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TomTom versus Microsoft

AgeGap

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Anybody got a take on what is happening here?
Are Microsoft about to try and cut out the Linux "cancer"?
 
Link? Background?

Is Microsoft taking on Tom Tom, or are they trying to buy it? If the former, what's the fight about, and if the latter what's their goal since they already have comparable software (MapPoint and Streets & Trips)?

I'd go searching for information and background, but why ask for a comment without providing any sort of reference point?
 
GreNME said:
Link? Background?

Is Microsoft taking on Tom Tom, or are they trying to buy it? If the former, what's the fight about, and if the latter what's their goal since they already have comparable software (MapPoint and Streets & Trips)?

I'd go searching for information and background, but why ask for a comment without providing any sort of reference point?
Click to expand...
Tom Tom Sat Navs run Linux. They include a driver for the FAT32 file system including the algorithm that Microsoft invented to map long file names onto short 8.3 file names. Microsoft claims that Tom Tom violates their patent on that algorithm plus seven others (five of which are not related to Linux).
 
Surely the issue is a rather simple one? I.e. whether TomTom has violated Microsoft's patents or not?
 
Darat said:
Surely the issue is a rather simple one? I.e. whether TomTom has violated Microsoft's patents or not?
Click to expand...

... and whether the patents are valid. These ones define a mechanism to extend the 8.3 FAT filename format. There are several ways one could do that, but in order to interoperate you have to pick *one*.

My understanding is that the patents refer to writing files to the storage device. Tom Tom may not do that. It reads them from storage and exposes a block device to the host computer when you decide to update code. So the Tom Tom device does not do the directory management.

Never pay any attention to what Microsoft *say*, pay attention to what they *do*.
 
CORed said:
That's one issue. The other is whether Microsoft's patent is valid or not. I'm guessing that TomTom will try to make the validity of the patent the issue.
Click to expand...

I hope they win. That's got to be one of the stupidest patents I've seen in a while.
 
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