IE patent endgame detailed | CNET News.com

This could make Thin Client (Web Apps) fun... :(

I know of a number of apps that use ActiveX/OCX's "in which the Web page called up data located elsewhere."... Who doesn't?

Makes MS's .Net No-Touch deployment look much better.

This Patent crap is getting out of hand.

..."If you're currently using a plug-in, you will have to change your pages quite significantly,' said one person familiar with Microsoft's post-verdict plans. 'There might be tools to help you do so, but currently they don't exist.' "

...""There are technologies that are already used today (that aren't covered by the verdict) and all we are saying is, given the choice, use the technologies that are already available to you."

Those techniques involve using scripting languages and the set of technologies marketed as dynamic HTML (DHTML) to launch external applications--a commonly available and familiar method that Microsoft does not believe infringes on the patent."

..."According to these sources, Microsoft said at the meeting that it believed a simple dialog box inserted between the selection and the launch of a Java applet or an ActiveX control would maneuver IE out of the patent's definition of an "automated interactive experience.""

..."Microsoft's view, attendees said, the patent only covers a situation in which the Web page called up data located elsewhere. "

..."This is not an issue just for IE," said Wallent. "This is a potential issue for Netscape Navigator, for Opera and for other browser vendors. This is an industry issue.""

..."the implementation of the workarounds would require a huge amount of work on the part of Web authors."