Microsoft Expands Rebootless Display Driver Upgrade Patent

[Guest]

Microsoft was just granted the rights to a more elaborate display driver update that does not require a computer system to reboot.

Microsoft Expands Rebootless Display Driver Upgrade Patent : Read more

 

[santiagoanders]

I thought patents had to be non-obvious. Stupid patent office.

 

[InvalidError]

If Microsoft patented
1- transfer control from old driver to generic driver
2- uninstall old driver
3- install new driver
4- transfer control from generic driver to new driver

This means someone else can still patent:
1- install new driver in standby state
2- transfer control from old driver to new driver
3- remove old driver

 

[vaughn2k]

[citation][nom]santiagoanders[/nom]I thought patents had to be non-obvious. Stupid patent office.[/citation]
I've been writing patents, and you're right, now this is stupid...

 

[Lord Captivus]

This is breakthrough of biblical proportions!!

 

[kartu]

Can someone do something to the USPO please?
But no violence please.

 

[p05esto]

Not sure about this patent, they must be missing something. I'm guessing it's the technology behind the scenes here that we're really talking about. It must be something no one else has thought of just yet.

 

[alchemy69]

I still remember the good ole' days when you had to reboot just to change screen resolution.

 

[Guest]

Unlike Apple though, Microsoft would probably be happy to license the patent.

 

[amdfangirl]

One year from now headlines:

"Microsoft patents rebootless reboot"
Microsoft has patented a computer technology colloquially known as "just having a computer running". Effective immediately, all working computers will need to pay royalties to continue using the Microsoft patented "just having a computer running".

 

[mayankleoboy1]

nice bit of tech. eager to see this implemented in nvidia/amd drivers

 

[InvalidError]

[citation][nom]alchemy69[/nom]I still remember the good ole' days when you had to reboot just to change screen resolution.[/citation]
What OS would that be? Even Windows 3.0 could change resolutions without reloading. Switching color depth on the other hand had a tendency to mess things up and require a reboot to fix it. Since cards back then only had 1-4MB RAM, increasing resolution often came at the expense of color depth and the aforementioned glitches.

 

[warmon6]

[citation][nom]kartu[/nom]Can someone do something to the USPO please?But no violence please.[/citation]

aww..... but that takes all the fun away!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJs_dnj6g_M

 

[MrHanMan]

I'm pretty sure the last time I upgraded my nvidia driver on Windows 7 x64 I didn't have to reboot. Are they just now receiving a patent for a technology they've already implemented? Or are they trying to extend their already existing patent to other OSes?

 

[CaedenV]

[citation][nom]santiagoanders[/nom]I thought patents had to be non-obvious. Stupid patent office.[/citation]
while the idea may be obvious, the implementation is not. If it was obvious we would have this kind of feature in systems already. Also, you cannot simply patent the idea to change GPU drivers on the fly, there is a specific model on how to do it which is patented. As noted by InvalidError there are potentially other ways of doing this which the patent would not cover.

[citation][nom]SDCards[/nom]Unlike Apple though, Microsoft would probably be happy to license the patent.[/citation]
This is exactly what I love about MS. They understand that they are not alone in the tech universe. they are a big business, and they have their hands in a lot of pots, but they are more than willing to lease out patents to others who are innovating. They even lease out to direct competitors such as some Linux distros (including Android). They learned their lesson back in the '90s that if they are going to stay on top, and remain their own company without ridiculous amounts of Gov't intrusion, then they have to play nice with others.

 

[frombehind]

let me know when they invent a way to patch the system kernel on the fly without a reboot... then i will be impressed

 

[twelch82]

Hasn't nVidia been doing this for years?

 

[memadmax]

I thought of this long ago along with the aforementioned rebootless kernal update, along with multi core/cpu processors like the pentium pro for example(my idea came to mind when the 286 was at it's prime and the 386 was just coming out, but mine was layering the cores like a cake)

But unfortunately...
I don't have a mountain of money and an army of lawyers so alot of my ideas just get forgotten or are invented by a company later on lol

 

[Guest]

Already done on GNU/Linux systems.

You install the proprietary driver update in the GUI, then drop back to the built-in VGA driver (ie restart X), and you are using the new driver. This patent is complete bull, and the patent office should be punished.

 

[Fokissed]

[citation][nom]memadmax[/nom]I thought of this long ago along with the aforementioned rebootless kernal update, along with multi core/cpu processors like the pentium pro for example(my idea came to mind when the 286 was at it's prime and the 386 was just coming out, but mine was layering the cores like a cake) But unfortunately... I don't have a mountain of money and an army of lawyers so alot of my ideas just get forgotten or are invented by a company later on lol[/citation]
Good thing the USPTO doesn't require either of those. Patent fees are next to nothing for small entities.

 

[ex_bubblehead]

NVidia drivers haven't required a reboot for quite a while now.

 

[Thomas Creel]

Seems pretty interesting, not having to reboot after every update sure would be neat.

 

[ddpruitt]

[citation][nom]CaedenV[/nom]while the idea may be obvious, the implementation is not. If it was obvious we would have this kind of feature in systems already. Also, you cannot simply patent the idea to change GPU drivers on the fly, there is a specific model on how to do it which is patented.[/citation]

Actually this has been around for years, it's possible to update many UNIX/Linux kernels without a reboot:

http://www.google.com/search?q=update+linux+without+reboot&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-USfficial&client=firefox-a

(sorry can't get link to work for the life of me Google: update linux without reboot)

Before you argue that there's something novel about the patent, read it. It's not specific enough for what it should cover. It's incredibly generic:

1. Stop driver
2. Start interim driver
3. Copy new driver
4. Stop interim driver
5. Start new driver

This should have never been patented, it's a blatant example of what's wrong with the system

edit: What's up with these links not working right?

 

[Guest]

The reason for requiring a reboot isn't because it was never possible until this "amazing technical feat by the geniuseses at M$", the reason it was required before was just to ensure you're dumb @$$ didn't decide to try swapping 3d drivers whilst running 3d applications. The obvious reason is that either a file is locked preventing a successful install, or that the entire system crashes before the driver install is finished, leaving you with no display when it comes back up.

Of course, if you'd rather chance it by not rebooting, you just might get what you deserve... Besides, Windows is hardly a 24/7/365 mission-critical operating system anyways, even their server OS should be rebooted at least once a month.

 

[_TuxUser_]

Hmm... How can MS defend this patent, I have been able to upgrade my graphics card driver without reboot since back in the 1990's and I can do that on my cellphone too. Should sue USPO for granting it and when hiring lawyers, maybe even sue EPO too as I guess they will grant this in EU too.