http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=30135

I may not have been on this forum for long, but I've been playing LFS on & off for about 5 years. Spectating in online vid games has prior art, surely? Has anybody seen the spectator concept used in other online games?

note: I can't see the patent listed on ustpo.gov, so haven't actually seen the details of the M$ application.

Hell there was a spectator mode in nascar heat...i'm not sure where they get off patenting that crap..thats microsoft for ya, but i'm sure it won't effect anyone..

Quote from lockup :

note: I can't see the patent listed on ustpo.gov, so haven't actually seen the details of the M$ application.

http://www.uspto.gov/web/paten ... /US06999083-20060214.html click the full text button for the .... full text of the patent.

I can't see that holding for too long, isn't there prior art like from the 70's illepall

The text seems to indicate that they are patenting certain spectator techologies, not spectating itself.

Now does this mean that there will be no need to install the actual game for the spectator? Kinda like spors chanel where you simply switch between games? Are they talking about a 'universal' spectator addon for any game that is played online? I guess I'm swedish and don't undertand that article 100%.

ohh i can just see it....New channel on satellite.. Microsoft Virtual racing....
soon we will be watching computer game racing rather than having to put up with crap like F1... woooo

dont see why patent such featureillepall but i guess they have enought money to experiment and try a few things and if it doesnt work out.. what the hell few quid here and there....

quite bizzare though....

mad

I really can't be arsed to read it all, but from what I did read, I think it goes something like this...

Game data is infused with some extra data that is only useful to spectators, and then sent to a broadcast program.

This program would then redistribute the data in such a way that anyone connecting to the server the broadcast program is running on could watch the game from various virtual cameras (just like you can spectating normally, except you can't interact with the actual game).

I should imagine you'd need the game content for this, otherwise this would probably fall under any one of numerous mass distribution visual media patents.

They aren't just talking about spectating in a game. They are talking about an entire system dedicated to spectating that uses a centralized broadcast server / network. i.e.

1. LFS Server packs up game data and attaches some extra misc data.
   
2. LFS Server sends this data to a broadcast server.
   
3. Broadcast server then sends data out to any number of connected clients.
   
4. Broadcast server may inform LFS server of number of conected 'spectators', or other spectator related data. (this was something else it mentioned)

In addtion, the patent covers similar systems that cover multiple games. (think gamespy where you could spectate)
Well... thats what I made of it anyway.

Scawen did mention, once upon a blue moon ago that he may implement a dummy client solely for spectating, but didn't mention anything about a dedicated broadcast server, so I don't think there is much to worry about, except for the fact that microsoft has yet another patent.

The answer is really simple here. There are no software patents in europe and hopefully never will. So the microsoft patents only apply to the US.

Thank you, Poland!

Vain

Thank. you. poland.

Tempted to set a huge font size.

Perhaps a M$ employee tried GPLproxy.. :o

If you look carefully enough you will probable find that Microsoft have patented a hell of a lot of seemingly random stuff. Alot of big companies do. Most of the time the patents come to nothing, but that one bought out patent could be the one the opposition use to dominate the market place. They will look at developing something, if they can get it to work and make money then they will do something with it. If they can't, then they have stopped someone else from doing what they couldn't.

Cynical I know. But the world of big business is a cynical one.

What happened in Poland. I must have missed something. Did someone rule against Microsoft or something?

They may try and argue it but these Bills are never there to aid the little man because the BIG guys lawyers already have a list drawn up even before the Bill has passed and will be there like Vultures circling the kill just waiting for the final gasps of freedoms breath so they can swoop in and steal teh wealth from under our very noses just to line their own overstuffed Savile Row suits will more money just so their bank balance will have more noughts in it than their next door neighbours in their gated retreats and pannelled oak country clubs smoking their cuban cigars and debating about which country to rape, pillage and plunder for the good of the few and the bad of the many.

Come the revolution I will be stood up and counted. I will be stand against the might and the power of the so called elite.

They may take our lives, BUT THEY SHALL NEVER TAKE OUR FREEDOM!!

Except when they quietly try and pass a bill through parliment where Ministers themselves can pass a law WITHOUT it going to the commons or even to a commitee and even allows them to ammend the Bill WITHOUT TELLING ANYONE THEY HAVE DONE IT!!!!

I am going to find out more about it. Can't remember what the Bill is called of the top of my head. It was in the Guardian on Monday I think. Can't trust them Ministerial tyrpes. Screw you over till there is nothing left to screw. Then they'll find you last vestige of hope and life and they will screw you all over again.

Edit-

Anyone interested in British Politics and individual freedom have a gander at this. http://politics.guardian.co.uk ... /story/0,,1724045,00.html

Sorry for hijacking a thread. I shall stop it now . . .

I've heard this is only for XBOX 360 you guys, I don't think this applies anywhere to comptuers and especially the games we play on them :zombie:

http://www.xb360info.com/xbox/news/266

I don't know bout this, but a lot of articles vary (one says PC, one says Xbox). I think for this patent, this spectator stuff is based Xbox 360 and allowing people watch gaming on television or via the Xbox through Xbox Live. Because I think for consoles this is a big 'breakthrough' and Microsoft has got to get their hands on it first :o

It would be silly to patent the spectator stuff that has been going on for YEARS in PC games, and when the beloved Xbox 360 is their primary project for gaming right now.

The title of the thread and the title of the Enquirer article are misleading. Microsoft has not patented online spectating. They have patented some online spectating technologies, that's all. They would do this to prevent their opposition from using the same technologies.
Microsoft's dream is to have a set-top box above every TV in the world with an online operating system controlling it. They would want you to get all of your information and TV, games, Internet browsing, email etc through this set-top box instead of using a computer. They plan to be in complete control of all data coming into your home. They want you to buy the hardware off them, they want you to not control the software. They want to be the one to sell you all of your TV and Music entertainment as well as Internet.

Little single-brand boxes instead of what we use today and all under the Microsoft umbrella of mediocrity.

Quote from thisnameistaken :

We have Poland to thank for that. Thank you, Poland!

no problem. that will be 12 pounds (for my s3 license)

Quote from Gunn :

Microsoft's dream is to have a set-top box above every TV in the world with an online operating system controlling it. They would want you to get all of your information and TV, games, Internet browsing, email [...]

... and they will call it "telescreen"?
No, wait, that name is already (c) G. Orwell.

Well, LFS could patent the automatic skin downloading, online setup sharing and the CMX viewer.

Wow gunn... I've never heard of that. That, uh, makes me want to reformat my HD to Linux. I say we amass the troops and go in guns blazing to thwart the Microsoft Empire and restore peace to the PC world!


(Or we could do the unthinkable and use the mekanik programm on a few abrams tanks and ramm them into the MS HQ building at 718km/h )

Quote from Hatemaker :

Wow gunn... I've never heard of that. That, uh, makes me want to reformat my HD to Linux. I say we amass the troops and go in guns blazing to thwart the Microsoft Empire and restore peace to the PC world!

lol.. count me in!!! Puts it really into perspective..... damn microsoft will always push out any competition so it can be no1.....as long as people will be buying their products which now involve anything from desktop software,games to a computer mouse ohh and the xbox....

Must admit tho a life would be a lot more difficult without windows even as unreliable as it is.... just wait untill the army will start using windows to control the defences or when windows becomes self aware .... it will be the end of the world as we know it .. kinda like Skynet illepall

mad

'Welcome to the Army windows defence network as sponsered by Microsoft. Thankyou. Please enter your command. . . . .

Thankyou . . . . .

You have performed an illegal action #56930sql76

This action will be terminated and so will you.

the system has initiated a power spike to the console you are using and you shall be terminated in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, seconds.

Without any further inputs this system will go into safe mode.

System in Safe mode, missile silos open and rockets in air.

System Reboot.

Please check disk for faults.

Would you like to report to microsoft about system failure and immenent nulclear Holocaust?'

Keep it foolish

Quote from Funnybear :

'Welcome to the Army windows defence network as sponsered by Microsoft. Thankyou. Please enter your command. . . . .

Thankyou . . . . .

You have performed an illegal action #56930sql76

This action will be terminated and so will you.

the system has initiated a power spike to the console you are using and you shall be terminated in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, seconds.

Without any further inputs this system will go into safe mode.

System in Safe mode, missile silos open and rockets in air.

System Reboot.

Please check disk for faults.

Would you like to report to microsoft about system failure and immenent nulclear Holocaust?'

heh..... would u like to send a report to microsoft is a classic.... wonder how many reports they get daily!! lol