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MBTA sued for patent infringement over e-mail alerts on late trains, buses

A pair of foreign companies today sued the MBTA, alleging the system it uses to notify passengers of late trains and buses violates two patents they hold for compiling information on the whereabouts of vehicles and then notifying people of their status.

The lawsuit-happy companies - they've filed dozens of similar lawsuits since 2002 against software vendors, parcel companies, online ticketing services, airlines and airports - seek unspecified oodles of money from the MBTA and an end to the T-Alert system. They sued in US District Court in Boston.

ArrivalStar, based in Luxembourg, and Melvino Technologies, of the British Virgin Islands, do not actually make anything, but own numerous U.S. patents related to the idea of notifying customers of the status of vehicles and shipments.

ArrivalStar/Melvino complaint.
The patents at issue:
Base station system and method for monitoring travel of mobile vehicles and communicating notification messages
Notification system and method that informs a party of vehicle delay.

Patent Trolls Erode the Foundation of the U.S. Patent System.


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Hungry? Let's head over to Papa Gino's for a burger!

Yeah, I would never utter that sentence, either (for that matter, I no longer even want to eat their "pizza"). But the Boston Business Journal reports Papa's got a new burger, including, apparently, one it calls "the classic."


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A little techy/nerdy stuff going on here

First, if you see anything odd going on with photos, let me know, since they'll be heading your way from someplace other than UHub central (which, to get all precise and all, is physically in Pittsburgh).

Where exactly, depends on where you are, because I've signed up for a content-distribution network. Basically, it's a service that will handle distribution of photos and other static files on the site, so the UHub server can concentrate on stuff like database queries, rather than trying to remember where it put that darn photo of Uncle Fred you want to see right this second. Not to imply the server is doddering or anything, because CDNs are at the heart of cloud computing, and that means UHub can now put on those uber-hot little rectangular glasses and hang out with all the other cool-kid Web sites at the club and I can bandy about phrases like "edge servers" Or, rather, I could once I figure out something called CNAME (Oh, God, I'm just a faux geek!).

In any case, if you're in the Boston area, the stuff will be coming from a server in New York, most likely. And this post is the first example - if you want to get all nerdy, view the info on the two photos and you'll see the URLs are a bit different.


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Chelsea not a good place to be a commuter this afternoon

The 4:25 train to Newburyport stopped in Chelsea when smoke began rising into the passenger compartments and the train crew evacuated passengers. "This doesn't look good for getting home on time," Liz Polay-Wettengel tweeted - from the train, just before it was evacuated.

Now word comes that a T bus and a car have smashed together, also in Chelsea.


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Man found shot to death in Dorchester

Boston Police report finding a man in his early 20s with gunshot wounds inside 71 Norwell St. shortly after 11 p.m. yesterday.

Tue, 03/16/2010 - 23:09
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How do you say 'sardine can' in French?

Dan Dunn alerts us to the French version of Labor Day on Storrow Drive.


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Taking St. Patrick's Day to the streets, Westie style

Near the goal on Temple Street

Temple Street in West Roxbury was closed off today for the block's annual St. Patrick's Day street-hockey festival. Kids of all ages competed in the ten mini-rinks set up along the street, under the watchful eyes of parents and refs:

St. Patrick's Day ref


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Erin go pick up the trash on Beacon Hill

Megan Johnson photographs an appropriately attired trash guy on her street today.


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Riverside Line service to be restored by Monday - T says


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Boston sues the Herald

A member of the band, that is, not the city, over Inside Track coverage of Brad Delp's suicide. Dan Kennedy rounds up the coverage.


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