With all respect, this isn't the kind of comment I've come to expect from HN lot on a serious article like this. It belongs to Verge/TechCrunch/Engadget/Gizmodo, or the the articles about the court ruling (those from yesterday).
Fact: In the current tech-landscape it's hard to think about innovative Android-devices launched without anticipating Apple filing anti-competitive lawsuits.
You reap what you saw. It's kalled karma. In the tech-sector, Apple's main perception is now largely as the lawsuit-company.
I thought I was the only one. The whole sports team like us versus them of the Apple/Android "wars" is getting old. I grew up in the Ford vs Chevy part of the US, I don't see much difference between the two and I'm getting sick of the whole litigation "notnews" being paraded around constantly to get pageviews.
Its getting to the point I don't even look at Android or Apple posts here because I know I'll start seeing the same memes yet again.
I think its time to stop going to HN, I don't see this improving anytime soon. I know, internet drama and all that but for once I would like to be able to read about the tech without the snark.
Actually the comment had a purpose and was trying to raise awareness. The fact that it made you angry perhaps shows that it worked? Perhaps it might make you reconsider your opinions about your favorite company.
I don't think a comment on HN, of all places, is going to do any raising of awareness of Apple's patent position.
Reddit, Youtube, MSNBC, etc., maybe. HN? C'mon.
Also, to get the comment, you already had to have that awareness. It wouldn't make any sense to someone who doesn't know about the Apple vs. Samsung lawsuit.
I'm all for raising awareness for what you think is right (even though Apple is my favorite company, while I disagree with if not most then many of what they're doing and how they're doing them), but this comment was like the typical Christian (or for my case, Muslim) missionary: "Hi, how are you doing today! Nice weather, isntit? Oh, and by the way, love Jesus(Allah) a bit more why don't you? He's a great fellow, Jesus is." - most of the time hurting their cause more than they do to help it.
It wasn't the OP's intent, I'm sure. All of us get angry some time and mix things up and comment on unrelated articles. I've posted more unrelated/stupid comments that I care to count.
And by the way, I'm not remotely angry. I have a lot of arguments about the subjects and have argued with many about it (not passionately, but all of us were reasonable and not typical fanboys). But I don't want to see them reiterated over all HN stories, that's all.
You're right, it was a drive by comment, I'm big enough to admit it. My irritation has been building over software patents for years and it is leaking into a lot of my posts, not always a good thing to have anger cloud your thinking.
I did learn one incredibly useful thing from this thread however, was that Boeing has a patent on specific orbital mechanics, you know, the kinds of stuff people use to write papers about in the scientific realm for centuries for free transmission of knowledge. I suppose the next step is actually patenting scientific discoveries, like publishing a theory of Quantum Gravity via the USPTO instead of via Nature or the physics preprint service.
The rounded joke is the easy one to make, of course. However, Apple did lose against Samsung on that count. There must be some sort of herding mentality that people go through, where people in general grab onto sound bites, instead of taking the time to do a deep dive into the issues. It usually happens in politics. On HN, I would hope for more.
Perhaps patents will be the last thing that saves human-driven cars.
You can get an injunction against self-driving cars that can do the newly patented three-point-turn (its not prior art because now it uses a COMPUTER system!), but you can't stop a driver from doing it!
