Yes, the info is available to anyone with a search engine, but a relatively simple script can put the inforation in a coherent, organized, readable format, including specifics on each patent that would normally take a while to navigate through.

So I read post after post by people that are completely in the dark about what exactly Microsoft has patents on, how much legal ground they have to make such accusations, and read people asking, one after another, for specifics. I try to provide some (what i consider disturbing) information a friend of mine acquired (and information on how someone can acquire it themselves) and the second I do, the responses change from, "where's the proof?" to "no shit Sherlock".

Basically, I was just trying to point out that M$ IS in fact talking about patents on processes (not just code), to let some folks know what M$ has up their sleeve (which I found kinda scary!), and encourage people to go do some research on their own...and for that I got labeled a troll, a drama queen, and a stupid cock monkey.

Right on /.

Sorry if I pissed anyone off, but I wasn't trying to troll or spread FUD on behalf of Microsoft, or anything remotely close to it. Quite the contrary, I was just trying to provide specifics on how to find some relevant info, and actually dispel some FUD through knowledge and information. I didn't think that would ever provoke such a reaction, here of all places.
My bad. srsly.