They patented the "Magic Wand" ? ... such bad times to be a wizard, witch or sorcerer. Either you pay royalties to Microsoft, or no more magic for you ...

Lightning bolt! Lightning bolt!

I want to patent the computer. Has that been patented yet?

How can you patent a device which "can utilize one or more sensor from a collection of sensors to determine an orientation or gesture in connection with the wand, and can further issue an instruction to update a state of an environmental component based upon the orientation" when that is exactly what the Wiimote does???

using a different technology for it makes it ok, plus wimote only has 1 sensor. they said a collection of them

patent this!

middle finger, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Finger_(gesture)

BS Patent

microsoft can stick their magic wand where the sun don't shine

Isn't the magic wand already a "personal messaging device"?

Looks like MS is getting desperate, now they have Apple and Nintendo against them.

I just hope they come out with something cool involving motion sensors. I really dislike the idea of buying a nintendo wii for wii sports alone. It's an inferior system besides to my 360.

"The architecture can exist in whole or in part in a housing that can resemble a wand or similar object. The architecture can utilize one or more sensor from a collection of sensors to determine an orientation or gesture in connection with the wand, and can further issue an instruction to update a state of an environmental component based upon the orientation."

i'd give a link if could find it, but i remember several patent apps with almost the exact same line as the above. Including one before the wii ever came out.... HMMMMMMMM the industry trying to catch up to the top sellers in the US? go figure. oh wait, i guess this is just a repeat of history with anyone that's seen "Pirates of the Silicon Vally"
:-p

Actually, the Wiimote has not only the camera to determine its orientation relative to the sensor bar of the Wii, but also internal accelerometers to determine its path through space.

More patentland bullshit.
"Of course, a patent application is just one way of Microsoft to protect something it may choose to explore"
That's exactly the problem with SW patents - just to hamper others to create something new, by patenting some empty wording, without any substantiations.

You would think adobe with their "magic wand" in photoshop already has the name patented..

True that. After all people are patenting all kins of things from smiley icons to words.

MS better stay the hell away from my magic wand.

guys do not forget about the wii motion plus attachment to the remote. that will make the wii-mote have multiple censors. i can see MS and Nintendo going to court about this. not only does MS make inferior consoles but they have to copy off successful hardware too. but hey that's the MS way

Are we certain that this wasn't just Bill, in a drunken stupor, running around spouting overexaggerations about his “Magic Stick”?

You can't patent a word. You can trade mark them though, and it's not cut and dry. For example, Microsoft is trademarked, but a sponge company can legally say that their sponge has "microsoft air pockets". On the other hand, Logitech can't say that their new computer mouse features a "microsoft ergonomic grip".

Wait, I was pretty sure that Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry had already applied for this patent......

What if it had a "M$ economic grip"? Could they say that?

What if it had a "M$ economic grip"? Could they say that?

They most certainly can! "Mircocrap economic grip" would also be perfectly legal to use.

Oh no, no more Wii style controllers please. I'm sick and tired of all things related to the Wii.

That control mechanism sucks for anything other than arcade-style games. Anyone tried playing FPS on that? Sucks horribly.

Well there is a problem with this. If you don't patent something you plan to use and create it next thing you know someone else will patent it and screw you royaly with a lawsuit.

Its just a smart business practice. Plus software is different. If we had 10 different OSes to work with it would confuse people to no end where the best one would end up dominant and we would end up in the exact same situation.

Metroid 3 on the Wii was one of the most fun FPS I've ever played. The wii-mote and nunchuck work great for it.

Normally I'd agree with you, but there are a few FPS titles that actually do work well with the wii-mote. Metroid 3 doesn't look to shabby either, of course not as good as it would look on a 360 or PC, but still not too bad either.

What will Harry and the gang do now?!?!