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Microsoft Patents A Modular PC With Stackable Components (venturebeat.com)

Posted by BeauHD on from the modular-computing dept.

Microsoft has patented a "modular computing device" that would enable people to put together the exact PC components they want, allowing for replacement of certain parts rather than forcing people to buy entire new computers when they want upgrades. Microsoft applied for the patent in July 2015, and it was published earlier this week, on February 11.

1 of 183 comments (clear)

  1. Gee, memories are short these days by Wizardess · · Score: 1, Interesting

    About 20 years ago my partner took me into his workplace at UniSys in Mission Viejo. He showed me a nice modular computer system, video module, disk drive module, CPU module, memory module, etc. It was designed some 30+ years ago now by Convergent Technologies. Burroughs bought then and sold the computers for a few years. And there was still a working example at the UniSys labs in Mission Viejo. (Burroughs plus Sperry became UniSys rather than Spurroughs.)

    I suppose 30 years is long enough for the reinvention to be seen as something brand new and unique and patentable. However, in a real world I suspect this prior art, documented on Wikipedia (the model number to look for is Burroughs B25) should not be patentable by any stretch of the imagination.

    {^_^}