1-Click, Short-Click, Long-Click, More-Clicks - All Patented
from the click-to-pay dept
theodp writes "Not to be outdone by Amazon's 1-Click patent, Microsoft snagged a patent from the USPTO Tuesday for a Time based hardware button for application launch, which covers causing different actions to occur depending upon whether a button is pressed for a short period of time, a long period of time, or multiple times within a short period of time. So does pressing car radio buttons for different periods of time to change or set stations constitute patent infringement?" What about double-clicking? Seems like a fair amount of prior art. I know my caller ID box requires a "double-click" to delete phone numbers. Also, I may not remember correctly, but I was under the impression that Apple's famous "one-button" mouse allows you to fake a right mouse click if you hold down the button.
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No Subject Given
I hear that they also have a patent pending on the right index finger. I guess that means that they will also be able to collect royalties if you pick your nose.
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No Subject Given
Even your digital watch requires different types of presses in order to change the time/date or alarm.
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No Subject Given
MORSE CODE!!!!!!!!
I think I win this competition!
Faz
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PS 2???
My Playstation 2 requires a short tap on the power button to reset and a press to shut it down.
(Not as good as the Morse code example but implemented by a competitor in the Video Games arena)
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Re: No Subject Given
er...which application does that open?
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No Subject Given
The good one.
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Re: PS 2???
Yes, but unlike the Xbox, your PS2 isn't a "limited power computing device" :-)
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Re: No Subject Given
They don't have a patent on my middle finger.
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trolling
They're trolling guys, plain and simple. They know this kind of thing enrages a lot of people so they drop some money out of petty cash for a quick laugh at your expense.
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prior art: Nextstep
The Nextstep Workspace manager back in 1990 featured
timed actions. A short click on a directory would display the contents, a long press would update the
directory. A double click would open it in a new window.
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Re: No Subject Given
yes you did
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Timing the button click
This is stupid, useless and does nothing but end up causing consumers and taxpayers to pay for silly litigation on who designed the process in the first place.
Gates...get a life and just make your products work right from the get-go. Enough is enough!!!
David Boarman
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Re: PS 2???
Every mobile phone I've owned has had this "invention" now that is a limited power computing device
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Re: No Subject Given
Without doubt, you have given the best example of Prior Art.
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Re: PS 2???
My old HP 41C calculator, purchased back in 1983, has this feature, needed because its keys are programmable. Press-and-release runs what's bound to the key, press-and-hold shows (in the display) what the key will do on release, and if you then keep holding it down a bit longer, the keypress is canceled.
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Patent on Pressing a Button, Prior Art
The 'soft' power button on my PC knows that one quick press means 'ask the O/S to do something, normally go to standby' and a 4 second long press means 'tell the PSU to shut off'.
That must be a very good case of prior art since it's been around since the inception of ATX PSU's.
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Re: No Subject Given
I'm left handed.....
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Re: Patent on Pressing a Button, Prior Art
Windows has had "hold down the shift key for a while to activate settings for disabilities" for longer than we've had ATX cases I think.
The calculator example above looks good though.
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Already exists!
The mobile phone, Alcatel 310, already has this feature. If you press short you get the number/character, if you hold it longer you get the next number/character in the sequence for that button.
Enjoy :)
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One-Button Mouse
The one-button mouse on Macs does NOT have a right click by holding down the button. Hold down control and THEN click, and, bingo, right click. But I myself don't use a one-button mouse, I got a third party two button mouse with one of them scroll wheels and some buttons and stuff. Logitech. Well, this isn't a thread about mice, so I'll stop now.
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surf win prize
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