Live data from Hacker News

Yahoo Crosses The Line

avc.com

81–90 of 236 posts

Re: Yahoo Crosses The Line

#82

I really don't understand what their weak market position has to do with this lawsuit. If Yahoo! believes Facebook violated their patents, they will sue. They _should_ sue. They do it now because apparently that's the way new CEO does the business. I can't blame him, can you? Now, whether FW post was an emotional rant or he has any business saying what he said, hard to judge. But I read his blog for a while now and d…

No it should not. It's as if you said, if Yahoo has a gun, it should fire at Facebook.

Tech companies do not make their living by exploiting their patents directly (as e.g. pharma companies do). They make living from advertising to their userbase. They do patent some things they use to keep and monetize that usebase, but there is no direct relation.

So: Of course they should not sue "by default". It just isn't a winning strategy for them.

Re: Yahoo Crosses The Line

#83
post #74

The only Yahoo! property that I care about is Flickr, which I also pay for. It would be nice to find an alternative. So: suggestions for a social photo archive service which is reliable enough to be the "master copy" of my pictures, and preferably has Flickr import ability?

imgur.

They are not stagnant, improving all the time. Not as big as flickr, but big enough and reliable.

I used both imgur pro and flickr but now I only use flickr because I am too lazy to switch.

Re: Yahoo Crosses The Line

#84
I suppose we all knew this day would come from Yahoo. The start of where lawyers take over the company and product make a steady march to complete crap. Pretty common pattern for companies that can no longer compete (SCO anyone). It is sad Yahoo still have a great brand and could reinvent itself. This entire thing is nonsense but I guess to try and squeeze some more revenue for the share holders is what they are obligated to do. I miss the old Yahoo.

Re: Yahoo Crosses The Line

#87
post #79
post #63

Well I hope he doesn't use any Apple products then. That would be pretty hypocritical.

Good point, Apple is literally the only other company that has ever filed a patent lawsuit.

Apple sits diametrically opposed to Yahoo in the overall internet zeitgeist. Apple is the hot girl everyone gives a pass to, and Yahoo is the band nerd that everyone laughs at.

Re: Yahoo Crosses The Line

#88
post #6

I really don't like saying this, but here it goes: Don't hate the player, hate the game. We need real, substantive patent reform in this country.

A) I'm perfectly ok with hating the player and the game. Patent reform would be great, but you can't legislate sanity or neighborliness.

B) This is not the game. As Fred Wilson explains, web company patents have been thought of as defensive. If this triggers a wave of patent lawsuit bullshit, then everybody will end up poorer. Except the lawyers, of course.

Re: Yahoo Crosses The Line

#89
post #77
post #6

I really don't like saying this, but here it goes: Don't hate the player, hate the game. We need real, substantive patent reform in this country.

The more we have companies blatantly showing how unproductive and how software patents are actually hurting innovation, the more likely it is that change will happen. Just remember though that right now the pharmaceutical companies are massively outspending the technology sector as far as lobbying Congress. (A Senator is a wonderful thing --- everyone should own one!) As a Google employee I can contribute to Google N…

Companies like Apple, Microsoft, Oracle, and IBM which hold a huge number of software patents and aren't exactly keen on seeing that system go away, either. But yes, big pharma relies almost exclusively on patents to recoup R&D costs.

Re: Yahoo Crosses The Line

#90
post #40
post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We can (and should!) demand that they not do the expected Then you are demanding that the board neglect its fiduciary responsibilities and go to jail.

The almost-myth of the fiduciary responsibilty of company executives to be irresponsible. I wrote elsewhere [1]: > A point about the morality of companies angle: the so-called "fiduciary duty" of companies that is an overriding duty to maximise shareholder returns within the constraints of the law above all other ends is a legal obligation in only a few countries. In most countries, including most states in the US, e…

I had a ton of stock options that would have made me rich if Yahoo had accepted Microsoft's buy out well above the trading price a while back - something shareholders would have loved. So even this particular company is well known for not following the duty of making the most money for its holders...
Post reply on HN