Lawyers for Sony Computer Entertainment America must have been mighty busy last October, hatching the wild scheme that came to light this week -- a series of eight intertwining patent applications all describing a single device with an intriguing touchscreen interface. Though it's hard to tell what form the final device might take -- the apps suggest sliders, clamshells and slates -- a few distinct ideas bubble to the surface, and we'll knock them out one by one. First, the inventors seem to be rather particular about having a touchpad that's separate from the main screen -- perhaps even
