

Trimming the FAT: Linux and Patents - linuxmag
http://www.linux-mag.com/id/7325

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pmjordan
Interesting, to circumvent the VFAT patent, they're just disabling the
_creation_ of files with long names, which is all the patent apparently
covers. I wonder if there's actually a way to avoid the patent without
limiting functionality. Unfortunately, I have no idea how different your
implementation needs to be to be safe from the patent, though.

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tc
_I have no idea how different your implementation needs to be to be safe from
the patent, though._

Neither does anyone else until you put it before a jury. That's a large part
of the problem.

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silentOpen
Doesn't the inclusion of this VFAT long filename creation config flag in the
mainline kernel constitute an implicit acceptance of the validity of the
Microsoft patent? Perhaps you could argue that using the flag will guarantee
legal security against this patent claim and not using the flag is no
different from the past. Is it really in the best interests of "Linux" to
implicitly acknowledge a patent for something as trivial as _a hack to support
long filenames in a poorly designed filesystem_? Really?

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ComputerGuru
Absolutely. That's what Linux tends to not get: the last little details that
piss off new users to no end because the last inch of the journey isn't
properly implemented.

Powerpoint presentations that load in OOo but don't look quite the same. Web
pages that look like shit because the fonts used are the wrong size and don't
render right. Files on FAT USB sticks that are in all CAPS appear as all small
case. The list goes on and on and on..

