What's that even doing here?

For ASP.NET, indeed, WebForms can be a bit violent since it's essentially an abstraction that tries, with mixed sucess, to make you forget you're writing for the Web.

ASP.NET MVC, which came out 2 years ago, is much closer to RoR and other similar frameworks, and is a better abstraction in my opinion.

I don't think Microsoft is even still developing WebForms (last release is April 2010). Too many aspx sites are written in the old version of WebForms which turned the html output into a horrible and ugly mess. MVC3 is pretty much just as good as RoR or any other mvc framework about outputting clean html.

Ironically, "never or rarely" seems to be the most popular choice.

And the fact that that's with the bias really tells something.

They're using their patents to crush their competitors. It's not patent trolling, it's anti-competitive behavior.

I don't think they're trying to "crush" Samsung by extorting $15 per handset, I'd say they're trying to maximize their revenues by charging as much as they possibly can without triggering a lawsuit.

If they wanted to crush Samsung, they'd insist that Samsung sell WP7 phones or nothing. If their patents hold up, that is their right.

I wonder if it would be possible to claim that patents used in this way actually violate antitrust laws.

No it wouldn't. Patents are deeply enshrined in US law and a patent holder is perfectly within their rights to pursue those infringing on their rights. In fact that is the only right they have!!

Yeah, "defender's advantage" does not apply in the wacky world of computer security.

I'm surprised that there's no large "Fork me on Github!" link at the top right corner of the screen.

Still, looks very interesting.

I honestly never really saw the appeal in those... There's a link to the source there though, so that's roughly equivalent :)

Still does not make it okay.

What if you're a second-generation schaudenfreudist? I take pleasure in the pain of those that take pleasure in the pain of others.

I think that's called Schadenfreudefreude, or perhaps Schadenfreude^2

Reading ~german~ words in an en conversation always strikes me as interesting. That we brought you this fine word is kind of telling..

I think you just described my new life philosophy.

It actually makes sense for them to defend the developers: after all, would you work in an ecosystem where you can get sued at any time without being protected by said ecosystem's owner?

That's a little to generic. You can still be sued for infringing on a patent in your software and Apple won't care at all. The reason Apple cares here is that developers are being sued for using Apple's APIs and developers have no choice but to use those.

If Apple doesn't succeed in the courtroom, I can't imagine them having any choice but to lay down a significant amount of money to either get a license that covers the app developers or to buy Lodsys outright.

It's in fact entertaining enough to appeal to non-StarCraft 2 players.

It really is like watching a very fast-paced sport match, except without all the constant in-your-face product branding. Like I remember college basketball used to be, except more cerebral.

I'd not played SC or SC2 much but I bought a (replacement - long story) copy last night.