From: kehoea@parhasard.net   
      
    Ar an ceathrú lá is fiche de mí Meitheamh, scríobh Aidan Kehoe:   
      
    >  Ar an ceathrú lá is fiche de mí Meitheamh, scríobh Ross Clark:   
    >   
    >  > I don't need to explain what a typewriter is, do I?   
    >  >   
    >  > Crystal's historical notes:   
    >  >   
    >  > 1714 - Henry Mill (English engineer) patents "an artificial machine or   
   method   
    >  > for impressing or transcribing of lettrs, one after another, as in   
   writing,   
    >  > whereby all writing whatsoever may be engrossed in paper or parchment to   
   neat   
    >  > and exact as not to be distinguished from print".   
    >  >   
    >  > "No trace of this exists, if it was ever produced." Sounds like a pipe   
   dream.   
    >   
    > Common thing in patents these days, to patent things you haven’t   
   implemented.   
    > (I attempted this once, software for phone and chat systems that warned the   
    > user when time zone and calendar differences meant it was unlikely the other   
    > party in the communication would be reachable, but other parties pre-dated   
   me.)   
    > Shouldn’t really be allowed, but hard to audit.   
      
   I was going to say that I was surprised patenting something that wasn’t built   
   was allowed at that point, but on reflection there’s no reason to be   
   surprised.   
      
   --   
   ‘As I sat looking up at the Guinness ad, I could never figure out /   
   How your man stayed up on the surfboard after fourteen pints of stout’   
   (C. Moore)   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)