The UK Patent Office has ruled on the patentability of application number GB 2385686 filed by software giant Oracle. This patent application is for a system that translates a language like SGML into markup language like HTML. The application was denied by the examiner, who had doubts about whether the Read more…
Some days ago the Terra Nova blog reported on the curious case of a plague that is killing thousands of players in the popular MMORPG World of Warcraft. Apparently, players that killed a new super-boss enemy were infected with a strange disease that started killing characters in the near vicinity. Read more…
A new year has started and a new batch of students is arriving to Edinburgh. If you are one of our new students interested in this blog business, welcome! To entice participation, I have drafted a list of online resources that may be useful: Writing How to write a student Read more…
The Google Print Project has been digitizing books found in several libraries, and already some examples of the work can be found when you search in Google. You can also search Google Print and find words within their archive. Some people believe that Google Print would fall under the fair Read more…
(Received via the CC-UK list from Rufus Pollock). This is the text of the John Coffin Memorial Lecture in the History of the Book, given by William St Clair at the School of Advanced Study University of London. The lecture deals with property, copyright and the state of literature (and Read more…
Not at all related to work. I received this and I liked its elegance: Finally, mathematical proof!
There is a new ruling in the impressive saga of NCSoft (City of Heroes fame) v Marvel (of Spider-man fame). For those unfamiliar with the case, Marvel Comics sued NCSoft, the makers of the popular City of Heroes MMORPG game because the game character-design engine allows users to create their Read more…
The September 2005 issue of SCRIPTed is now online. The contents of this issue are: [Editorial] Patenting Lives; by Johanna Gibson. Los contratos por adhesión en plataformas electrónicas: una mirada al caso chileno (Adhesion Electronic Contracts: A Look at the Chilean Case); by Iñigo de la Maza Gazmuri. ‘Show me Read more…
It is interesting how you come to rely on the internet. The entire web at the university of Edinburgh seems to be down since yesterday. I haven’t had access to my email since yesterday, and I feel isolated from the world. Besides, today is the first day of the semester. Read more…
A new security threat has been uncovered. The keys on a keyboard can be digitally recorded and used to determine what’s been written. Researchers at the University of California at Berkeley (where else?) have been using a computer program that can pick up more than 90 percent of key sounds Read more…