[gnud]

> The guys who write software that implements radio waveforms don't have the same views on patents as the guys who write software to optimize ad display

Can you elaborate?

It seems bizarre to me that formulas can not be patented, but telling a general-purpose computer to execute that formula, can.

[rayiner]

It depends on your definition of "general purpose computer." Technically, a signal processor buried in a radio may be a "general purpose computer," but as a practical matter it's no different than an ASIC that implements the same logic in hardware.