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From one of Fred Wilson’s latest posts entitled The Amazon Tablet, commenter G’lan nicely sums up the tablet ecosystem.

G’lan
Almost… It’s like comparing “apples” to “mixed fruit cup”

Danny Meyer is the restauranteur behind a whole host of great NYC restaurants, including the beloved burger joint Shake Shack. I think I ate there for lunch every single time I worked from home while I was doing my internship summer.

The article is a great look at his story and how he slowly grew from one restaurant into a business that employs 2,200 people. You think there would be all sorts of options for a “favorite quote” from this x-thousand word article, but this one won going away.

Meyer, mouth full, declared, “It’s not cooked, but the beef is mighty good.”

Swinghamer: “I like the shiitake.”

Me: “Maybe I should tell them the meat’s not cooked.”

Meyer, solemnly: “If they asked, I would tell them. But as Napoleon said, ‘Part of brilliance is winning and part is leaving your opponent alone when he’s losing.’ ”

In certain small circles patents have started to lose their appeal and are instead being viewed as a detriment to innovation. This has been going on for a couple years now and some in the tech industry like Brad Feld have really been leading the charge.

This American Life just did a great hour-long program on this called When Patents Attack! that covers the shady world of companies who horde patents for the sole purpose of bringing lawsuits. The main focus is Intellectual Ventures, likely the biggest patent troll out there and headed by former Microsoft exec Nathan Myhrvold, and their collection of hundreds of shell companies used to hide ownership and bring lawsuits.

You can get the program through the link above, through iTunes, or read a full transcript if audio isn’t your thing.

If you don’t think that the patent system has been perverted into a business killer, please take an hour to digest this report. It’s disgusting to think what has happened to a system that was initially created to promote innovation.

And you know that awesome new Spotify service everyone has been talking about since they launched in the US last month? Now they’re feeling the full brunt of the patent troll too.