Microsoft just released 60,000 patents?

I just read this over on another post, and copied the opening line, but I find this VERY interesting…

“So Microsoft just joined the Open Invention Network and declared 60,000 patents are now free from patent assertions.”

Here’s the two sites they had in the post:

https://www.openinventionnetwork.com/pressrelease_details/?id=89

Very interesting… Don’t know if this is old news, but it’s very interesting.

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Anything good that got released?

Anything that will allow .exe apps to run natively in Linux.

Yeah, I was happy to learn about that.

This is one of the biggest moves in the right direction I’ve seen Microsoft make in a while.

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I’m guessing Microsoft will still be collecting $5 per Android phone sold for Android’s use of FAT file system.

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Are these the long list of patents they kept trying to claim they had over linux for years, but were mostly found to be trivial or BS when China made them actually show the patents?

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This sounds shady to me. Idk why, general distrust.

Probably.

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I think this was specifically excluded. The only project directly benefiting from this that I know of is Samba.

They didn’t release any media related stuff either, codecs etc.

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Probably mostly bullshit like being able to make tablets with SHARP corners like a real window.

Exfat patents seem to be mia. Note to self look into that further…

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I wonder when Microsoft will release a Windows/Linux Desktop. I would be surprised if they don’t do something like that in the next year or two.

They really could make Windows games etc. run natively on Linux.

Microsoft could open their own repository for selling the software. It isn’t like Windows Store has been a raging success.

OMG, this is the bane of SDXC compatibilty on Linux. Live CDs will never be able to read exFAT unless MS releases the patents on that.

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Another alternative would be to switch to using ext4 on SDXC cards.

Work around is use an android phone as a bridge. It can read the exfat because they paid the license, Linux can read the phone. Use one to pass through to the other. Not great but it works.

Edit: I am fairly jaded about headlines like this. That is an attention grabbing headline but when you can patent the door to a shop patents start to mean nearly nothing.
So how may of these are actually useable and how many are, well we patented this years ago so non one else could do the super basic, should be in everything, function.

Install exfat then load he module. Or get a live cd with it on already. It’s available for anyone one Linux.

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oblig #itsATrap

This sounds like a good deed on Microsofts part. Seems like they want to be a good Samaritan to development in general. No doubt any move theymake is to benefit their product either directly or indirectly. But that doesn’t mean they will always follow previous mottos.
I’ll give them a gold star here.

Now just fix the EULA and give control back to the user and maybe I’ll use windows again.

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Patent encumbered. They legally can’t do it.

And what if you don’t have internet access?

Not when every DSLR, camcorder, and image/video device uses exFAT with SDXC cause the SD card association decided to use a patent encumbered filesystem IN THE STANDARD.