From: Brian A. LaMacchia (bal@farcaster.com)
Date: Mon Nov 27 2000 - 23:26:59 PST
Nope, it's not a Sacagawea dollar coin on top (I have plenty of golden
dollars, bought them at the bank). It's a gold/bronze-colored disk with a
nondescript woman's head facing to the right. I don't know what's on the
underside, if anything, because I've never pried one of mine out of its
cube.
One of the patent paralegals told me the company switched from the SBA cubes
to these cubes because recipients were prying the dollar coins out to use in
the vending machines late at night. The cubes cost ~$90/each and the
company didn't like to see them defaced for pocket change.
Patent cubes are awarded for each patent application filed (only one cube
per application, no matter how many countries it is filed in). I've never
heard one called a "patent gong" before, although I have heard "patent
block" used internally. The real prize, of course, is a "walnut" -- a
plaque inscribed with the first page of your issued patent. MS gives you
one of those if/when the patent issues, assuming you're still with the
company at that time.
--bal
----- Original Message -----
From: "Joseph S. Barrera III" <joe@barrera.org>
To: "'Ernest Prabhakar'" <ernest@alumni.caltech.edu>
Cc: "'FoRK'" <fork@xent.com>; "Joseph S. Barrera III (E-mail)"
<joe@barrera.org>
Sent: Monday, November 27, 2000 9:23 PM
Subject: RE: Linux Developer gets Gong from Microsoft
> I can't really tell from the pictures,
> but based on the color it looks like
> they're now using the new golden dollar
> instead of the old fugly Susan B. Anthony
> dollar in the patent awards.
>
> Damn, finally I have a reason for feeling
> sorry that I left Microsoft.
>
> - Joe
>
> > -----Original Message-----
> > Check this out... on my favorite news web site, no less:
> >
> > http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/1/14909.html
>
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