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n00b101
n00b101
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Scale drawing is a mathematical algorithm. People have been drawing things to scale based on the physical size of the display medium since ancient times. The diagrams above mention "PIXELS/INCH." This quantity is more commonly denoted DPI or "Dots Per Inch." The "Dots" refer to dots of ink on a piece of paper, and it is still called DPI on computer screens for historical reasons, because the concepts pre-dates electronic displays. DPI scaling is used in print typography to ensure, for example, that a 12 point font appears the same size when it is printed by different printers. Typography is hundreds of years old and is related to the spread of the printing press which revolutionized the world. The "pixel" (and font "point") used in computer displays today is historically related to the "dots" of printers, which have existed since before the invention of the computer. See Point_(typography) for more details. Furthermore, technical drawings must be drawn to scale to be useful, and the mathematical technique behind it is well known, obvious and pretty much identical to the scaling of images on a screen based on the screen's pixel density. Furthermore, all computer software involving rendering of fonts would have to use the same calculations involving pixels per inch (DPI), scaling factors and generating graphics.

Are these patents really legally enforceable? If Microsoft sold the patent, a patent troll would buy it and try to extort people for doing simple mathematical calculations involving "pixels/dots per inch"?

Scale drawing is a mathematical algorithm. People have been drawing things to scale based on the physical size of the display medium since ancient times. The diagrams above mention "PIXELS/INCH." This quantity is more commonly denoted DPI or "Dots Per Inch." The "Dots" refer to dots of ink on a piece of paper, and it is still called DPI on computer screens for historical reasons, because the concepts pre-dates electronic displays. DPI scaling is used in print typography to ensure, for example, that a 12 point font appears the same size when it is printed by different printers. Typography is hundreds of years old and is related to the spread of the printing press which revolutionized the world. The "pixel" (and font "point") used in computer displays today is historically related to the "dots" of printers, which have existed since before the invention of the computer. See Point_(typography) for more details. Furthermore, technical drawings must be drawn to scale to be useful, and the mathematical technique behind it is well known, obvious and pretty much identical to the scaling of images on a screen based on the screen's pixel density.

Are these patents really legally enforceable? If Microsoft sold the patent, a patent troll would buy it and try to extort people for doing simple mathematical calculations involving "pixels/dots per inch"?

Scale drawing is a mathematical algorithm. People have been drawing things to scale based on the physical size of the display medium since ancient times. The diagrams above mention "PIXELS/INCH." This quantity is more commonly denoted DPI or "Dots Per Inch." The "Dots" refer to dots of ink on a piece of paper, and it is still called DPI on computer screens for historical reasons, because the concepts pre-dates electronic displays. DPI scaling is used in print typography to ensure, for example, that a 12 point font appears the same size when it is printed by different printers. Typography is hundreds of years old and is related to the spread of the printing press which revolutionized the world. The "pixel" (and font "point") used in computer displays today is historically related to the "dots" of printers, which have existed since before the invention of the computer. See Point_(typography) for more details. Furthermore, technical drawings must be drawn to scale to be useful, and the mathematical technique behind it is well known, obvious and pretty much identical to the scaling of images on a screen based on the screen's pixel density. Furthermore, all computer software involving rendering of fonts would have to use the same calculations involving pixels per inch (DPI), scaling factors and generating graphics.

Are these patents really legally enforceable? If Microsoft sold the patent, a patent troll would buy it and try to extort people for doing simple mathematical calculations involving "pixels/dots per inch"?

Source Link
n00b101
n00b101
  • 169
  • 3

Scale drawing is a mathematical algorithm. People have been drawing things to scale based on the physical size of the display medium since ancient times. The diagrams above mention "PIXELS/INCH." This quantity is more commonly denoted DPI or "Dots Per Inch." The "Dots" refer to dots of ink on a piece of paper, and it is still called DPI on computer screens for historical reasons, because the concepts pre-dates electronic displays. DPI scaling is used in print typography to ensure, for example, that a 12 point font appears the same size when it is printed by different printers. Typography is hundreds of years old and is related to the spread of the printing press which revolutionized the world. The "pixel" (and font "point") used in computer displays today is historically related to the "dots" of printers, which have existed since before the invention of the computer. See Point_(typography) for more details. Furthermore, technical drawings must be drawn to scale to be useful, and the mathematical technique behind it is well known, obvious and pretty much identical to the scaling of images on a screen based on the screen's pixel density.

Are these patents really legally enforceable? If Microsoft sold the patent, a patent troll would buy it and try to extort people for doing simple mathematical calculations involving "pixels/dots per inch"?