The JMRI Project and software patents [LWN.net]

The JMRI Project and software patents

Posted Apr 26, 2006 14:08 UTC (Wed) by biolo (subscriber, #1731)
Parent article: The JMRI Project and software patents

I don't know if this qualifies, but I remember as a kid in the 1980s having a controller which talked to little circuit boards onboard the trains themselves, allowing multiple trains to be independently controlled on the same track. I can't remember the name of that product, but I do remember it was a cheaper alternative to the Hornby Zero 1 system (Wikipedia entry). That system was replaced by a digital one, Digital Command Control in the 1990s, which according to Wikipedia was an open standard!
I seem to remember that you could have multiple controllers connected to the same piece of track, in fact the controllers could be bolted together for just this application, to my mind taking this even closer to the patent.

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The JMRI Project and software patents

Posted May 6, 2006 14:09 UTC (Sat) by jlefevre (guest, #37595) [Link]

It was the early and mid 1980's. There was a series of articles in the MODEL RAILROADER
magazine. The system was called DIGITRACK. It allowed the independent direction and speed
control of up to 16 locomotives by sending digital commands over the rails to decoders in the
engines. The article was a complete how to build all of the parts. I and another guy I worked with
both built the complete system. As an electronics engineer myself I had fooled around in the late
1970's with using phase locked loop systems when those IC's first came out. I am using O gauge
so the noise issues were always a problem for me. I am using JMRI now and TMCC. I looked at
comercial software but the KAM stuff is WINDOZE CRAP and I am a Mac user as is Bob J and many
of the other major people in the jmri system. The KAM lawsuit is a sham. Since JMRI doesn't
compete with KAM for macintosh users (since their crap doesn't run on Mac's) then maybee that
is a way to put another angle on them. The fact it just _ happens_ to run on windozes since it is
platform non-specific java code is an accident. And what about the linus, unix, os-9, and other
users running jmri that KAM also is not available for. How can you claim to be monitarily
damaged when you do not even make a product that will work for different types of computers
than your software supports. Thats like Apple suing Dell because Dell installs a digital photo
orginizer software suite on its windoze boxes and Apple sells iPhoto as part of a software
package that won't run on windoze anyway.

The JMRI Project and software patents

Posted May 16, 2006 16:52 UTC (Tue) by smpierce (guest, #37775) [Link]

On January 29, 1941 the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago opened an 'automated model train' exhibit. Here's a picture of the designer/builder sitting in front of the controls which could be considered as an early form of a computer.

http://www.msichicago.org/exhibit/great_train_story/histo...