Microsoft Pockets Patent for Encouraging TV Viewing 266
theodp writes "Through its WebTV unit, Microsoft was awarded a patent Tuesday for a system and method for encouraging viewers to watch television programs, such as offering viewers frequent-flier miles for identifying the name of a sponsor or the color of an announcer's shirt. In other news, Microsoft took a District Court to task for failing to recognize the existence of prior art for the Eolas web plug-in patent, resulting in a $521 million judgment against the software giant."
Re:Incentives?? (Score:5, Informative)
Wasn't that originally done by Dave Chapelle as a SPOOF on reality TV? Ugh...
But don't kill your tv. Just cut your cable. If you kill your tv you lose your video games!
Secret Message: (Score:5, Informative)
B-E S-U-R-E T-O D-R-I-N-K Y-O-U-R O-V-A-L-T-I-N-E
(please tell me someone get the reference.)
Come on, this kind of encouragement has been going on for DECADES.
Re:Incentives?? (Score:2, Informative)
Sort of. Dave did a skit about a show called "Trading Spouses" and now Fox has created an actual show with the
I hope Dave Chappelle is getting some money out of it.
LK
Philip K DIck did it best (Score:3, Informative)
From the bedroom Iran's voice came. "I can't stand TV before breakfast."
"Dial 888," Rick said as the set warmed. "The desire to watch TV, no matter what's on it."
"I don't feel like dialing anything at all now," Iran said.
"Then dial 3," he said.
"I can't dial a setting that stimulates my cerebral cortex into wanting to dial! If I don't want to dial, I don't want to dial that most of all, because then I will want to dial, and wanting to dial is right now the most alien drive I can imagine; I just want to sit here on the bed and stare at the floor."
Her voice had become sharp with overtones of bleakness as her soul congealed and she ceased to move, as the instinctive, omnipresent film of great weight, of an almost absolute inertia, settled over her."
Philip K. Dick - Do androids dream of electric sheep ?
TV outright sucks (Score:1, Informative)
After it is explained to me, I still don't find it funny, however. More sheeplike than anything.
Anyway, just be prepared for the social ramifications....
Re:Secret Message: (Score:3, Informative)
The patent describes a fairly specific method of encouraging and measuring a viewer's attention to detail. It's not nearly as insidious as the impression one might get from reading nothing but a one-sentence summary of the patent.
I suggest *you* RTFP. I was all set to fire off a "you need to read the *claims*, not the *abstract* to determine what a patent covers post, but then I read the claims. It really is a ridiculous patent.
You are correct that not reading the claims is a common problem; it is not an issue on this patent story.
Re:Secret Message: (Score:2, Informative)
Re:Prior art? (Score:2, Informative)
Re:Oh no, not again... (Score:2, Informative)
"While the present invention has been described in connection with specific embodiments, variations of these embodiments will be apparent. [...] Therefore, the spirit and scope of the appended claims should not be limited to the foregoing description."
Frankly, claim 1 doesn't seem particularly specific or limited to me.
Prior Art Found (Score:3, Informative)
On digital TV in the UK, they're always asking viwers to 'press the red button' and be up for a chance to win 'something crap'.
What's more competitions also run, like on Discovery Home & Leisure, where viewers watch the channel for an entire week and when they see a fish float across the screen then they press the red button to be up for a chance to win prizes.
If this isn't exactly what the MS patent is going on about, I don't know what is.