Apple patents: NYC staircase, Mighty Mouse
updated 09:55 am EST, Tue January 23, 2007
Apple granted nine patents
The U.S. Patent & Trademark Office today published nine of Apple's newly granted patents, briefly covering all nine documents which range from a telephone conferencing application to the company's famous glass staircase located in its Fifth Avenue Store in Manhattan. The patents include Apple's "glass support member," "accessories providing a telephone conference application one or more capabilities independent of the teleconference application," "Apple Mighty Mouse Patent: Mouse having a button-less panning and scrolling switch," a "method and apparatus for simulating a mechanical keyboard action in an electronic keyboard," "deferred shading graphics pipeline processor having advanced features," "centralized queue in network printing systems," a "method and apparatus for a calibrated variable phase offset timing between synchronous clock subdomains," and an "Apple iPod Patent: Graphical user interface and methods of use thereof in a multimedia player."
NYC Staircase
01/23, 04:34pm reply
A see-thru spiral staircase is worthy of a patent?
I wouldn't be too proud of it; people trip on the thing CONstantly. It's a health hazard to even the least clumsy among us...
Monstermind
Junior Member
Joined: May 2000
NYC Staircase
01/23, 06:53pm reply
Thats just sad, sooooooo sad.
And they keep the patent on that mighty mouse. That product is sooooo s***.
devilla101
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Dec 2003
Mighty Mouse
01/24, 02:59am reply
Well.. You may think they keep patenting the old Might Mouse... but this patent talks of a "buttonless" Scrolling Switch... Not the Right and left click thing going on in current Might Mice. This is a new and improved one. btw... i like my Might Mouse so not EVERYONE shares your opinion of it.
As for the glass stair case. I have yet to trip on it and it's not difficult to walk up and down. it does look cool and the store is a really cool idea. I would be proud but it's just me I guess. If people would just remember how to walk and look where the heck they are going... no one should trip on that think. the steps are big enough.
webraider
Forum Regular
Joined: Nov 2004
Mighty Mouse
01/24, 12:22pm reply
I love the mighty mouse (although I didn't at first). My trackball died and I put it on my computer at work. Due to my procrastination, I never replaced it. If you give the mouse a chance, you'll experience the finesse of it.
Now, every time I'm on another computer I find myself wishing it had a mighty mouse. Feeling for the agile scroll ball and finding a giant tire in its place is so annoying. Then trying to scroll with said giant tire which has the tactile feedback equivalent to running over railroad tracks and displaces text three lines at a time... ARGGGG, throw these flinstone devices away and bring me back to the future!!!
Deal
Mac Enthusiast
Joined: Apr 2001