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"Hi, it looks like you are bleeding profusely. Can I help." The possibility of your office suite's software assistant coming to your rescue may be a reality soon.
The USPTO granted Microsoft patent number 6,882,706 for a method and system of accessing emergency data. The Redmond-based technology giant applied for the patent in October, 2001.
According to the abstract in the patent application, emergency data would be collected from various sources. This information would be maintained in a manner allowing for quick access; one implementation would have it maintained in XML format. Accessing this data could trigger a preset event, such as a pager alert or an email message sent to a user-designated contact.
The patent's listing of emergency data covers a variety of information, ranging from a user's credit card number to a physician's phone number. A reference to the prevalence of portable computing devices, coupled with a need for very emotional users to have uncomplicated access to emergency information, details the stated need for this patent. It is possible this patent's end result may be developed to work with Microsoft's Live Communication Server (LCS) as well as Research In Motion's Blackberry devices. Microsoft and RIM recently announced their intention to extend instant messaging to BlackBerry devices, with a trial scheduled for September 2005.
David Utter is a staff writer for WebProNews covering technology and business. Email him here.
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