Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Microsoft Patents Foot Computing

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the prior-art-your-butt dept.

theodp writes "Microsoft Research has made it possible for a mother to surf the web while nursing her newborn, thanks to its newly-patented 'foot-based user interface' (FUI?). 'In addition to causing health problems,' explains Microsoft in the patent, 'the traditional keyboard and mouse interface can be simply inconvenient in certain situations as well. In one instance, a mother with a baby in her arms is unable to easily perform simple tasks, such as checking email, on a computer.' Users of the 'Foot-Based Interface for Interacting With a Computer,' however, will be able to move their feet and step on the floor a la DDR to execute various commands, such as deleting email or scrolling down the screen. Due to the usual foot-dragging on the part of the USPTO, the patent — filed for in 2006 — was essentially obsolete by the time it was issued on Tuesday, a week after Microsoft's Kinect launch."

5 of 107 comments (clear)

  1. Cardcounting made easy by intellitech · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Now non-MIT graduates can scam casinos too!

    --
    vos nescitis quicquam, nec cogitatis quia expedit nobis ut unus moriatur homo pro populo et non tota gens pereat.
  2. If you just gotta.... by gmac63 · · Score: 2, Insightful

    You gotta be some seriously pathetic Internet Junkie if you can't tear yourself away from surfing the web while taking care of a baby. Sad. REALLY freakin' sad people.

    -WY

    --

    INSERT INTO comment VALUE('Doh!') WHERE user='you';
    1. Re:If you just gotta.... by Theaetetus · · Score: 2, Insightful

      You gotta be some seriously pathetic Internet Junkie if you can't tear yourself away from surfing the web while taking care of a baby. Sad. REALLY freakin' sad people.

      That's one way to look at it. Another, better way to look at it is that now people can spend more time taking care of their babies than they do currently, without sacrificing their work productivity.

  3. Prior Art! Prior Art! by Infonaut · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Please read the actual patent claims themselves before declaring prior art. The fact that the Slashdot headline boldly proclaims "Microsoft Patents Foot Computing" doesn't mean that the patent covers every manifestation of foot-controlled computing. Every single time a patent is discussed in Slashdot, we go through the same song and dance about how there's prior art. And yes, I know it's Slashdot and nobody actually reads the primary sources, but jeez, it gets old.

    For a readable primer on how the US patent system works, read Schechter and Thomas' Principles of Patent Law

    --
    Read the EFF's Fair Use FAQ
  4. Prior art: sewing machine by noidentity · · Score: 2, Insightful

    I think I've seen something with a foot interface that keeps the hands free before. I guess the "...on a computer" part makes it an original invention that nobody would have thought of.