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Apple Quashes pBop

Posted by pudge on from the oops dept.

mojotunes writes "The pBop (nee pPod) MP3 player mentioned on Slashdot a while back has been officially pulled by its creator StarBrite Solutions, apparently because of legal pressure from Apple. Well, duh. Who didn't see that coming?"

6 of 69 comments (clear)

  1. Re:not a very helpful link... by baryon351 · · Score: 4, Informative

    It copied the iPod interface pixel for pixel, and put it on a Win CE powered pocket PC.

    Not just making a nice MP3 player out of a pocket PC mind you, but making one completely identical to an iPod's interface - along with graphics to represent iPod controls.

  2. Re:not a very helpful link... by krymsin01 · · Score: 4, Informative

    Links? Here is a longer article with background info.

    --
    stuff
  3. Re:History Repeating by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    For example, CmdrTaco had following to say about the iPod: "No wireless. Less space than a nomad. Lame." Other trolls on the same page were about the same... so there you go. The experts had spoken, the iPod was truly "lame", while the superior ultra-compact Nomad was the way to go.

  4. it's hardly a copy by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    the pPod was hardly a copy, at least not functionaly. all it had going for was the "look" of iPod. it's basically an mp3 player with a skin that looked like an iPod - not an emulated iPod, as it seems to be implied.

    didn't play AAC. doesn't work with iTMS. etc. etc.

    i'm surprised it got as much coverage as it did.

  5. Re:History Repeating by raga · · Score: 5, Informative
    Gates saw the Mac interface, not the Xerox interface (which, btw was quite different from the Mac interface.

    Here is the story as recounted by Andy Hertzfeld (one of the original "software wizards" to work on the Mac OS).

    This story by Bruce Horn (who worked at Xerox, and later was hired by Apple to join the Mac team) is a good recount of how the Mac interface came about.

    cheers- raga

  6. Re:History Repeating by MoneyT · · Score: 4, Informative

    Xerox got something like $1,000,000 in Apple stock for access to their dev teams and information about the designs.

    Jobs told Xerox:

    "I will let you invest a million dollars in Apple if you will sort of open the kimono at Xerox PARC" And Xerox agreed buying 100,000 shares of Apple stock at $10 a piece, which later split to 800,000 shares worth 17.6 million when Apple went public[1]

    In regards to Apple "stealing" the interface, PARC's director said:
    "Just like the Russians and the A bomb; they developed it very quickly once they knew it was doable."[2]

    [1] Apple Confidential by Owen Linzmayer P. 53
    [2] P. 54

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    T Money
    World Domination with a plastic spoon since 1984