In a series of documents registered by Apple this week, detailed inventions range from a lens system for portable gadgets, to a voting system for music at parties, and a technique to improve the display of images on TVs.
Let's go to inventions!
The links below are for the Patently Apple, unless otherwise stated.
- Attachable lens system using clips and hands: the invention covers the use of zoom lenses attachable to gadgets through the use of a series of methods, including the use of special hand arrangements to lock the accessory in a certain position or even to prevent use with more than one gadget, preventing the use of these lenses in case of theft. Such an accompaniment system could be expanded to speakers or microphones, expanding the possibilities of complementing Ma's gadgets. Undoubtedly this system is more elegant than using superglue and a sacrifice case.
- A Dashboard in the cloud (AppleInsider): this invention describes how gadgets can be synchronized to a server and used in a variety of environments, including PCs, Macs and portable devices, in order to simplify and streamline the workflow. In addition to synchronizing the status of widgets, such a system could also allow collaborative interactions between various users, giving as an example an application for organizing parties in which several guests could confirm their presence and even inform what foods they would take.
- Alternative interfaces for music libraries: in a way to renew the way we look at our music, this document describes display systems that do not resemble the visual “spreadsheet” used in iTunes or the lists on iPods and iPhones. Three alternative systems are described, one of which is illustrated above. This system of spirals could show different levels of organization, ranging from genres to artists and navigable albums through continuous circular movements (in an imaginary Click Wheel, perhaps?). Other ways of representing a library would include a simple helix seen from the side or even a map, in which music would be divided into gender states formed by sets of albums. I believe that this last application could be interesting, since each user of a social network like Ping could be a “country” and navigating the musical preferences of their friends would use an interface like that of the Maps application (Maps).
- Voting system for parties: iTunes DJ currently offers the possibility for visitors to use the Remote app to vote for songs or request specific tracks and, thus, optimize the musical atmosphere of an event. This invention, however, presents an interesting differential, that the possibility of a vote having a greater weight if the used device detects that the person is in motion, more specifically, dancing to vote positively, or stopping to cast a negative opinion.
- Alternative methods for displaying content on displays: here Ma describes two methods of operation for an LCD, plasma, OLED or any other types of displays to display content of different natures. One of the methods, called “CPU mode”, would be optimized for displaying low variable images, while a “mode streaming”Would use resources better when the content between frames varies frequently. Although this invention mentions televisions, its applications can be aimed at any Ma equipment equipped with a screen. In another patent, Apple provides a way to adjust the range of each color channel on a screen.
