crankygeek

No Crackberry for You

3:30 pm on 2.2.2006 Geek Stuff, Politically Motivated

My friend, Judi, has blogged about something that has been bugging me for quite awhile that I kept meaning to post about.

If you’re familiar with the Blackberry handheld email doohickeys, you’re probably already familiar with this issue. Due to a patent dispute (over a potentially about-to-be-overturned patent that probably shouldn’t have been awarded in the first place – different issue) Research In Motion (RIM) the manufacturer and provider of Blackberries and their services may be forced to turn off the service.

The government’s response? Well, in their rush to shut down RIM, they’ve decided that the service is so important that government officials should be exempted from the shutdown. Private businesses and consumers, on the other hand, would lose their service if this happens.

Apparently, government work is more important and/or vital than yours.

Read Judi’s post. She’s far more eloquent than I am and she provides a nice quote from CNN Money that sums everything up nicely.