President Merkin Muffley: How is it possible for this thing to be triggered automatically and at the same time impossible to untrigger?
Dr. Strangelove: Mr. President, it is not only possible, it is essential. That is the whole idea of this machine, you know. Deterrence is the art of producing in the mind of the enemy... the FEAR to attack. And so, because of the automated and irrevocable decision-making process which rules out human meddling, the Doomsday machine is terrifying and simple to understand... and completely credible and convincing.
I just noticed that his patent application claims an earlier priority date:
[0001]The present patent application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/116,430, to Bezos, entitled "MOVEMENT RECOGNITION AS INPUT MECHANISM," filed Nov. 20, 2008. The entire content of this provisional patent application is incorporated herein by reference.
[0002]As the variety of available computing devices increases, and as the size of many of these devices decreases, there comes a need to adapt the ways in which users interface with these computing devices. For example, while typing on a keyboard is an easy and acceptable way for many users to input information for a desktop computer, trying to enter information on a keyboard of a portable phone can be difficult due to the small form factor of the device. For example, the size of a user's fingers can prevent that user from easily pressing one key at a time. Further, as many of these devices move to touch screens or other such input devices, the size of a user's finger can also inhibit the user from successfully selecting an intended object or element on the screen, etc. Another disadvantage to using such touch screens is that fingerprints, dirt, smudges, and other remnants are left on the display screen, which can cause glare or other issues with clarity and/or visibility. Further, some users add an extra layer of protective material to prevent damage to the screen, but these devices can reduce touch sensitivity and amplify the negative effects of the residue left on the screen.
[0003]Further, many users prefer to use portable devices such as cellular phones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), and electronic book reading devices with one hand, and such operation becomes difficult using a touch screen or multiple-button input approach. Even for stationary devices (e.g., desktop computers) the standard keyboard and mouse-based approach can be undesirable for users who would prefer to view information without having to constantly move the mouse and scroll to the next area, select elements to navigate to the next page, etc.
Unlike the previous post claiming this (Introducing Opera Face Gestures) as prior art, yours actually precedes Bezos' filing date by 44 days (Oct. 27, 2008 vs. Dec. 10, 2008).
From the claims, it looks like it is limited to a portable computing device:
1. A method of interacting with a graphical user interface on a portable computing device, comprising:obtaining a first image using an imaging element of the portable computing device, the first image including a facial feature of a user of the portable computing device;obtaining a second image using the imaging element, the second image including the facial feature of the user of the portable computing device;analyzing the obtained first image and second image, with the portable computing device, to determine a change in the position of the facial feature of the user with respect to the portable computing device; andaltering (sic) information displayed within the graphical user interface based at least in part on the determined change, wherein the information displayed within the graphical user interface excludes a representation of either or both of the obtained first and second images.
The president's instincts are by now obvious to all: deflect blame, point fingers, and lash out at others, most especially his predecessor. We know from press reports (see here and here) that the strategy for the Democrats in 2010, two years after Obama was elected president, is to – you guessed it – blame George W. Bush.
Slashdot Mirror
[discussing the Doomsday machine]
President Merkin Muffley: How is it possible for this thing to be triggered automatically and at the same time impossible to untrigger?
Dr. Strangelove: Mr. President, it is not only possible, it is essential. That is the whole idea of this machine, you know. Deterrence is the art of producing in the mind of the enemy... the FEAR to attack. And so, because of the automated and irrevocable decision-making process which rules out human meddling, the Doomsday machine is terrifying and simple to understand... and completely credible and convincing.
WWV All the time, all the time
I just noticed that his patent application claims an earlier priority date:
[0001]The present patent application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/116,430, to Bezos, entitled "MOVEMENT RECOGNITION AS INPUT MECHANISM," filed Nov. 20, 2008. The entire content of this provisional patent application is incorporated herein by reference.
Still, DevExpress preceded Bezos!
From the patent application:
BACKGROUND
[0002]As the variety of available computing devices increases, and as the size of many of these devices decreases, there comes a need to adapt the ways in which users interface with these computing devices. For example, while typing on a keyboard is an easy and acceptable way for many users to input information for a desktop computer, trying to enter information on a keyboard of a portable phone can be difficult due to the small form factor of the device. For example, the size of a user's fingers can prevent that user from easily pressing one key at a time. Further, as many of these devices move to touch screens or other such input devices, the size of a user's finger can also inhibit the user from successfully selecting an intended object or element on the screen, etc. Another disadvantage to using such touch screens is that fingerprints, dirt, smudges, and other remnants are left on the display screen, which can cause glare or other issues with clarity and/or visibility. Further, some users add an extra layer of protective material to prevent damage to the screen, but these devices can reduce touch sensitivity and amplify the negative effects of the residue left on the screen.
[0003]Further, many users prefer to use portable devices such as cellular phones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), and electronic book reading devices with one hand, and such operation becomes difficult using a touch screen or multiple-button input approach. Even for stationary devices (e.g., desktop computers) the standard keyboard and mouse-based approach can be undesirable for users who would prefer to view information without having to constantly move the mouse and scroll to the next area, select elements to navigate to the next page, etc.
Unlike the previous post claiming this (Introducing Opera Face Gestures) as prior art, yours actually precedes Bezos' filing date by 44 days (Oct. 27, 2008 vs. Dec. 10, 2008).
Carp. That should read "useless". My subconscious is just so positive.
s/Carp/Crap/
Look at the dates:
Bezos filed on December 10, 2008 and the page you cited was dated April 1, 2009.
Ah, I now see that later claims (e.g., 18 and 31) use "a computing device" so it's not limited to a portable computing device.
United States Patent Application 20100125816 MOVEMENT RECOGNITION AS INPUT MECHANISM
From the claims, it looks like it is limited to a portable computing device:
1. A method of interacting with a graphical user interface on a portable computing device, comprising:obtaining a first image using an imaging element of the portable computing device, the first image including a facial feature of a user of the portable computing device;obtaining a second image using the imaging element, the second image including the facial feature of the user of the portable computing device;analyzing the obtained first image and second image, with the portable computing device, to determine a change in the position of the facial feature of the user with respect to the portable computing device; andaltering (sic) information displayed within the graphical user interface based at least in part on the determined change, wherein the information displayed within the graphical user interface excludes a representation of either or both of the obtained first and second images.
ETA: Currently 20 visualization options are available. Here's a Treemap based on the Nov. 2007 statistics: http://manyeyes.alphaworks.ibm.com/manyeyes/visualizations/supercomputer-center-treemap
Be sure to check out IBM's Many Eyes visualizations (which includes a Treemap).
TOP500 List (Excel)
TOP500 List (XML)
The president's instincts are by now obvious to all: deflect blame, point fingers, and lash out at others, most especially his predecessor. We know from press reports (see here and here) that the strategy for the Democrats in 2010, two years after Obama was elected president, is to – you guessed it – blame George W. Bush.
How do we know the pottery fragments weren't from a piss pot?
Sounds like another Brew-Ha-Ha is on tap: The Day in 100 Seconds: 100 Seconds of Beer on The Wall
"The result? Cloudy and quite strong (9% A.B.V.)" --like my urine.
I wonder if the software used by the Japanese space agency, JAXA, is AJAX?
Maybe now the employees of the Securities and Exchange Commission will start doing their real jobs.
Dupe
"Don't criticize, condemn or complain."
How about this instead: "While you can read a colorful review of it here..." or perhaps "While you can read an illuminating review of it here..."
Yeah, from June 22, 2006: http://tech.slashdot.org/story/06/06/22/126236/BumpTop-Pushing-the-Desktop-Metaphor?art_pos=3
The True Path To Enlightenment (TM) lies in using Reverse Zen Notation (TM):
So "div#page>div.logo+ul#navigation>li*5>a" becomes
a>5*li>ul#navigation+div.logo>div#page
5,533,183, entitled “User Interface With Multiple Workspaces for Sharing Display System Objects” which issued on July 2, 1996
5,394,521, entitled “User Interface With Multiple Workspaces for Sharing Display System Objects” which issued on February 28, 1995
Source: http://www.groklaw.net/pdf/IPvRH-1.pdf
But... Bill Gates said 640k was enough for anyone!