APIs should not be copyrightable so that programmers can reimplement interfaces to support testing, interoperability, and to encourage competition.

This article reflects on an ideological discomfort with software patents, a direct experience of patent aggression in the software industry, and the practical constraints faced by startups. It argues that while the patent system remains deeply flawed, defensive patenting can function as a shield in an asymmetric legal environment, especially for open-source innovators.

Datensparsamkeit is a German word that's difficult to translate properly into English. It's an attitude to how we capture and store data, saying that we should only handle data that we really need.

I think almost everyone I know in the software development field has a deep hatred for patents and the way they've been used in our field. I've had a post on my todo list for ages about this and have finally been moved to write about it after a particularly good piece of investigative journalism by This American Life. The short form of my post is that while patents (even software patents) are a good idea in principle, in practice they have turned into an unmitigated disaster and would be better scrapped.