Microsoft Files Wireless Resource Sharing Patent
Microsoft has filed a patent for a technology that would enable multiple users to wirelessly connect to a single computing device and share a desktop session.
The idea is based on a centralized screen sharing scenario, in which users are not accessing a screen of another user, but leverage a dedicated computing device with the purpose of serving as a collaboration platform. The patent is set up to describe a service that could, conceivably, be offered as a commercial cloud product, especially since it also mentions the possibility of a session administrator. Shared "resources" would, for example, include collaborative editing of a text document or a presentation.
What makes this patent filing interesting is the fact that Microsoft offers a similar feature for Office 365 as it enables co-authoring of documents via a SharePoint server.
However, Google, for instance, has been offering a similar service for Docs and any other centralized collaboration feature is sure to collide with this patent. Microsoft may have a tough time enforcing the patent, if it is granted, in its general form. This specific document focuses on wireless connections, but we have doubt that this claim will be unique enough to grant Microsoft to the rights to the universal form of enabling centralized screen and resource sharing.

I seriously doubt this. A few terms to add a little vagueness and the patent will be theirs.
with one little difference tho, ms does it to avoid lawsuits, apple does it to sue others
I think MS's own LiveMeeting also does this too (to a limited extent - whiteboard)
Since it is a wireless sytem is there a maximum distance from the main unit that is transmitting data or does everyone need Internet or a corporate intranet access?
Of course, they've never tried to coerce licensing fees out of Red Hat for 20 years of selling Linux, and they haven't tried to sue the Linux Foundation, despite GNU begging them for a court fight, so that the patents could be publicly revealed and invalidated.
Microsoft is on it's way to becoming the next Rambus, licensing trivial "innovations" and suing everybody that won't cut them out a piece of their pie. Also like Rambus, they've given up trying to make an actual product that people want to buy, and who could blame them after so many failures.
@Rambo_Rambus get off your high horse. Linux violating Microsoft patents is a well-known fact.
No, it's a well know claim. That was NEVER proven in court, in theory or otherwise. M$ has multiple targets for this claim (like RedHat, IBM, Canonical) yet they chose a dying company (SCO) to fight the battle in their place (and, as a result, they hit the final nail for SCO).
On another note, you can thank Linux for something really nice. All major Linux distributions and most minor have a "Method or apparatus for obtaining software and software updates directly from the operating system installed on the device, without the use of a browser. The method includes means of searching for software, reading reviews from other users and providing feedback on the software". I wonder... where would Android / Windows Mobile be if Apple was able to claim such a patent when it created the App Store?
That's why software patents are bad, evil and must be stopped.