Microsoft Applies For Page-Turn Animation Patent 293
eldavojohn writes "Ever seeking to out innovate their competition, Microsoft has applied for a patent on animating page flips in devices like the Nook or Kindle. The application summary reads, 'One or more pages are displayed on a touch display. A page-turning gesture directed to a displayed page is recognized. Responsive to such recognition, a virtual page turn is displayed on the touch display. The virtual page turn actively follows the page-turning gesture. The virtual page turn curls a lifted portion of the page to progressively reveal a back side of the page while progressively revealing a front side of a subsequent page. A lifted portion of the page is given an increased transparency that allows the back side of the page to be viewed through the front side of the page. A page-flipping gesture quickly flips two or more pages.' Maybe you've seen this before?"
Maybe you should ask the right question: (Score:4, Informative)
The real question is, has anyone seen this before:
Claim 1. A digital reading device, comprising:
a first touch display region;
a second touch display region;
a logic subsystem operatively coupled to the first touch display region and the second touch display region; and
a data-holding subsystem holding instructions executable by the logic subsystem to:
display a back side of a first page on the first touch display region and a front side of a second page on the second touch display region;
recognize a page-turning gesture directed to an outer corner of the second page;
display, responsive to the page-turning gesture, a virtual page turn that actively follows the page-turning gesture, the virtual page turn curling a lifted portion of the second page to progressively reveal a back side of the second page while progressively revealing a front side of a third page and while progressively covering the back side of the first page;
recognize a page-flipping gesture directed along an outer edge of the second touch display region; and
display, responsive to advancement of the page-flipping gesture, a virtual page flip in which pages quickly flip from the second touch display region to the first touch display region.
Re:Prior art? (Score:3, Informative)
the only thing they bring to the table is "on a touch display".
Not even that. I've seen iPhone ebooks that do this.
Re:Maybe you should ask the right question: (Score:3, Informative)
Since it is a single claim, if you create the same thing minus one, you are indeed not infringing (at least not as far as that claim goes, as there may be more there).
I'm not sure by what you mean by "blue instead of black", though, as I don't see the mention of "black" anywhere in the wording of the claim.
Now, if you do it on just one screen, you should be in the clear.
You mean like this!! (Score:5, Informative)
Spot the prior art (Score:3, Informative)
My entry: Master of Magic, by Microprose software (currently rights are held by Atari, I think). c1994-ish? Showed page turning animations in a spell book when you clicked on next and prior pages, creating a virtual book. Sounds like what MS is trying to do here, so it might count.
Can anyone beat 1994? There must be earlier stuff than that..
Re:Spot the prior art (Score:2, Informative)
Myst 1993.
Re:Spot the prior art (Score:3, Informative)
One or more pages are displayed on a touch display. A page-turning gesture directed to a displayed page is recognized. Responsive to such recognition, a virtual page turn is displayed on the touch display. The virtual page turn actively follows the page-turning gesture.
Re:Spot the prior art (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Spot the prior art (Score:3, Informative)
1986, GEOS for C64 :)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GEOS_(8-bit_operating_system) [wikipedia.org]
Re:Have all the knowledgeable people left Microsof (Score:5, Informative)
I'm guessing that most of the intelligent, technically knowledgeable people have left Microsoft. So now non-technical employees are pretending to run a technological company.
Filing for patents like this has absolutely nothing to do with technical people. What probably happened is something like:
1. Engineer designs cool interface with gestures and page animations
2. He shows his project manager neat interface
3. Project manager like it, sends it up the chain to see what higher ups think
4. VP over section likes the idea, sends it to legal (like everything else) to make sure it won't be a problem
5. Legal drone sees no prior patent filings for the interface idea. Sends idea to his boss.
6. Legal over-drone notes no existing patents and thus automatically files a patent for the interface idea.
7. ???
8. Profit!
The software patents filed by a company have little or no bearing on the quality of the engineers working there.
One indication that the smart people have left is when a company brings out a new version of software, and the big change is in the menus. Menu changes are something people who don't care about technology can do.
You [ubuntu.com] don't [launchpad.net] say? [hanschen.org].
(The Microsoft Vista operating system was, it is said, not a failure, but an intentional method of getting people to pay for two operating systems, by deliberately releasing an unfinished one.)
Said by somebody who almost certainly never even ran Vista. Vista's real problems were:
The way software patents work right now is every company is trying to get as many as possible. It's basically the Cold War all over again, except instead of nuclear weapons it's software patents. Microsoft is doing it for the same reasons Google, Apple, Palm, etc are: Mutual Assured Destruction.
Re:Spot the prior art (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Prior art? (Score:3, Informative)