Microsoft Patents Keyboard Browser Navigation

Scooby Snacks writes "It looks like Microsoft and the United States Patent and Trademark Office have done it again. It would appear that Microsoft, in their extensive R&D labs, have developed a way to control a web browser through the use of a keyboard. What's next, a method for displaying a plurality of running programs, each in its own defined rectangular viewing area?"

Comments

Re:Have the /. editorial staff been outsourced?

[Kris_J]

No, not really.

("This exact comment has already been posted. Try to be more original..." - Wow, that's a new one.)

Re:An outdated dupe...

[jerde]

The web was originally TEXT ONLY. How many roll & scroll applications used a mouse at all in 1997?

I share your righteous indignation at the stupid patent, but your facts are a bit off...

Read Tim Berners-Lee's FAQ about the web. The first web browser was designed on a NeXT system, and was graphical. Yes, a line-mode browser was written shortly thereafter, but a windowed point-and-click version came first. Graphics weren't inline, but they were definitely part of the initial idea. But the app itself was indeed GUI based.

And how many applications used a mouse in 1997!? Dude, all the apps I've been using have been with a mouse since Jan 24, 1984, where've you been? :)

But seriously, the patent is patently ridiculous, excuse the pun. The "invention" is a method for using the tab key to select a link on a web page. I feel as though millions of geeks all cried out "DUH!" and were silenced...

- Peter

Prior Art!

[stinkydog]

As the 1980s came to a close, a high tech web browsing tool called LYNX stormed the scene. It was the the browser of choice on my text only VAX account at Wright State University. The arrow keys moved up and down through the links and the spacebar represented the 'click'. I hope microsoft sue on this one, so that they can be laughed out of court. You can still download and use Lynx at http://lynx.isc.org/.

SD