- Tuesday, 24 November 2009
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Northwood is a particular scary estate in the Kirby area of Liverpool - The Wolf of Kabul
Microsoft claims it has the magic wand
SOFTWARE GIANT Microsoft has asked for patent protection for a "Magic Wand" which is more or less the same gizmo as a Wiimote.
Gizmodo reports the Vole's wand uses one or more sensors to determine an orientation or gesture and can "issue an instruction to update a state of an environmental component based upon the orientation."
It is fairly clear that Microsoft wants to build something like Nintendo's Wii but does not want to have to fork out for a licence.
If the patent office agrees that the magic wand is not too similar to the Wii then Microsoft will be home free. If not then it will have to come up with some technology of its own. The word on the street is that it might use something with video cameras instead. µ
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I don't think it is for gaming, it sounds like it is targeted more at integration into their "surface" technology.
If you believe that the Patent Office does much if anything by way of due diligence on incoming patents, you don't understand the process!
These days, they simply register the patents, and leave it to the courts to adjudicate on contended claims.
The Sword of Gryffindor awaits...
Hey, its Microsoft, they must steal ideas, right? Microsoft was working on this "Magic Wand" years before the Wii came out - in 2004.
http://research.microsoft.com/en-us/um/people/awilson/wand/default.htm
Maybe Nintendo found that idea interesting...
"Microsoft was working on this "Magic Wand" years before the Wii came out - in 2004."
Well according to the article the patent was filed in 2007. If details of the technology were already published in 2004 I think they have a problem
bye-bye Wii with your ugly games...