In the "We can"t make this stuff up" category this weekend, a new patent application has been discovered from Microsoft that actually calls for "whacking" a smartphone. Yes, Microsoft seems to actually use the term "whack" as part of its patent proposal for silencing a smartphone or other mobile device.
PatentBolt reports that, according to Microsoft:
There are a variety of circumstances under which it may be desirable to quickly control a device without having to interact with a traditional user interface. For example, often mobile device users forget to set their mobile devices in a silent or vibrate mode and the device rings or makes sounds at an inopportune moment.
Microsoft"s patent, (officially, the number is 20120231838), shows how hardware, which the company calls (for reasons unknown to man), a "whack based audio control module" could be placed in a mobile device such as a smartphone, tablet or other product. If such a device rings or makes another sound "in a shirt pocket, a pants pocket, a bag, a purse, flat, on edge, or on a table", the person with such a product could "whack" it in order to silence the device in a variety of different ways.
As usual with any Microsoft patent, there"s no word when or even if the company will actually bring this type of technology to the real world. However, we hope that if this does happen, they keep the "whack based audio control module" term.
Source: PatentBolt.com | Image via Microsoft/PatentBolt.com