Welcome to Cyberpunk

CNN.com:

If you think video games are engrossing now, just wait: PlayStation maker Sony Corp. has been granted a patent for beaming sensory information directly into the brain. The technique could one day be used to create video games in which you can smell, taste, and touch, or to help people who are blind or deaf. The U.S. patent, granted to Sony researcher Thomas Dawson, describes a technique for aiming ultrasonic pulses at specific areas of the brain to induce 'sensory experiences' such as smells, sounds and images. 'The pulsed ultrasonic signal alters the neural timing in the cortex,' the patent states. 'No invasive surgery is needed to assist a person, such as a blind person, to view live and/or recorded images or hear sounds.'

I can see how this would be really cool, but if you think pop-ups and spy-ware are bad now, just wait. Also, this article highlights a pet peeve of mine:

A Sony Electronics spokeswoman told the magazine that no experiments had been conducted, and that the patent "was based on an inspiration that this may someday be the direction that technology will take us."

I think that you should get a patent when you demonstrate how to do something, not when you have an idea that maybe something like this will someday be possible. Otherwise, we should be giving William Gibson this patent.