buy out the claimant.

As for actual phone service, forget that. I have to roam my two rooms in search of thee spot at which to freeze in order both to hear the person calling and for the person calling to hear me. That, or step outside, which I’d really enjoy doing with a rep from AT&T.

Patents aren’t worth much, evidently. Someone once said that if Apple or Microsoft were GM or Ford, they’d long ago have been forced out of business given how unreliable both equipment and service (not) provided. Cars are often recalled while phones are never recalled. Not that that would help when the problem is—as usual—a failure to provide additional equipment, like satellites and towers—necessary to operation of any mobile device. Using them is like hoping to make it to work and back without blowing out a couple tires or the entire engine in the process.

No matter as profits are being raked in hand over fist. Who really needs what one paid a bundle for at the outset? So long as obviously useless patents for products are in order and determined to belong to one or another incompetent crook.

I no longer use google as my search engine. I know, it’s a little thing but you have to start someplace. I made the decision when they were going around taking all the google street pictures, and they ‘listened in’ on the wireless connections and stored it. Who knows how many passwords and other personal information they got.

Google gathers data and seems willing to share it with the feds and corporations. Why gather data and store it unless you plan on using it.

Of course, every email and every phone call is already being recorded and stored.

Maybe I shouldn’t worry about it because the corporate elite and their henchmen (I meant to say our elected government)always act in the general public’s interest. Like the war, the wall street bailout, the failure to have universal health care, the the upcoming cuts in ‘entitlements’ like medicare and social security. It’s all for our benefit.

so it goes