Re: 1-Click, Short-Click, Long-Click, More-Clicks (New Microsoft Patent)

[Jim Richardson]

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On Tue, 27 Apr 2004 16:52:32 -0400,
 Harlan Messinger <h.messinger@comcast.net> wrote:
>
> "theodp" <theodp@aol.com> wrote in message
> e7946e7b.0404271233.1167ee3@posting.google.com">news:e7946e7b.0404271233.1167ee3@posting.google.com...
>> Not to be outdone by Amazon's 1-Click patent, Microsoft snagged a
>> patent from the USPTO Tuesday for a 'Time based hardware button for
>> application launch', which covers causing different actions to occur
>> depending upon whether a button is pressed for a short period of time,
>> a long period of time, or multiple times within a short period of
>> time. So does pressing car radio buttons for different periods of time
>> to change or set stations constitute patent infringement?
>
> Presumably it does it the radio is designed to perform different functions
> depending on your interaction with it in the manner you describe.
>

Given that some desktop computers have for several years, turned off, or
rebooted, based on how long you held the power off button down, and many
laptops, suspend if you just push the button, and shut off, if you hold
it down, I'd say that's prior art. Digital clocks that advance the
numbers slowly one press at a time, or fast, if you hold it down, the
list of such prior art is pretty long. 


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-- 
Jim Richardson     http://www.eskimo.com/~warlock
 A weapon is a device for making your enemy change his mind.