Apple

Apple on Thursday filed two patent applications that describe improvements in head-mounted displays, which typically combine one or two small display screens with magnifying lenses inside a helmet or glasses.

When a Microsoft Corp. patent application for a method of sorting brain waves surfaced late last year, it drew quips that the company now plans to read PC users' minds, in addition to selling them software. But the patent is only a starting point for a broader and more benign investigation into the subconscious, according to Microsoft researcher Desney Tan.