Pending patience

This is getting ridiculous. I have previously commented on the mad rush to patent technologies under as general terms as possible, with the largest players (Oracle, IBM and in particular Microsoft) being the main culprits. But now Microsoft is claiming that it has invented using a keyboard to access hyperlinks. Excuse me while I barely contain my contempt. This patent was filed in 1997 (though submitted only a week ago). Did I imagine using a keyboard to navigate a Lynx browser in 1993 at least a year before Internet Explorer was released? Wasn't Lynx highlighting a link the same as giving it a focus? What is this all about? Shall I patent the internal combustion engine? A comprehensive list of patents Microsoft is currently applying for can be found here, with some of the other main perpetrators also described.