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Apple Applies for a Touchscreen Gesture Patent
SuperMog2002 writes "According to an article in PC Magazine, Apple has submitted an application for a patent on "several methods of applying gestures to touch-sensitive input devices." Could there be a new form of tablet PC or PDA in Apple's future?"
Argh! Enough already with the "doing foo... with a computer!" and "doing foo... on a mobile device!" patents. You're not impressing anybody.
Has the tablet market come up with a way to deal with screen scratches? I think back to my trusty Palm IIIxe which after a few years suffered from horrible wear in the silk screen writing area. I'd hate to have dull spots on my computer screen where the GUI displays common elements.
-- I'm old enough to have lived through six different meanings of the word "hacker."
i think its because apple is applying for the patent, this will make it more difficult for developments in the future based around similar technologies just with different makers. The idea, if they can make it work well, will no doubt be a key feature in future devices when the push to make them smaller means less space for buttons etc... Holding back this is bad for the free market, therefore bad for your rights as a consumer
*''I can't believe it's not a hyperlink.''
I think it's because apple is applying for a patent on something that is pretty obvious to anybody skilled in the art, and has actually been done in about 17 other places. Just check around this story for lots of examples.
The only thing there are lots of examples of is people not reading the patent application but thinking they know what it's about anyway.
Also, what "art" does one have to be skilled in for it to be so "obvious"?
Don't become a regular here -- you will become retarded.
Honestly, I wish people would quit saying "Apple/Microsoft/Google/FooCorp is evil because they applied for patent X", even if the patent is for something really obvious (like this one seems to be) or stupid. Given the current legal climate, companies are forced to obtain patents like these so they can defend themselves against (usually smaller) companies that would otherwise get the patents later on (or dredge up old, semi-related patents) and then bring lawsuits. Save the complaints for companies that actually abuse patents (Eolas comes to mind), and the USPTO and the legal system that allow this **** to continue. Also, to the people who keep pointing out "prior art"... please note that this patent application is for a MULTI-POINT touch interface.
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