Microsoft Gets Patent for Page Up, Page Down

Terry Olaes

Terry Olaes

I Used to be the [H] News Guy
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Nov 27, 2006
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This one gets filed in the WTF? category. Microsoft applied for and was granted patent 7,415,666: Method and system for navigating paginated content in page-based increments. This is better known as “page up” and “page down.” Do all other software programs that enable pagination via those keys have to pay license fees to MS now? Wow.

So there we have it, the latest in a long line of patent applications to get approval which have nothing to do with true innovation or even true ownership of a technology. All this patent 'protects' is an idea, and even then one that Microsoft can hardly claim to have invented. Well, not while keeping a straight face anyway.
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I think a rolleyes would suffice in this instance.

:rolleyes:

Yeah, that's gooooood...
 
Hahahaha

Okay okay, maybe they're sending a message to Patent squatters: "You really don't want large corps to start doing crap like this."
 
So instead of using that time to develop Windows 7 and/or working on the new xbox live interface, this is what they've been doing? This is almost as bad as when I heard the news of when they finally found the highest prime number...
 
Patenting silly stuff like this is exactly what the patent system isn't designed for but can easily be used for.

I'm sure Apple and IBM are pissed they didn't patent personal computers back in the day, because you know for damn sure that if they could now, they'd do it.
 
Outamyhead said:
Does anyone actually use those buttons?
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I just use home and end. For up and down I use my mouse wheel. If I want to move to the top or bottom of the page quickly, I press my middle mouse button to bring up the up/down icon thingy, then move my mouse up and down.

I never use the Page Up and Page Down button.
 
Is this also applicable to forward back buttons in browers? That is, the manner in which the world-wide-web works??

In any rate, I think there is prior art for this. Who the hell is granting these things?? Aren't they supposed to test for prior art??
 
Outamyhead said:
Does anyone actually use those buttons?
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Yes... You'd be surprised how many things you don't think are ever used are actually used widely in businesses.

CAPS LOCK key is another story- that can die a horrific death for all I care.
 
heh, for some applications at work, I have to use the PAGE UP / PAGE DOWN keys.. there is no other option.
 
I can just see it now...

"CAPS LOCK IS CRUISE CONTROL FOR COOL... now gimme my licensing fees..."

or words to that effect. Yeah, this one should be nominated for the Dumbest Fucking Thing in Tech 2008, definitely.
 
ThR!LL said:
So instead of using that time to develop Windows 7 and/or working on the new xbox live interface, this is what they've been doing? This is almost as bad as when I heard the news of when they finally found the highest prime number...
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You do realize that a corporation as big as Microsoft definetly can and will work on more than one thing at any given time? Different departments, with sub teams, etc.

But, all-in-all this is pretty dumb. The patent system does suck, but I personally do not know enough about the process to fix it from retarded exploits and patent-trolls. Any ideas?
 
You can't blame MS one bit for doing things like this. Seems like every other month apple, sony, microsoft, nintendo, etc are being sued on some bogus patent by some firm that does nothing but file lawsuits based on bullshit patents they own. It makes sence for them to pay the fees and patent everything they can think of as it frees them from the legal fees fighting it.

All the are doing is playing the game.
 
i thought pageup and pagedown have been on keyboards longer then microsoft has even existed.... :eek:
 
I think they're just acting smart. Getting the patent to show that the system is ridiculous as it is today is one thing, but I think they got it so they can prevent others from getting it before them and suing them and many other companies, for what the patent is about.
 
HardDrugsUser said:
EOF = End of File ... are u sure about end of field?
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I really have no idea that's what the page says. I wasn't born for another 7 years lol :p. We are talking about a really long time where text editing was line based. You can still see that kinda line based retardedness in the vi editor today.
 
MrLonghair said:
I think they're just acting smart. Getting the patent to show that the system is ridiculous as it is today is one thing, but I think they got it so they can prevent others from getting it before them and suing them and many other companies, for what the patent is about.
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My thoughts exactly, Patent Trolls love to do things like this and sue anybody with deep pockets, So MS is in My mind protecting themselves and everybody else. :)
 
uhoh im going to patent the rest of the keyboard asap! and i will patent books too, and i will also patent the ability to turn a page. :mad:
 
HardDrugsUser said:
EOF = End of File ... are u sure about end of field?
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Unfortunately field and file begin with the same letter, yes. :D

I vaguely remember a few other navigation techniques that Microsoft has patents for. The one that comes to mind was time sensitive buttons-- if you hold it longer it has a different effect. Considering the time, money, misery, and pain involved in actually patenting an invention or innovation how the hell does this stand?

"You have been paginated!" - Microsoft
 
In my C++ book, it says EOF is End Of File.. but I guess it all depends what context it's used in, or what era you're talking about.
 
niconx said:
uhoh im going to patent the rest of the keyboard asap! and i will patent books too, and i will also patent the ability to turn a page. :mad:
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I didn't even think of that! They patented not a device that turns a page (like a page up button or a ... page flipper), they actually patented the ABILITY to turn a page. :eek:
 
I am going to patent Enter.

For every use of this button you will pay "only" 1 USD :)
 
uhhh some people use caps lock, and page up and page down a LOT... they're called programmers.

I'd die without those 3 keys personally.
 
whoa! I didn't even know I had an insert key until I looked. In my 14 years of 'putin', I don't think I've ever even accidentally hit that key.

I wonder what it does.

Microsoft Go!
 
1. This kind of makes sense I guess...

2. This patent is from 2005, nothing new.

However, pressing the Page Down or Page Up keyboard buttons to navigate content provides sometimes unexpected results for many viewers. More particularly, unless the zoom percentage setting and/or size of the window is coincidentally set such that an entire page is shown at once, pressing the Page Down or Page up key does not move the content a full page. Such behavior is the default experience in applications. For example, when the zoom is set such that the page is larger than the viewing area, pressing Page Down when at the top of the page does not page down an entire page, but instead shifts the content that is shown in the viewing area such that some lower portion of the current page (e.g., the bottom of the current page) is shown. At least one other Page Down key press is required to shift the view to show the top of the next page. In the opposite direction, at such a zoom percentage more than one Page Up is required to actually shift the content up an entire page.

Thus, when a user wants to consistently review a particular area of each page, for example, such as to inspect the content in each page's header or footer, the user has to use multiple key presses per page, unless the user can tolerate (and is knowledgeable enough to know to set) a zoom percentage that causes a Page Up or Page Down to jump the precise amount. For some viewers, even being close is not adequate, as the page top/bottom will gradually move in one direction as the user pages up or down. Moreover, in some situations, a relatively large zoom percentage is needed by the user, such as when the display area is relatively small and/or the content to be viewed has to be zoomed-in to a sufficient extent to properly review it. In such situations, decreasing the zoom to cause an exact one-page scroll on a Page Up or Page Down is not an option.

What is needed is an improved method and system for that allows users to navigate in precise increments when pressing the Page Up or Page Down key (or an equivalent action).
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I think I'm going to patent the Enter key on the keyboard now. :rolleyes:
 
I think I'm going to patent the DEL key. Just imagine how many times that key is pressed among windows users (maybe I will patent the CTRL and ALT keys too...)

Skip it, I am just going to patent electrons instead.
 
The page up/down keys do come in handy at work, no doubt about it. The one thing I noticed though is the patent number. 7,415,666: That proves they are the evil empire :D
 
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