1-Click, Short-Click, Long-Click, More-Clicks - All Patented

from the click-to-pay dept

theodp writes "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?" What about double-clicking? Seems like a fair amount of prior art. I know my caller ID box requires a "double-click" to delete phone numbers. Also, I may not remember correctly, but I was under the impression that Apple's famous "one-button" mouse allows you to fake a right mouse click if you hold down the button.
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  • identicon
    Valued customer, 27 Apr 2004 @ 3:33pm

    No Subject Given

    I hear that they also have a patent pending on the right index finger. I guess that means that they will also be able to collect royalties if you pick your nose.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Cigamit, 27 Apr 2004 @ 3:47pm

    No Subject Given

    Even your digital watch requires different types of presses in order to change the time/date or alarm.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Fazookus, 27 Apr 2004 @ 7:46pm

    No Subject Given


    MORSE CODE!!!!!!!!
    I think I win this competition!
    Faz

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Erik, 28 Apr 2004 @ 12:50am

    PS 2???

    My Playstation 2 requires a short tap on the power button to reset and a press to shut it down.
    (Not as good as the Morse code example but implemented by a competitor in the Video Games arena)

    link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      Anonymous Coward, 28 Apr 2004 @ 1:19pm

      Re: PS 2???

      Yes, but unlike the Xbox, your PS2 isn't a "limited power computing device" :-)

      link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      Flo, 28 Apr 2004 @ 4:42pm

      Re: PS 2???

      Every mobile phone I've owned has had this "invention" now that is a limited power computing device

      link to this | view in chronology ]

      • identicon
        tih, 28 Apr 2004 @ 11:37pm

        Re: PS 2???

        My old HP 41C calculator, purchased back in 1983, has this feature, needed because its keys are programmable. Press-and-release runs what's bound to the key, press-and-hold shows (in the display) what the key will do on release, and if you then keep holding it down a bit longer, the keypress is canceled.

        link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    NOBODY, 28 Apr 2004 @ 9:29am

    No Subject Given

    The good one.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Rahyl, 28 Apr 2004 @ 2:00pm

    trolling

    They're trolling guys, plain and simple. They know this kind of thing enrages a lot of people so they drop some money out of petty cash for a quick laugh at your expense.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Andreas Mueller, 28 Apr 2004 @ 2:24pm

    prior art: Nextstep

    The Nextstep Workspace manager back in 1990 featured
    timed actions. A short click on a directory would display the contents, a long press would update the
    directory. A double click would open it in a new window.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    David Boarman, 28 Apr 2004 @ 3:01pm

    Timing the button click

    This is stupid, useless and does nothing but end up causing consumers and taxpayers to pay for silly litigation on who designed the process in the first place.
    Gates...get a life and just make your products work right from the get-go. Enough is enough!!!
    David Boarman

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Adrian O'Connor, 29 Apr 2004 @ 2:26am

    Patent on Pressing a Button, Prior Art

    The 'soft' power button on my PC knows that one quick press means 'ask the O/S to do something, normally go to standby' and a 4 second long press means 'tell the PSU to shut off'.

    That must be a very good case of prior art since it's been around since the inception of ATX PSU's.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      Dominic, 29 Apr 2004 @ 3:35am

      Re: Patent on Pressing a Button, Prior Art

      Windows has had "hold down the shift key for a while to activate settings for disabilities" for longer than we've had ATX cases I think.
      The calculator example above looks good though.

      link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    John Andersen, 29 Apr 2004 @ 4:11am

    Already exists!

    The mobile phone, Alcatel 310, already has this feature. If you press short you get the number/character, if you hold it longer you get the next number/character in the sequence for that button.
    Enjoy :)

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Adam Ashwell, 29 Apr 2004 @ 9:44pm

    One-Button Mouse

    The one-button mouse on Macs does NOT have a right click by holding down the button. Hold down control and THEN click, and, bingo, right click. But I myself don't use a one-button mouse, I got a third party two button mouse with one of them scroll wheels and some buttons and stuff. Logitech. Well, this isn't a thread about mice, so I'll stop now.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    brijesh, 25 Dec 2008 @ 9:59pm

    surf win prize

    link to this | view in chronology ]


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