In a sign of just how backed up our patent system is, Sony was finally awarded a series of claims for a vein-reading mouse it filed back in January of 2009. The idea is to use an image of the blood vessels in your index finger as an authentication system. But, instead of unlocking a PC, the identity would be associated with a set of preferences -- automatically boosting contrast and text size on a screen for the elderly.
Sony Computer Entertainment America filed a patent a couple months back, for a system using coffee mugs to play a video game. Now they've filed one to make your laughter into a controller. I direct you to figure 17: "Ha Ha Ha." This... Read Post
If Microsoft’s freshly granted patent for a digital rights management system sounds like a 2003 idea coming to fruition in 2009, that’s because it is — the patent that was granted yesterday was filed six years ago. The newly codifie... Read Post