Perhaps seeking to consolidate its position as the authority on everything from the details of Annette Bening’s early filmography to the precise height of Harry Styles, Google has applied for a patent on methods for restaurant-bill-splitting adaptable to a variety of scenarios. USPTO number 20130262294, “Tracking and Managing Group Expenditures,” reveals some rough shape of the app to come, but it’s doled out in white-paper speak like this: “When the form is presented to Friend 1 for the lunch, Friend 1 indicates that the lunch should be allocated to Friends 1-3. The lunch is not allocated to Friend 4 because Friend 4 did not participate in the lunch.” Yes, of course! So, while civilization waits patiently to be advanced and for the hypothetical Google Service Included to turn up on phones, don’t forget there’s always a reliable, old-fashioned way of making restaurant checks split like a charm. [CNET, Earlier]
