Microsoft's Feburary Patent Application Revealed; Android Facing Increased Threat

[Hugh Jass]

Good point... I guess what I feel hurts progress is when the genius patent office grants them for something like (to use an example that has been on here the past week or so) "a power button" or "a rectangular shape screen". They (the patent office) just need to scale it back a few degrees to find that happy medium.

I completely agree.

 

[jroc]

From the source Tech Crunch article

Back in February of 2010, Microsoft applied for a number of patents related to touchscreen gestures on a tablet. Many of them concern a dual-screen device, conjuring images of the once highly-anticipated Courier slate. The others focus mainly on bezel gestures. Those patents have gone public now, though they have not in fact been granted yet.

And thats what I was getting at. Hasnt Android had the pull down notifications since the beginning? So how can this effect Android? The other patents, maybe, especially since Android has some dual screen phones and tablets out or coming out.

This reminds me that LG applied for a patent for a dual screen phone way back when the LG Prada was around. I wonder if they have some dual screen patents lying around somewhere...

 

[Trusstopher]

And thats what I was getting at. Hasnt Android had the pull down notifications since the beginning? So how can this effect Android? The other patents, maybe, especially since Android has some dual screen phones and tablets out or coming out.

This reminds me that LG applied for a patent for a dual screen phone way back when the LG Prada was around. I wonder if they have some dual screen patents lying around somewhere...

But this new patent specifically applies to starting your gesture off of the screen and pulling down on to the screen. I'm not aware of any android hardware that expends the touch area beyond the screen (besides the capacitive buttons). So as long as android sticks with starting at the top of the screen and MS sticks with starting off of the screen, there won't be any conflict (yeah right)...

 

[Hugh Jass]

Well given how specific they were in their patent application it could be serious for Android TABLETS, phones excluded, which thickens the plot significantly. Whether or not Android uses something likely doesn't grant them a grandfather clause to keep producing it if they in fact do not have a patent of their own giving them the right to do so which may end with Google having to pay royalties to Microsoft if Microsoft attains the patent to continue production. It's a pretty complicated scenario though so I'm not sure how it would play out given the software is already in use, but I know if you invent something and fail to patent it, and someone else copies it and patents it... you as the inventor are screwed. Depending on a few things (such as what part the bezel plays if any, I don't see how you could make that work effectively) this could play out the same way.

 

[johnomaz]

Looking at the image, it looks like the menu that pulls down would be used to launch apps, not notifications.

 

[Hugh Jass]

Looking at the image, it looks like the menu that pulls down would be used to launch apps, not notifications.

Depends on what's specified in the textual details, same with the starting point, everyone is saying bezel but honestly the alignment of the finger could simply be the top of screen, same way I drag my finger from the top of my phone down to assure I get a pull down. Without the text it's anyone's guess and likely heresy, haha.

 

[Trusstopher]

Looking at number 2 here:

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the bezel gesture starts on the bezel and moves onto a display device associated with the computing device.

Seems pretty clear they want this to include actually touching the bezel, which is not specifically required on any of androids current hardware/software setups...

 

[jseah]

And thats what I was getting at. Hasnt Android had the pull down notifications since the beginning? So how can this effect Android? The other patents, maybe, especially since Android has some dual screen phones and tablets out or coming out.

This reminds me that LG applied for a patent for a dual screen phone way back when the LG Prada was around. I wonder if they have some dual screen patents lying around somewhere...

Yeah, if Microsoft applied for the patent back in February of 2010, then it can't be used against the Android notification screen, since it predates that (it appeared on Android 2.0 on the OG Droid back in November of 2009). Not sure if it existed even before that with Android 1.6.

 

[Beardface]

God am I ever tired of companies trying to use legal means to better the competition rather than trying to just come out with a product that is better.

Problems like this are why this country is going down the crapper. Everyone who falls on hard times is looking for the easy handout rather than trying to pick themselves off the ground and do something themselves. Its all about "what can you do for me" rather than "what can I do for me". These BS lawsuits are just the easy way out, and I don't give 2 craps whether they have the legal grounds to do it. What they're essentially trying to do is completely stop the growth of a brand that is taking off and actually being innovative. They want to control the market to do with it whatever THEY want with absolutely no regard to the consumer and its just bad. Yes, we can thank Apple for this, because they were the ones that started it. The attacks they've launched against Samsung have been downright shameful.

Its depressing that this country has become so me-centered that nobody is willing to work together anymore. Its all about how much you can squeeze out of something without having to share. The economy is in the crapper, nobody anywhere can find work once they've been laid off (I would know) and instead of trying to be innovative and progressive and trying to expand their product and market share, they try to run the other companies straight out of business through lawsuits, which put more people on the unemployment line. F'n wonderful. I'm sick of it.

 

[Bob Dammit]

Good point... I guess what I feel hurts progress is when the genius patent office grants them for something like (to use an example that has been on here the past week or so) "a power button" or "a rectangular shape screen". They (the patent office) just need to scale it back a few degrees to find that happy medium.

+1. There are only so many ways do do things (in general). It amazes me what people are allowed to patent.

 

[Hugh Jass]

God am I ever tired of companies trying to use legal means to better the competition rather than trying to just come out with a product that is better.

Problems like this are why this country is going down the crapper. Everyone who falls on hard times is looking for the easy handout rather than trying to pick themselves off the ground and do something themselves. Its all about "what can you do for me" rather than "what can I do for me". These BS lawsuits are just the easy way out, and I don't give 2 craps whether they have the legal grounds to do it. What they're essentially trying to do is completely stop the growth of a brand that is taking off and actually being innovative. They want to control the market to do with it whatever THEY want with absolutely no regard to the consumer and its just bad. Yes, we can thank Apple for this, because they were the ones that started it. The attacks they've launched against Samsung have been downright shameful.

Its depressing that this country has become so me-centered that nobody is willing to work together anymore. Its all about how much you can squeeze out of something without having to share. The economy is in the crapper, nobody anywhere can find work once they've been laid off (I would know) and instead of trying to be innovative and progressive and trying to expand their product and market share, they try to run the other companies straight out of business through lawsuits, which put more people on the unemployment line. F'n wonderful. I'm sick of it.

Well somebody needs to cancel their subscription to the internet...

 

[SwiftLegend]

I don't know about you guys, but the bezel of my phone isn't touch sensitive... I have to actually swipe the status bar on the screen... :icon_rolleyes:

I agree, how can this involve Android then? I bet MS will figure out a way to still make this effect Android, just like Apple did by PS'ing Samsung device pictures. I really hope Google starts suing MS and Apple's pants off, and starts patenting everything they do. I'd patent having a search engine on a phone and then sue them. (Can't be to hard since Apple got a patent for swipe navigation in a gallery and swipe to unlock -.-)

Seems like the Playbook maybe violated this patent, not Android.

 

[Hugh Jass]

I agree, how can this involve Android then? I bet MS will figure out a way to still make this effect Android, just like Apple did by PS'ing Samsung device pictures. I really hope Google starts suing MS and Apple's pants off, and starts patenting everything they do. I'd patent having a search engine on a phone and then sue them. (Can't be to hard since Apple got a patent for swipe navigation in a gallery and swipe to unlock -.-)

Seems like the Playbook maybe violated this patent, not Android.

An eye for an eye, then everyone is blind.

 

[SwiftLegend]

Azrienoch said something really true today about Jobs. Think it goes nicely with this patent crap.

"As far as I see it you didn't innovate much. You just took ideas that were already out there that were free or fairly inexpensive and made people pay for them. You didn't innovate with iTunes, you took internet piracy and made people pay for it. You didn't innovate with the iPod, you took mp3 players and made people pay enormous amounts for them. You didn't anything with the iPhone, you took smartphones and made them flashier so people would pay extrodinary prices and so on....all the while you locked down this technology so people could only use as you saw fit so that they would buy the next product that they could've done with their last product that they just bought but you wouldn't let them. Which makes them buy the next piece of crap product you came out with because they couldn't do with the first overpriced piece of crap you came out with."

Same thing they are doing with Android, because they can't compete with the innovations of Android since 10 new phones come out every month compared to their 1 or maybe 2 per year.

 

[SwiftLegend]

An eye for an eye, then everyone is blind.

All Google has to do is sue once and win once and this will all stop. In the eyes of MS and Apple, Google is seen as the little nerdy kid that takes all the crap and never stands up. Once he says something, the bullies stop and go away. MS and Apple see Google as a small company even though it is one of the most powerful.