Microsoft Patents Operating System Shutdown

[viralmeme]

`Microsoft just received confirmation of a patent that hands the company the intellectual property of shutting an operating system down' link (http://www.conceivablytech.com/2530/products/microsoft-patents-operating-system-shutdown/)

[chucky chuckaluck]

how do you patent holding the power button in?

[whiskeylover]

how do you patent holding the power button in?

That's not what they've patented.

[Mr. Picklesworth]

If I understand it correctly,, Gnome's session exit stuff doesn't differentiate GUI and non-GUI applications; things don't need to create windows to block shutdown as in that flowchart. So, we should be in the clear ;)

[lukeiamyourfather]

Software patents are retarded. What are they going to patent next, the scrollbar?

[Simian Man]

Software patents are a huge problem, but the title is intentionally misleading. What they've actually patented is a method to deal with non-responsive applications which delay shutting down.

[gemmakaru]

Having text represented on the screen by dots? That would be a good one.

[sikander3786]

Software patents are a huge problem, but the title is intentionally misleading. What they've actually patented is a method to deal with non-responsive applications which delay shutting down.

Yes sounds the same to me. It is not the regular shutdown notification which says "Your computer will shutdown in 30 seconds". Might be the next time they patent the shutdown button and we have to unplug our computers directly :lolflag:

[bsharp]

Software patents are retarded. What are they going to patent next, the scrollbar?

I'm on it.

[Dragonbite]

Software patents are a huge problem, but the title is intentionally misleading. What they've actually patented is a method to deal with non-responsive applications which delay shutting down.

Why don't they focus on making Windows shut down without causing applications to be non-responsive instead of trying to "own" it!? I usually get a couple pop-up windows that stop the shutdown process and otherwise makes getting out of work take longer!

[tyblogger5]

I don't get it! Why patent a shutdown (other then all the royalties that they'll get)? In that case I'm patenting OS restarts:lolflag:!!!

[mendhak]

Catch 22 situation, or a Patent Cold War so to speak... X sues Y for a trivial thing they've patented and win. Y realizes it needs to protect itself from this in the future. So it starts patenting everything it can think of. Then Z notices this and realizes it needs to start doing the same. Soon everyone's doing it.

I thought this was quite insightful post about patents: http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20100817/00061910645.shtml

Some patents are simply taken for the purpose of protecting themselves but abuse will always exist.

[koenn]

Some patents are simply taken for the purpose of protecting themselves but abuse will always exist.

Patents are to allow an inventor to recobver his R&D costs and make some profit off his invention.
Taking patents for the purpose of protecting oneself is, therefore, already a form of abuse.

[Simian Man]

Patents are to allow an inventor to recobver his R&D costs and make some profit off his invention.
Taking patents for the purpose of protecting oneself is, therefore, already a form of abuse.

I don't think that's abuse if they don't try to sue others for breaching the patents. For example Red Hat has a number of patents for this reason that they never enforce. And when the other option is being sued for something stupid yourself I don't think you can blame anyone who does this.

[koenn]

I don't think that's abuse if they don't try to sue others for breaching the patents. For example Red Hat has a number of patents for this reason that they never enforce. And when the other option is being sued for something stupid yourself I don't think you can blame anyone who does this.
I'm just saying that technically, using something for other purposes than what it's intended for, is called abuse. Somewhat like taking morphine for non-medicinal reasons is called drug abuse.
I wasn't judging anyone on moral grounds or anything.

[KiwiNZ]

Patents are to allow an inventor to recobver his R&D costs and make some profit off his invention.
Taking patents for the purpose of protecting oneself is, therefore, already a form of abuse.

Is buying Insurance abuse? no
It is basically the same thing.

[koenn]

Is buying Insurance abuse? no
It is basically the same thing.

see my post just before yours.
The patent system was not intended as an insurance against patent infringement suits.

[Bapun007]

He. . . He , next microsoft is going to patent viruses and worms .

[TBABill]

[sarcasm below]

Funny that MS patents the shutdown process when dealing with hung apps/windows that won't shut down. I don't have that happen in Linux so they now "own" crappy non-responsive processes they created within their own OS and obviously can't figure out how to fix (thus the "not responding" text in the title bar of the app telling you that the app you are trying to use is obviously not responding). Excellent work! Even Windows 7 has carried on the wonderful tradition :)

[end sarcasm]

[whiskeylover]

[sarcasm below]

Funny that MS patents the shutdown process when dealing with hung apps/windows that won't shut down. I don't have that happen in Linux so they now "own" crappy non-responsive processes they created within their own OS and obviously can't figure out how to fix (thus the "not responding" text in the title bar of the app telling you that the app you are trying to use is obviously not responding). Excellent work! Even Windows 7 has carried on the wonderful tradition :)

[end sarcasm]


You do realize that most applications running on windows are written by developers other than MS, right?

Oh, and I've had a couple of apps halt my shutdown process on Linux.

[KiwiNZ]

see my post just before yours.
The patent system was not intended as an insurance against patent infringement suits.

Of course it was

[Windows Nerd]

Software patents are a huge problem, but the title is intentionally misleading. What they've actually patented is a method to deal with non-responsive applications which delay shutting down.

Hmm, which is funny, because Gnome does the same thing when forget to close a couple things and then prevents shutdown.

[Random_Dude]

He. . . He , next microsoft is going to patent viruses and worms .

As long as they don't start suing anyone who has unlicensed copies on their computers, I'm fine with that. xD

[TBABill]

whiskeylover, yep got it. That's why I started and ended with sarcasm notes. Just ribbing a little. I use MS daily, but hate its flaws. "Not responding" is my peeve so I couldn't resist and usually happens to me in Office or Windows Explorer or Internet Explorer, all MS products. Probably happens in lots of others, but those are where my pains with "not responding" in MS Win are.

[koenn]

Of course it was
So, the patent system is intended to protect people from being sued for patent infringement ?

I can see how it can be used to that end, but not how that would be its intended purpose.
Care to explain ?

[KiwiNZ]

So, the patent system is intended to protect people from being sued for patent infringement ?

I can see how it can be used to that end, but not how that would be its intended purpose.
Care to explain ?

The system has has many outcomes. One of which is , you invent something, you apply for and obtain a Patent . This stops another company applying for a patent for the same thing and suing you.

Hence you have insured yourself against patent infringement even if you never intend to enforce your patent against others. Quite simple really.

[juancarlospaco]

My LiGNUx never need to shutdown :D

[koenn]

The system has has many outcomes. One of which is , you invent something, you apply for and obtain a Patent . This stops another company applying for a patent for the same thing and suing you.

Hence you have insured yourself against patent infringement even if you never intend to enforce your patent against others. Quite simple really.
interesting angle, although I'd consider this a way of formally establishing ownership of an invention, rather than taking an insurance.
(the not getting sued is a side effect of being the owner)


In any case, the US Patent and Trademark Office (http://www.uspto.gov/patents/index.jsp) seems unaware that its selling insurance :


A patent is an intellectual property right granted by the Government of the United States of America to an inventor “to exclude others from making, using, offering for sale, or selling the invention throughout the United States or importing the invention into the United States” for a limited time in exchange for public disclosure of the invention when the patent is granted.

This right was established over 200 years ago in Article 1, Section 8 of the United States Constitution: “To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries.”

[KiwiNZ]

interesting angle, although I'd consider this a way of formally establishing ownership of an invention, rather than taking an insurance.
(the not getting sued is a side effect of being the owner)


In any case, the US Patent and Trademark Office (http://www.uspto.gov/patents/index.jsp) seems unaware that its selling insurance :

Squares are also for thinking outside of ;)

[MaxIBoy]

Software patents are retarded. What are they going to patent next, the scrollbar?Sure, why not? They already have patents on your page-up/page-down keys as of a couple years ago (patent no. 7,415,666.)

Now to be fair, they haven't patented the shutdown process entirely, they've just patented one of the common-sense approaches to hung applications blocking a shutdown. On Windows, sometimes the updater likes to turn the computer off without asking you first (well, there's a confirmation dialog, but suppose you miss the timeout?) So I guess this makes sense there. (Although notice I said "common-sense?" This patent seriously fails the obviousness test in a big way.)

We use a different method, which is "just kill it if it takes too long;" I prefer that way, because if I tell my computer to shut down, I understand that I've implicitly given permission to close all my running programs and don't want to spell it out again.

[alexfish]

That's not what they've patented.

What ever next ,this would imply that I the user (210) have been patented by Microsoft

Everybody in the whole World has Patented by Microsoft , HA,HA,HA

I want a share of the royalty's :-\"

there is only one patent rule , it consists of sending a line of 0000000000's or what ever code it requires to shut it down .CPU manufactures data sheets tells me so

[akoskm]

how do you patent holding the power button in?

Ooh, I lol'd so hard

[koenn]

Squares are also for thinking outside of ;)

That might not be their intended purpose, but I can see how they can be used that way.

[s0rc3r3r]

I am not surprised..
With their products doing 'Illegal Shutdowns'.its kinda like 'Microsoft product's unique style.'

Nice to know that they realized their products uniqueness and patented it.

Next patent Microsoft would apply for is the BSOD and the word 'Illegal Operation'.
:D

[gradinaruvasile]

I m waiting for MS to patent

"Stop computer via the Start button"...

[koenn]

I m waiting for MS to patent

"Stop computer via the Start button"...

I thought they already did that

[gradinaruvasile]

Really?

[Dragonbite]

You do realize that most applications running on windows are written by developers other than MS, right?

Oh, and I've had a couple of apps halt my shutdown process on Linux.

Yeah, like Office, MSN Messenger, Explorer, IE...

The biggest culprit on my system, though, isn't Microsoft.. it's Adobe. But the others are not innocent. ;)

[koenn]

Really?

I thought so but I can't remember where I read it.
Could be it's a Trademark, not a patent.

[phrostbyte]

I wonder if this is related: Patent Office Back To Approving Pretty Much Anything (http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20100819/12015210689.shtml) :p

[phrostbyte]

So, the patent system is intended to protect people from being sued for patent infringement ?

I can see how it can be used to that end, but not how that would be its intended purpose.
Care to explain ?

That's completely useless against patent trolls anyway. How are you going to countersue somebody that makes nothing? The more useful and productive things a person/company does, the more likely they will be sued for patent infringement. It's kind of funny in a dark way.

"If people had understood how patents would be granted when most of today's ideas were invented, and had taken out patents, the industry would be at a complete standstill today" -- Bill Gates