All you need is one good idea...

Recently, I discovered that HP had patented a technology called Lightscribe. The idea is simple enough. Every CD/DVD recording device has a laser that can "burn" a specific data pattern onto the underside of a disc. Why not then flip the disc over and use the same tech to laser etch an image onto the label side? Sounds simple? It is. I had the same idea at least 4 years ago. Did I patent it? No. Am I kicking myself? Not really. I mean, it just goes to show that a good idea, no matter how obvious, is patentable. I would never in a million years think that you can patent the obvious but here you go.
The best part is, they just patented the IDEA. They left it to others to make it work. They just license it. In other words, the hard work of making an idea a reality is not really worth anything anymore. All that matters is that you think of it first.
I'm gonna go now and patent my idea for a cell phone that you swallow. How does it work? Who cares.