Want to waste some time?  Hundreds of IT Geeks — like myself — can waste more time than an actual downtime by playing the Stop the Downtime Monkeys online game.  I played it once and achieved a score of -271 and it informed me that I had a high score.  When a negative score is a high score, I’m not sure its a game I want to spend a lot of time getting better at.

In their settlement with Apple, Burst.com didn’t hold out for enough money.  Microsoft paid them $60 million to use their patents in a very lawful, respectful manner.  Apple stole the patents and after they got caught they agreed to pay $10 million.  Huh?

Based on perception aline, it would have made perfect sense if it were Apple that paid up front and Microsoft that was trying to screw the little guy.  But, Apple and Steve Jobs in particular, are not the nice guys everyone seems to think they are.  They twisted AT&T’s arm to get the iPhone deal.  Verizon told them where they could go, but AT&T really wanted the customers.  The music industry is still trying to figure out how to get more money from iTunes.

Burst.com had an opportunity to not only hold Apple’s feet to the fire, but to put more money in their coffers and they let Apple off the hook.  It sets a great precendent for more people wanted to use their patented technology.  If you pay for a license up front, it will cost you more than settling in court later.  I guess the old adage is true, it’s better to beg for forgiveness than ask for permission.