This positive feedback shows how even a small change to the Earth's systems can trigger much greater ones.

ECONOMIST: Global warming

Heavy rainfall or poor drainage systems can trigger a collapse.

BBC: Who, What, Why: How are sinkholes formed?

Taking down vital banking systems could trigger a financial crisis.

WHITEHOUSE: Taking the Cyberattack Threat Seriously

The new body monitors could, if a driving hazard appeared imminent, trigger the car's safety systems to tap the brakes, turn off a radio, block a cellphone from ringing or take other actions.

WSJ: Designing a Car That Takes Your Pulse, Senses If You're Ill

Are you absolutely positive that none of your business partners or networked associates can trigger a downstream Y2K failure in your systems?

CNN: Opinion: Dare to disconnect with a graceful new Y2K fix

We haven't dived too deeply into the patents themselves, but it looks like Ed's going to have a bit of a fight on his hands here, as the patents seem to describe systems that have preloaded content about music that's then accessed when a data trigger is received over the air, not just storing song information for later purchase over the Internet.

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