[ILUG] While on the topic of Unison...

[jm at jmason.org]

I just spotted this last night -- WebTV have a US patent on web browsing
using a remote control, which is what the Unison/NetGem box does.

I wonder if they've licensed it, or if they'd be willing to back the
Eurolinux petition?  It sounds like the patent covers virtually any
set-top box internet product with a remote.

--j.

http://www.delphion.com/details?pn=US06034689__

  Browser software implemented in a set-top box as part of a client system
  communicating over the Internet with one or more servers allows a user to
  navigate using a remote control through World-Wide Web pages in which a
  plurality of hypertext anchors are displayed on a television. A user input
  entered from a remote input device is received by the client system over
  an infrared (IR) link. The user input specifies a direction in which the
  user wishes to move a selection relative to a currently selected hypertext
  anchor. Based on the user input, a determination is made of which one of
  the hypertext anchors is a best selectable hypertext anchor, and that
  hypertext anchor is then selected and indicated as such to the user. The
  user interface allows for the selection of hypertext anchors which are
  part of either clientside or server-side image maps.