[shawnly1000]

Pretty insane, wish I could do this kind of bidding

"Google was bidding with numbers that were not even numbers," one of the sources said.

"It became clear that they were bidding with the distance between the earth and the sun. One was the sum of a famous mathematical constant, and then when it got to $3 billion, they bid pi," the source said, adding the bid was $3.14159 billion.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/07/02/us-dealtalk-nortel-google-idUSTRE76104L20110702

[classified]

tempted to buy in, nortel is up 140% in after hours

[Culverin]

A group of six companies -- Apple, Microsoft, RIM, EMC, Ericsson and Sony -- won the auction of 6,000 Nortel patents and patent applications with a $4.5 billion bid.

DAMMIT TO HELL!!!

So much :failed:

If there is a group of companies that I don't want to sit on a bunch of patents, it's these jokers. With google, at least we'd get something for the average joe. Gmail, google docs, google maps alone is enough to win me to their side.

Apple, MS and Sony will just sit on these patents or develop stuff and then make it all proprietary. Google, why didn't you try harder? :(

[Meowjin]

if nortel's patents where this desirable why the fuck are they such a fail company that needed multiple bailouts

[xilley]

is it just me?
cause i had to google what nortel was..

[Culverin]

if nortel's patents where this desirable why the fuck are they such a fail company that needed multiple bailouts

Idiotic bosses? No company direction?
Just because you hold the patent to something doesn't mean you created a product and carved yourself a chunk of the market. They failed to monetize what intellectual properties they owned.

[dangonay]

DAMMIT TO HELL!!!

So much :failed:

If there is a group of companies that I don't want to sit on a bunch of patents, it's these jokers. With google, at least we'd get something for the average joe. Gmail, google docs, google maps alone is enough to win me to their side.

Apple, MS and Sony will just sit on these patents or develop stuff and then make it all proprietary. Google, why didn't you try harder? :(
If you think Google is the "good guy" out to help everyone out as opposed to a corporation whose sole purpose is to make money, then you're being very naive.

[$_$]

If you think Google is the "good guy" out to help everyone out as opposed to a corporation whose sole purpose is to make money, then you're being very naive.

At least they put up a good front, bring consumer products out for free while constantly updating for new features. I haven't paid a cent to them while using their products constantly everyday. Yah they may data mine me on the side, but I can't say the same for the amount money spent on Apple products in my household, all the while putting restrictions on every single thing I do on them like DRAG AND DROP MUSIC.

[Culverin]

If you think Google is the "good guy" out to help everyone out as opposed to a corporation whose sole purpose is to make money, then you're being very naive.

I don't think they are "the good guy" at all. They are out to make money. But there is a way to make lots of money without pissing me off. And google seems to have found that. My friend asked the question if they have ever let me down. Sure they have, a couple times. Not going to bat for "full" net neutrality, not holding a standard for android devices are probably the biggies, caving into corporations on youtube and doing regional blocking. Those are my biggies against them. Google is so integrated into my life and I have so few complaints, I think that's saying a good deal already.

At least they put up a good front, bring consumer products out for free while constantly updating for new features. I haven't paid a cent to them while using their products constantly everyday. Yah they may data mine me on the side, but I can't say the same for the amount money spent on Apple products in my household, all the while putting restrictions on every single thing I do on them like DRAG AND DROP MUSIC.

And I totally agree with this. I haven't paid google a cent (not counting my android phone). I'm sure they know everything there is to know about my online activity. Regardless of whether I use their products or not. Try to take away my gmail, docs, maps or youtube? Over my dead body.

Regardless of how google is behind the scenes. A company is judged by the customer experience. They don't tell me how I should use their products (apple), they don't DRM the crap out of everything (sony), they seamlessly integrated (unlike M$) and they don't to nickel and dime me like activision is.


Pretty much the same reasons I like Valve, because even on that end, I'm not paying for their Steam service directly. My consumer experience of paying them has been hidden and built into the games. And even the negativity DRM can't touch the positives of how seamless and integrated Steam is.

[Manic!]

I think the group just bought these patents to stop patent trolls, companies that just buy patents so they can sue other companies for money.

[InvisibleSoul]

Google, why didn't you try harder? :(

I think they tried pretty damn hard.

[SlySi]

Simply cant compete against 4+ combined bids..

It was in better interest of the public if Google won the bid.
It was about who supported open innovation the most.
Clearly, Microsoft, Apple,etc.... do not.

[CP.AR]

lol google are such trolls

[dangonay]

Today Canadian and US courts have approved the sale.

[PiuYi]

if google stopped bidding through 4billion, why was the final price of the patents 4.5billion?

[Gumby]

Oops nevermind.

[Culverin]

Today Canadian and US courts have approved the sale.

Sad day. Now we're going to get more of this crap...

Apple to HTC: Stop those Droid, Flyer Sales - International Business Times (http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/178169/20110711/apple-to-htc-stop-those-droid-flyer-sales.htm)

Apple loses round 1 in Amazon 'appstore' fight - Business - CBC News (http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/story/2011/07/07/technology-apple-amazon-app-store.html)

Apple Files Patent Suit Against Samsung in Seoul, Escalating Legal Dispute - Bloomberg (http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-06-24/apple-files-patent-suit-against-samsung-electronics-in-s-korea.html)

Studios are starting to play hardball with Netflix - Jul. 11, 2011 (http://money.cnn.com/2011/07/08/technology/netflix_starz_contract/?hpt=hp_p1&iref=NS1)


:failed:

[dangonay]

Sad day? Maybe for the Google fanboys who seem to think Google is "open and free" and only has altruistic motives.

I personally think it's a great day. Better a group of companies gets this than a single company.
Posted via RS Mobile (http://www.revscene.net/forums/announcement.php?a=228)

[Culverin]

Before I continue. Yes, I'd happily admit that I'm a google fanboy.
Compared to those other companies. Google IS open and free.
But do I think google is altruistic? Heck no.
They are in it for the money just like every other company out there. They make their money off of advertisements.

My opinion of google is 2-fold:


It's in their best interest to have more ad exposure. To maximize this, they need to draw us in. To me, they seem to have a much better long term vision. Unlike some of the other companies such as apple, sony and MS, google seems to value brand loyalty over aggressively locking down and monetizing everything.

I would say Android is a good example of it working well. Sony (mobile) has waken up and smelled the coffee and switched over to android. MS is failing with their offering because they forgot that "open and free" is what made them what they are today.
Google might turn on us some day. I'm really scared of this. After they've invaded our lives for the last 2 decades, they start charging for everything. I'll be so entangled in their infrastructure that I have no choice to pay.


Long story short. Google good? No.
But they haven't screwed me by placing their short term objective over my long term loyalty. As long as their objective seem does seem to align with open and free, I'll happily sign over my privacy for their brand of convenience.