Why make any empty trips? Do pickups as well as drop offs and the truck can avoid being empty altogether. Of course, that only applies to generic package shippers like FedEx and UPS. More specific delivery vehicles may not be able to do that.

Window automation: http://www.secontrols.com/window-automation/

They sell complete systems that do what you want. They should be able to sell you equipment that would fit your needs.

There's also the problem that we may not know all the side effects. For example, amphetamines in general cause an increase in heart rate. For that reason, Adderall is not recommended for someone who has cardiac issues. Could long term use of Adderall (past high school and college) cause cardiac issues? We simply don't know. If you take Adderall for twenty years and then have to stop, is your mental acuity going to be degraded relative to what it would have been if you had never taken Adderall? Again, we don't know.

Another question is if Adderall actually helps people who do not have ADHD. This would require a real double blind study to be reasonably sure. Has anyone done one? Or are doctors simply prescribing in the hope that this will work? Anecdotally observed beneficial effects could be caused by a placebo effect or by selective memory (improvements are ascribed to the drug while those who stay the same or get worse are just viewed as bad candidates).

How about this process:

1. File the patent application. The application will not be publicly viewable, but it will hold your place in line. Also, this starts the patent period and determines the expiration date.

2. Develop a prototype or license the patent to someone who can develop a prototype.

3. Notify the patent office that you now have a prototype. The patent application now becomes publicly viewable and you can enforce it.

If someone invents a device that would be infringing after step 1 but before step 3, then the presumption should be that the application was obvious and you should lose your patent. Note that this is a presumption (like innocence) and can be challenged. For example, a potential licensee may develop a prototype from your patent without actually paying your license fee. Obviously in that case, you can enforce the patent on them.

If the patent period expires without you completing step 2, your patent is over and you can't enforce it.

This hits patent trolls (who never develop prototypes) while leaving a true research institution alone.

Another issue is that Microsoft wants to sell software not tablets. If they sell the premium, expensive tablet, that leaves plenty of room for their customers (who are computer builders) to sell cheaper versions or even their own premium versions. If they sold their tablets as cheaply as possible, it would be much harder to sell software to their normal customers. That might push their customers to Android, which is exactly what they want to avoid.

Apple is a consumer company. They sell direct to ordinary people. Microsoft is not (at least not primarily). They sell to businesses. It may make sense for Microsoft to enter the consumer market here, as Apple has been the only ones selling their own solution for both the software and the hardware. This allows Microsoft to compete with both Apple and Android. It would not make sense for Microsoft to only sell integrated solutions, as their main strength is selling to builders (the Android space).