No Joke: Microsoft Seeks To Patent Verbs

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Stargzer
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No Joke: Microsoft Seeks To Patent Verbs

Postby Stargzer » Thu Sep 07, 2006 12:24 pm

An article from Information Week:

No Joke: Microsoft Seeks To Patent Verbs
Specifically, the software maker has developed a verb conjugating system aimed at aiding students studying a foreign language, and has applied to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for a patent.
Patent Application.

So as you can see, the headline is not exactly accurate, but when has that ever stopped anyone when it comes to bashing Microsoft?
Regards//Larry

"To preserve liberty, it is essential that the whole body of the people always possess arms, and be taught alike, especially when young, how to use them."
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Postby Perry » Thu Sep 07, 2006 1:57 pm

They have their priorities all wrong. First they need to teach the Word grammar checker some grammar. :? Then they need to eliminate Mr. Paper Clip. (Hmm. It looks like you are trying to write a letter. Yeah yeah, very astute. Now let me get on with it as I have been writing letters since way before PCs came along. :evil: ) Then they can worry about conjugating verbs.
"Time is nature's way of keeping everything from happening all at once. Lately it hasn't been working."
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Postby Garzo » Thu Sep 07, 2006 4:42 pm

Actually teaching grammar and spelling is redundant. The Word, being the light of humanity and all that, automates these menial secretarial tasks. You can often see the marks of the New Grammar and New Spelling on letters from company temps — who's to quibble when the red worms and green snakes are banished from the GUI? In the beginning was the Word, so take out a kleenex and weep until you need to sellotape it back together. What's a word in world where your googled misspellings produce results — skype me about it!

— Garzo
"Poetry is that which gets lost in translation" — Robert Frost

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Postby Bailey » Thu Sep 07, 2006 4:58 pm

Tim, can you please translate, thank you

mark true-luddite Bailey

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Postby Palewriter » Fri Sep 08, 2006 12:47 am

What's a word in world where your googled misspellings produce results
Absolutely. In fact, what's all human knowledge when it can be Wiki-ed away into hitherto unimagined realms of wistful fantasy? Quote it and you get a cite for sore eyes, I guess.

As a matter of interest, Gonzo, did you ever try sellotaping a kleenex back together again? The sello works OK, but the tapey bits do tend to scrape the old snotbox something wicked.

'Scuse me...time to brush my bluetooth.

-- PW
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Stargzer
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Postby Stargzer » Fri Sep 08, 2006 1:12 am

. . . In the beginning was the Word, so take out a kleenex and weep until you need to sellotape it back together. What's a word in world where your googled misspellings produce results — skype me about it!

— Garzo
Padre, you're a bit off chronologically in citing John for word processors. The earliest one I remember being advertised was called The Electric Pencil, back in the days of the Intel 8080, when Microsoft's main product was a BASIC interpreter on paper tape that was widely pirated . . .


(Stargzer's wife marvels that he can remember such ancient bits of information yet cannot remember if he paid the bills.)
Regards//Larry

"To preserve liberty, it is essential that the whole body of the people always possess arms, and be taught alike, especially when young, how to use them."
-- Attributed to Richard Henry Lee

Stargzer
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Postby Stargzer » Fri Sep 08, 2006 1:15 am

. . . Then they need to eliminate Mr. Paper Clip.
Actually, I think they did that a while ago, but you can disable him or replace him if you want.
Regards//Larry

"To preserve liberty, it is essential that the whole body of the people always possess arms, and be taught alike, especially when young, how to use them."
-- Attributed to Richard Henry Lee

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Postby gailr » Fri Sep 08, 2006 3:20 am

. . . Then they need to eliminate Mr. Paper Clip.
Actually, I think they did that a while ago, but you can disable him or replace him if you want.
Not necessarily.
-gailr

Perry
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Postby Perry » Fri Sep 08, 2006 9:41 am

Gail that was priceless!

The first thing i do with a new computer is disable Mr. Paperclip. It just annoys me that I have to go through the process.
"Time is nature's way of keeping everything from happening all at once. Lately it hasn't been working."
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Postby Bailey » Fri Sep 08, 2006 10:44 am

I wated to locate a really funny momologue I saw on the paperclip, I didn't find it but this is pretty funny
Somewhere on this site is a paperclip clip.

mark do-not-delete Bailey
It's not the one I was looking for but....

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Perry
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Postby Perry » Fri Sep 08, 2006 1:24 pm

Cute. (BTW, it seemed that the highly nicotined author was nictating in his frustration.)
"Time is nature's way of keeping everything from happening all at once. Lately it hasn't been working."
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gailr
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Postby gailr » Fri Sep 08, 2006 5:13 pm

Cute clip, Bailey.

When desktop publishing was in its infancy, a coworker got fed up with the constant screen prompt: looking for printer. As a joke, he picked up the mac, turned it to "look" next to itself instead of at us, and exclaimed, "It's right there! The same place it has been every time before!"

-gailr
ps: it didn't help.

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Postby Bailey » Fri Sep 08, 2006 7:19 pm

I see I made several stupid typos yet no one commented, Thank you my mind is a bit off due to my mother's passing. Now it's not so much the death that's giving me fits it's the funeral, blah,blah, blah. "No, we can't have the service on Friday because I have to come on my day off, and by-the-way, I want All her stuff...." sigh sorry for the off topic

mark getting-too-old-for-funerals Bailey

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Perry
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Postby Perry » Fri Sep 08, 2006 10:20 pm

Mark,

Sorry to hear the sad news. My sincerest condolences!

Perry
"Time is nature's way of keeping everything from happening all at once. Lately it hasn't been working."
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Bailey
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Postby Bailey » Fri Sep 08, 2006 10:48 pm

Thanks Perry, so how would Microsoft state it? obsoleting my mom?

mark hasn't-hit-me-yet Bailey

Today is the first day of the rest of your life, Make the most of it...
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