Apple and its patents

Tuesday, March 4, 2003 by Frogboy | Discussion: WinCustomize News

Ever wondered what kinds of things Apple has patented? Check out this article. Scary.
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SkinneRyan
Reply #1 Wednesday, March 5, 2003 1:56 AM
I have news from an inside source that the next thing Apple will patent is the letter "i" (as in iMac, iPod, iBook, iPatent, iRun, iCar, iStink, iEtc)

Snowman
Reply #2 Wednesday, March 5, 2003 2:17 AM
sheesh....
Snowman ads another nudge to the iHateMac iStick....
unless it has already been patented by (cr)Apple.... utterly stupid and a bunch of cry-babies, that's what they are!!

craeonics
Reply #3 Wednesday, March 5, 2003 3:21 AM
Sticking "patented" on your factsheet here and there makes things look interesting. Plus the added legal weight when pushing down on others, be it justified or not.

Remember how they had patented skinning?

MaxIreland
Reply #4 Wednesday, March 5, 2003 4:39 AM
iJust gotta say WTF????
I think this is the cue to start REALLY rippin the pi$$ outta macs.

I think i'm gonna try and patent air!! I want a dollar every time one of you breathes!!

Max

tinkergaloot
Reply #5 Wednesday, March 5, 2003 6:47 AM
- some things that I find utterly amazing

a: that this is considered "news"
b: that people are criticising Apple for wanting to protect what is a valuable and recognizable aspect of the Macintosh OS
c: that this is enough to cause some to criticise what is a far superior OS than anything Micro$oft could ever come up with (or "borrow")
d: that anyone could possibly think that this is "scary". If you want scary, then try reading this http://www.aaxnet.com/editor/edit029.html#mspath

and then come back and tell which is scarier, and who is most deserving of criticism...and if you still say "Apple", then I do hope Mr.Gates rewards you handsomely for your blind loyalty with a nice, user-friendly and secure OS (ha ha ha...)

KarmaGirl
Reply #6 Wednesday, March 5, 2003 8:25 AM
I think what's funny about it is it comes from macobserver.com
So, it was published by a mac site. It appears that not all Apple users agree with you, tinkergaloot

I think it is crazy when any company goes that overboard with copyrighting or patenting anything. Feels like they are grasping on to whatever they can get their hands on.

I think Mac would do a lot better if they would but their money into development and marketing rather than their hoards of lawyers.

I think I started all my paragraphs with "I think"

tinkergaloot
Reply #7 Wednesday, March 5, 2003 8:46 AM
KarmaGirl-
actually, Micro$oft would probably be more inclined to adopt your advice re: spending on development and marketing- Windows sales down $10 million in just one quarter, while Apple sales up in the corresponding period.
And Micro$oft actually employ more lawyers than any other corporation in the world, and boy are they busy little beavers,

White_Moth
Reply #8 Wednesday, March 5, 2003 9:07 AM
May as well patent all of Creation: Space, Sun, Moon, Earth, Air, Water, Life, and get over with.

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etherDreams
Reply #9 Wednesday, March 5, 2003 9:22 AM
Interesting read. I should note, having worked for some of the biggest software companies on UI design, that this practice is very common in the industry.

KarmaGirl
Reply #10 Wednesday, March 5, 2003 10:36 AM
tinkergaloot, you really can't compare Microsoft to Apple. People do it all the time, but they are not the same. Apple provides the hardware and software in one lump. Microsoft only provides software (some of which is standard on Macs). You would have to compare everything "PC" that was sold compared to everything "Apple" that was sold to have a true comparison.

I'm still sticking with the fact that it's funny that this was from a Mac site........

Jim Latimer
Reply #11 Wednesday, March 5, 2003 11:04 AM
And if MS even tried to do any of the things noted in the article, they would be crucified as the coming of the antichrist. But since its Apple....

Think Different...

Jakal
Reply #12 Wednesday, March 5, 2003 11:17 AM
What I think is 'funny' is the fact that OSX can only run on apple hardware. You have to bye their software to run on their hardware. And MS got in trouble for monopolizing the market? What's that about? You can't install OSX on a PC but MS makes software to be installed on a Mac. Go figure.

tinkergaloot
Reply #13 Wednesday, March 5, 2003 11:25 AM
Jim- Micro$oft DO plenty similar to what is in the article. The simple reason they don't get crucified for it is because of the plethora of quite serious legal defences they are involved in (seemingly constantly) around the world.
I hardly think using a valid and legal means of protecting your work is worthy of criticism. If it is, then let's start criticisng all the artists here for wanting to protect their work...after all, there is no difference between Apple or Micro$oft wanting to protect their work from illegal use and a skinner here wanting to protect theirs...

Frogboy
Reply #14 Wednesday, March 5, 2003 11:35 AM
I have MacOS X on a 4 month old Mac. I'll take Windows XP any day. It is far more usable, a LOT less buggy (I can't even reliably copy files to removable drives without going to the CLI even with the latest update to 10.2.x and it's a "known" issue) and it's slow SLOW SLOW.

Patenting the genie effect, for instance, is just petty.

tinkergaloot
Reply #15 Wednesday, March 5, 2003 11:42 AM
And I have a dual processor G4 PowerMac that speed wise craps on my Athlon XP2600 running Win2K. And as far as stability goes, the Win2K box doesn't compare to the Mac- Windows crashes 2-3 times a day, the Mac hasn't needed a reboot since I got it a month ago.
And with all due respect, you do have a vested interest in Microsoft's ongoing success- you do run a business that does very well customizing Windows, not Macintosh...

tinkergaloot
Reply #16 Wednesday, March 5, 2003 12:33 PM
And given the emphasis this site places on protecting the work of artists who submit here, and the lengths that Wincustomize goes to to protect those rights, I find it incredulous that you believe that Apple are "petty" for wanting to protect a creation of theirs.

MaxIreland
Reply #17 Wednesday, March 5, 2003 12:36 PM
OK children its time for a TIME OUT!! I have used both systems and they both have their faults AND bonus points. But hey, you never hear about people fighting over which brand of toothbrush is better!!

Max


PS Colgate rocks!!

TaoX
Reply #18 Wednesday, March 5, 2003 1:27 PM
The thing I saw in the article was how Apple is cr stuff that they DID NOT invent and is NOT their intellectual property. Its rediculous. I for one, think Apple is nuts, and they aren't the only ones doing this same kind a patenting. I find it interresting how web site are patenting things I(and sure many others) invented years before they were even a fart in the wind.

KarmaGirl
Reply #19 Wednesday, March 5, 2003 3:41 PM
MaxIreland, I prefer the OralB electric toothbrush. You can keep your wimpy colgate one!

sig101
Reply #20 Wednesday, March 5, 2003 4:19 PM
Hmn. FWIW IIRC MS has stock in Apple, so one can contribute to Bill by being a Mac person too.

Apple shot itself in the foot marketwise in terms of OS competitiveness years ago by not allowing cloning of its hardware and/or offering their own at competitive prices. (Although for some reaon I think I recall they may have tried for a short time to allow one company to clone, but that was a bust. Can't remember specifically.) Although now MAC pricing is better with the iMac, iBook, etc.

Many years ago though when it came to buying IBM clones running MS or Apples for the offices I worked in, economically it was a no brainer. And so on to the general market.

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