Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Microsoft Wins Hyperlink TV Pause Battle

Posted by Zonk on from the hyperlink-tv-pause-go-now dept.

TripMaster Monkey writes "The Register is running an interesting story on a patent recently granted to Microsoft. This patent, which covers 'pausing television programming in response to selection of hypertext link', among other things, has been in contention for over twelve years, and the language used in the patent reveals its age ('The Internet has recently exploded in popularity,' and, 'a computer user with a modem can get on-line.'). Despite its age, however, this patent, which covers 35 claims in all, will be of major importance in the impending IPTV battle in the States."

1 of 165 comments (clear)

  1. as if it's not enough... by rice_burners_suck · · Score: -1, Flamebait
    As if it's not already enough that Microsoft has completely destroyed the computing and software industry, now it has to hunt down and destroy just about anything and everything related to all types of products. This is just one more example.

    Why did Microsoft send recruiters to software companies and steal all their good programmers? Why did Microsoft buy perfectly good software products and then "extend" them in such a way as to introduce bugs and problems, destroying those products? Why did Microsoft copy others' software products with cheap immitations and then use billions of dollars of marketing muscle to get people to buy their inferior products instead, putting many good software companies out of business? Why did they destroy the whole industry, which suffered for so long until free software began to gain a foothold? And why are they now pursuing to destroy the whole world outside of software?

    I'm glad I switched to the Mac.