According to the patent summary:
"A method and system are provided for extending the functionality of application buttons on a limited resource computing device. Alternative application functions are launched based on the length of time an application button is pressed. A default function for an application is launched if the button is pressed for a short, i.e., normal, period of time. An alternative function of the application is launched if the button is pressed for a long, (e.g., at least one second), period of time. Still another function can be launched if the application button is pressed multiple times within a short period of time, e.g., double click".
In short, the patent, granted on 27th April, covers the use of hardware buttons on a small device, such as a handheld phone or PDA, where the number of functions available on the device is increased by the way or for how long the buttons are pressed.
It does not cover, as some reports suggest, the double-click function on a mouse; but the granting of US patent number 6,727,830 has still been ridiculed by those who claim that the method described has been around for years.
"It is almost beyond parody that Microsoft has been able to do this," Ian Brown of the Foundation for Information Policy Research, told New Scientist.
In commentary on the patent at News For Nerds site Slashdot.org, one contributor helpfully points to another spurious patent granted by the USPTO: a patent for the peanut butter and jelly sandwich