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I don't usually blog about tech subjects, and there are so many historic events happening in Iraq and elsewhere, which I will of course continue to comment on.
But the errors of the U.S. Patent Office are paving the way for some major difficulties.
Microsoft has been granted an interactive TV patent that pauses the show while the viewer follows an embedded hyperlink, such as a URL.
And so ends a 12-year battle. Incredibly, Microsoft originally filed for the patent in March 1993, and the language reflects its age: "The Internet has recently exploded in popularity," we learn, and that, "a computer user with a modem can get on-line."
Only Microsoft products are going to be permitted to pause a TV show when somebody clicks an on-screen link? If TV starts including links in shows, any viewer will need the ability to do that. Otherwise the links will be worthless and no one will be able to include them in the shows in the first place.
The Patent Office needs to hire some technology experts.
