Yeah it's a good thing he didn't let his fortune change him...
Swapping luxury vehicles every six months, parking scofflaw,...
He did the illegal parking and tagless thing beforehe had his fortune. Getting his fortune just enabled him to use a legal loophole to keep doing what he always did in a legal fashion.
That is not an exageration, that is a lie. An exageration is "they sued 30 people" when they sued one. Saying apple gets litigious and sues when they never did, though, is just a lie.
They did, however, get in a tiff when a judge ruled jail-breaking was not illegal nor did it violate the DMCA
Still a waste if no one actually cares about the OS version thats on those phones.
Either consumers care about the OS in their phones, or they dont. If they do, they are getting screwed by not getting updates.
If they dont, then Android will never propagate to devices that are not pushed aggressively by salesmen. Perhaps thats why Android is not taking off in the tablet market, no one pushes it there.
even two completely independent implementations working from the same spec would be pretty similar and determining if one was a derived work would still be difficult.
I have a hard time buying that. Without actually looking at the original version, its insanely hard to achieve code that looks even similar twice. Indentation and comments alone will change every time and for every coder and unless a spec litterally tell you "write this line of code and then this other line of code" then it's very likely even order, variables and behind the scenes data structures would be very different.
One thing I got very used to in my college years was to see similar claims from my classmates all turning in code with minimal difference from eachother's, all trying to convince the profesor they all did it on their own. I was sure none did, because I was the one that wrote their code for them. Always wrote it twice. No much effort ever went into making it look like a different implementation the second time, all I had to do was start from scratch without referening the original. It's actually hard to get exactly the same code back on screen without referencing to the original, even if you yourself wrote it. Only thing I always had to conciously avoid was comment style, as I always stylized my comment blocks.
So I highly doubt at least some lazy engenier at Google did copy code and played a bit with spacing and variable names. That lazy engenier is going to cost Google a few million dollars.
My understanding is Oracle's point is precisely about Google copying code Sun wrote, not over patents (although they may be used to strengthen their stance.)
So that conversation woudl have both lawyers saying "yes" followed by the whole same trial we seen this far.
Funny you bring this poor example because the idea behind it is actually accurate.
Secret roads between state and country lines that are used for illegal smugling are actually closed/barricaded/blocked when found, just like this site is being blocked.
On the other hand, the example you give would only be appropiate if the government was asking for the internet as a whole to be blocked, obviously not the case.
I didnt assume you are pro android, but unless you use smoke signals to communicate, Android is the only option left. Well, there is Windows and the zombie Palm Pre devices floating around, and the remaining Symbian ones, and Blackberries, but all of those are, perhaps, worse than Apple's iOS.
So, if you feel so strongly about such actions, I must ask: do you even use a cellphone?
And this site covers tech news, it does not matter if the company behind it is not "full open source", because if it did, they would cover cooking advancements and cocktail mixology. The initial message, complaining about apple themed articles, would be something you would be forced to stamp on nearly every single article that does not specifically cover Linux or open source initiatives in this website.
Look. Marketing works. Otherwise it wouldn't be done. Money is power. Companies like apple can use their power of marketing and power of money to shape the world as they see fit. They are shaping the world into one of for example vendor lock-in and closed source software.
My idea of freedom is in part constructed by a notion of there being access to source code.
You realize that although Android is Open Source, all the services that manufacturers must include if they want to use the name Android (and have a hope of a carrier to sell them) are not open, right?
I also have high doubt anyone that owns an Android Phone, regardless how big of an open source advocate they are, have only open source apps installed (mainly due to the notes on things like Google Maps alone not being open source.)
It's not like you can download the entire Google Maps source code tomorow and setup your own map service, nor your own personal Open Google Docs.
Yes, core Android is open, but the android that ships in phones is not. You cant legally rip it off and redistribute, not with it's boundled Google branded services.
If all it takes is for one open source product to be redemed as an Open Source champion, then why is WebKit and Darwin not enough? Why isn't it's effort to standarize the web, removing over dependency towards propietary plugins like Flash, mocked instead of aplauded?
My goal is not to insult Google. Android is a good OS and deserves it's success. But Google is no angel. Where Apple is "guilty" of mobile market lockdown, Google is guilty of privacy violations. They have gone out of their way to make sure no manufacturer ships an Android device with competing or alternative tracking software, as it threatens their data collection capabilities.
Again, if you find that's acceptable, great. Same way if some one accepts the downfalls of a "walled garden" then that is great for them too. Neither side is in a position take a "Holier than thou" attitude.
I have to say it would be best if you were able to place widgets in both places (notifications and home screen) in both OS. Cant defend much iOS there yet since their widget API is still closed.
I am not arguing that allowing an app to constantly run in the background has no use, but being able to just drop down the notification pane, and then push it away, is something you got to admit is faster than going to home, look at widget, then hold down the home button, and select the task to return to.
BTW, true multitasking in iOS is there, the OS just restricts what kind of tasks can take place while in the background. You are right, it IS more work, but its done to conserve battery. Given the importance of battery life in a phone, Apple thinks its worth going through the extra work. Still, tasks are not just killed. Many are allowed to continue. For if I'm downloading a DLC for a game, it can continue while the app is in the background. It just cant start new ones while there. Other apps are allowed to do location and music playback stuff while in the background. Tasks that are not allowed to continue, can opt to go into sleep mode instead of being entirely killed, so they can resume without any restart. I don't have the full list of things they allow at hand, though, just saying what I see apps do just now in my device.
As for Android jailbreaking/rooting being just for fun, I got to disagree. Most android phones come loaded with bloatware, some of it never stops running and draining battery resources (like GameLoft games that have multiplayer modes, constantly running looking for game invites.) Some of these also can be extremely large, eating the built in memory storage. I don't know you but I call the ability to uninstall third party apps a pretty basic functionality.
As for legality, EULAs cant declare something illegal, specially given a recent law that protects the activity of jailbreaking phones. Heck, Apple has been known to hire developers from the jailbreak community, and this coming from a company with a very aggressive legal department.
Yes, a new update will likely break the jailbreak, but you don't have to update. How many Android phones are still running 2.2 because they will never even be given the chance to upgrade to 2.3? I know my Gravity Smart is stuck in 2.2 and that's 4 months old. I just updated my nearly 3+ year old iPhone 3Gs to iOS5 and it ran smoothly. So a new update removing a jailbreak in iOS is more than insignificant when looked at relatively, specially when a new jailbreak is ready before an update leaves beta.
Not that there is much I feel the urge to jailbreak over since 4.0. Only phone that is still jailbroken is a 3G, that cant run 4.0 without dying. I jailbreak that one for multitasking and wallpapers, basic stuff but its also an unsupported device.
Unless you can make those android apps, side by side in window mode, it's not a desktop but a home screen.
The scrolling in the 2 widgets is entirely manual. The one That auto scrolls simply shows that it also can be scrolled by code.
As for clicking home to see widgets in android, it matters nothing if an app that is doing nothing is in the background if I can't go back to it fast after looking at the widget. As it stands, I must click home, look at the widget then find the icon for the app if it's not in the home screen.
With the widgets in the notification pane, I don't have to ever send the thing to the background.
On jail breaking, lots of android phones must go through similar hoops to error and get the supposed standard freedom the OS offers. This is not illegal in either platform.
It's allright to not like apple products, just clarifying facts on the current state of these.
And since they (Apple) keep harping to Samsung about FRAND, IMHO, Samsung should give Apple a taste of its own medicine and stop supplying iDevice parts. After all, fair's fair and why should be they (Samsung) be obliged to supply
Samsung is legally obliged to fullfill contractual agreements no matter what lawsuits are going on against other parts of the company.
In addition, even when the contracts expire, I am sure Samsung has more to lose than Apple if they decide to stop supplying them. Apple will take their billions to another manufacturer that may just end profitting due to the deal and suddenly becoming serious Samsung competitors. So Samsung's loss would be 2 fold: They lose Apple's billions and strengthen a rival.
Given that phones have no desktops, no phone has widgets. In OSX widgets are actually in their own screen you can summon (not too different from notifications in iOS 5.) As for the maximum size, cant say what is possible in iOS since right now the API is private.
Also, the widgets I show in that screenshot ARE sub windows, with their own interfaces and are actually scrollable (at least these two are designed to be manually scrollable in horizontal form.) The Stocks one is always scrolling and you can touch it to stop the scrolling and speed it up or scroll backwards.
Unlike Android, you dont have to ever leave the app (or move it to the background) to see them either, since they are part of the drop down notification screen. Its even easier than moving a window sideways in the computer desktop to look at an underlaying widget.
Tapping the center of either will open up the respective corresponding apps in the phone, and both have a small button at the lower right corner that will take you to the yahoo websites that feed them data.
The data (locations to monitor weather for, stocks prices to keep scrolling) that either displays is in sync with the main Weather and Stock apps, but from what I seen there is no reason (other than space) that these cant be developed to be configured independently or from the settings app.
It's very likely jailbreakers will expose this and start crafting new widgets soon.
So, based on your own definition, other than the unknown of size and metaphore of desktops not existing in phones, these are widgets.
Think where Android will be by then...
With the disapointing list of features in 4.0? Doubt very far.
Im not saying that they invented multi touch, but claiming a sci fi movie as evidence of prior art is ridiculous and makes it sound as the writer of such statement was not able to find any prior art. Multi Touch technolgies are extremely old and we started seeing it spread now mainly due to the expiration of old patents locking it down.
As for apple's multi touch "ownership", they do have some patents that are very specific to one of the many implementations. Their ownership on said implementation, also, is not due to them inventing it but due to them aquiring it's inventor's company.
Also, most of the things Apple claims in cases are things like very specific interface behavior. Things like the way the interface moves when you are scrolling from one screen to the next, where everything feels as if it was held in place by springs. Pull too little, and things will spring back into place. Pull a document down past it's end/start and you will see a textured area be revealed, as if you were pulling a real document, and automatically spring back into place when let go off.
Also contested are the often ridiculed "icon grids" but not due to being a grid, instead for very specific things like precisely placed icon spacing and doc real state and proportion. There is no reason why Android phones should not have a 5x5 grid, for instance, specially with the fast proliferation of large screen android phones.
These are all things that are not required to be part of a smartphone change in design would not ruin a product.
Do note: I dont hope Apple wins any of these patent suits. I hope they loose or back out of them, mainly because I hate the world of patent law. I can see where they feel they been wronged, though.
You were involved in the project, and used the ideas on your own project while working on this, you stole them. You were not involved in the project, or waited until everything was out of the door and moving before you decided to implement similar ideas in your project, then you just copied as anyone would have the rights to.
**Ignoring patent law, just based of honor and respect.
That is a fake excuse. No phone maker will release a phone without Google's blessing since doing so prevents them from adding the Android Market, marketing it as Android, or including any other Google branded service.
I think it was more of one of these two reasons: A) Honeycomb was a hacked mess they were embarassed about B) They fared some one **cough Amazon* would grab the raw OS, fork it and manage to establish a successfull Tablet line before they managed to gain ground.
Multipoint touch gestures? I remember seeing those in Minority Report
Is that a stealth aknoledgment that Apple did invent Multi Touch gestures, and before they did it was just pure fantasy and science fiction? Because, you realize, Blade Runner didn't invent the flying car either, right?
Interesting unannounced fact is, iOS 5 does support widgets. They dont work as Android ones, though, and are not (yet) available for third party development. They are part of the new notifications pulldown and currently only have a Weather and Stock app extension, you can see them under the Notification settings appropiately named Weather Widget and Stock Widget, and the only setting is the ability to enable them in the Notification Center.
I think Steve's grudge was not just about the "copying" but about the betrayal story behind it. Google's CEO was part of Apple's board of directors. He was aware of what was going there, and he either lied to everyone at Apple about their phone OS plans, or went on their backs and told the Android team what was Apple's take and made them drop the BlackBerry race and go Touch.
Steve trusted Schmidt, just like he trusted Gates about MacOS, and he suffered the same fate (I do have to admit, for such a secretive man, he should had known better.) I guess the difference is now Apple having enough money to pursue infinite legal battles and a spice of leftover grude of the last time this happened.
Samsung's case is likely more specific, too. Samsung is a big manufacturer of iDevice parts and it's likely enthrusted with a lot of design information. There are supposed to be division walls that prevent this type of secret information from spreding into divisions that compete with client's interest, but witnesses in the current lawsuits have pointed at there being leaks on such walls. So thats another company they must feel betrayed by.
You may notice, despite the noise that went about when Palm Pre with WebOS was announced, there was no real legal battle there. I doubt it had much to do with Palms ability to use their patents to defend themselves and more with the fact that they had no presonal grudge there, just business interests.
It is easy for us to say how childish, and counter productive these lawsuits can be, but its hard to understand it without actually standing in their shoes. Try just to imagine a smaller case scenario of equal personal impact. Perhaps a co-worker stealing credit or stealing your job and being rewarded for it. A comic book artist creating a character or story to have a friend rip it off and publish it with small alterations. Heck, there was no lawsuit there, but look at the Babylon 5 vz Deep Space 9 issue. It still is possible to find remnants of Straczynski early 90s web and usenet rantings expressing his anger at the plagiarism.
When you are the victim of these idea thefts, it can be extremely upsetting. When it is done by a trusted business partner or friend, it can be insanely infuriating. It does not matter how good the competition is for the industry, or the alternatives for the consumers, your emotions will go highwire. The closest your relationship to the individual or entity in question the worse will be.
Dont take me worng, I am very sad for Job's passing, but with him gone I predict the current cases may keep going for the next couple of years, but in about 2 years, maybe just 1, we will start seeing settlements and a reduction of said cases. The momentum will be carried for at least a year or two, but after that, I take it we will see more willingness to do settlements. Not saying lawsuits are going to stop. Just as Microsoft protects their "business interest" and patents, Apple will likely be the same way, they will just not try to be as destructive about it.
Good if you like Google+. Bad if you like people trying to shove Google+ down your throat by taking something you depended on and making it not work without Google+. It's like saying you can't use Windows without installing Internet Explorer.
For one, i refuse to get a Google+ account, so if I'm forced to do this, I wont use reader anymore.
Second, my job blocks all social networking sites. Even if I wanted to make a concession in the sake of Reader, I wont be able to use it at work since it will be blocked. This also means every single employee of my company (huge international company) wont be using Reader during work hours anymore.
Guess it's time for me to find RSS software that can cross-platform sync via Dropbox. Heck, I may find a new hobby writing one myself.
Before then, people would have to own a GameBoy or beeper if they wanted something to look at while looking down and avoiding crossing eyes on the street, shy away from others getting of an elevator, ignore their families, etc...
Slashdot Mirror
Yeah it's a good thing he didn't let his fortune change him...
Swapping luxury vehicles every six months, parking scofflaw, ...
He did the illegal parking and tagless thing beforehe had his fortune. Getting his fortune just enabled him to use a legal loophole to keep doing what he always did in a legal fashion.
I was exaggerating.
That is not an exageration, that is a lie. An exageration is "they sued 30 people" when they sued one. Saying apple gets litigious and sues when they never did, though, is just a lie.
They did, however, get in a tiff when a judge ruled jail-breaking was not illegal nor did it violate the DMCA
Source?
Please, link all the cases where apple legally purused action against jailbreak community members. It would be useful for others.
Still a waste if no one actually cares about the OS version thats on those phones.
Either consumers care about the OS in their phones, or they dont. If they do, they are getting screwed by not getting updates.
If they dont, then Android will never propagate to devices that are not pushed aggressively by salesmen. Perhaps thats why Android is not taking off in the tablet market, no one pushes it there.
Then why is Google wasting time developing it?
**i highly doubt he didnt**
even two completely independent implementations working from the same spec would be pretty similar and determining if one was a derived work would still be difficult.
I have a hard time buying that. Without actually looking at the original version, its insanely hard to achieve code that looks even similar twice. Indentation and comments alone will change every time and for every coder and unless a spec litterally tell you "write this line of code and then this other line of code" then it's very likely even order, variables and behind the scenes data structures would be very different.
One thing I got very used to in my college years was to see similar claims from my classmates all turning in code with minimal difference from eachother's, all trying to convince the profesor they all did it on their own. I was sure none did, because I was the one that wrote their code for them. Always wrote it twice. No much effort ever went into making it look like a different implementation the second time, all I had to do was start from scratch without referening the original. It's actually hard to get exactly the same code back on screen without referencing to the original, even if you yourself wrote it. Only thing I always had to conciously avoid was comment style, as I always stylized my comment blocks.
So I highly doubt at least some lazy engenier at Google did copy code and played a bit with spacing and variable names. That lazy engenier is going to cost Google a few million dollars.
My understanding is Oracle's point is precisely about Google copying code Sun wrote, not over patents (although they may be used to strengthen their stance.)
So that conversation woudl have both lawyers saying "yes" followed by the whole same trial we seen this far.
Funny you bring this poor example because the idea behind it is actually accurate.
Secret roads between state and country lines that are used for illegal smugling are actually closed/barricaded/blocked when found, just like this site is being blocked.
On the other hand, the example you give would only be appropiate if the government was asking for the internet as a whole to be blocked, obviously not the case.
He discovered it in a crashed spaceship in new mexico!
I didnt assume you are pro android, but unless you use smoke signals to communicate, Android is the only option left. Well, there is Windows and the zombie Palm Pre devices floating around, and the remaining Symbian ones, and Blackberries, but all of those are, perhaps, worse than Apple's iOS.
So, if you feel so strongly about such actions, I must ask: do you even use a cellphone?
And this site covers tech news, it does not matter if the company behind it is not "full open source", because if it did, they would cover cooking advancements and cocktail mixology. The initial message, complaining about apple themed articles, would be something you would be forced to stamp on nearly every single article that does not specifically cover Linux or open source initiatives in this website.
Look. Marketing works. Otherwise it wouldn't be done. Money is power. Companies like apple can use their power of marketing and power of money to shape the world as they see fit. They are shaping the world into one of for example vendor lock-in and closed source software.
My idea of freedom is in part constructed by a notion of there being access to source code.
You realize that although Android is Open Source, all the services that manufacturers must include if they want to use the name Android (and have a hope of a carrier to sell them) are not open, right?
I also have high doubt anyone that owns an Android Phone, regardless how big of an open source advocate they are, have only open source apps installed (mainly due to the notes on things like Google Maps alone not being open source.)
It's not like you can download the entire Google Maps source code tomorow and setup your own map service, nor your own personal Open Google Docs.
Yes, core Android is open, but the android that ships in phones is not. You cant legally rip it off and redistribute, not with it's boundled Google branded services.
If all it takes is for one open source product to be redemed as an Open Source champion, then why is WebKit and Darwin not enough? Why isn't it's effort to standarize the web, removing over dependency towards propietary plugins like Flash, mocked instead of aplauded?
My goal is not to insult Google. Android is a good OS and deserves it's success. But Google is no angel. Where Apple is "guilty" of mobile market lockdown, Google is guilty of privacy violations. They have gone out of their way to make sure no manufacturer ships an Android device with competing or alternative tracking software, as it threatens their data collection capabilities.
Again, if you find that's acceptable, great. Same way if some one accepts the downfalls of a "walled garden" then that is great for them too. Neither side is in a position take a "Holier than thou" attitude.
I have to say it would be best if you were able to place widgets in both places (notifications and home screen) in both OS. Cant defend much iOS there yet since their widget API is still closed.
I am not arguing that allowing an app to constantly run in the background has no use, but being able to just drop down the notification pane, and then push it away, is something you got to admit is faster than going to home, look at widget, then hold down the home button, and select the task to return to.
BTW, true multitasking in iOS is there, the OS just restricts what kind of tasks can take place while in the background. You are right, it IS more work, but its done to conserve battery. Given the importance of battery life in a phone, Apple thinks its worth going through the extra work. Still, tasks are not just killed. Many are allowed to continue. For if I'm downloading a DLC for a game, it can continue while the app is in the background. It just cant start new ones while there. Other apps are allowed to do location and music playback stuff while in the background. Tasks that are not allowed to continue, can opt to go into sleep mode instead of being entirely killed, so they can resume without any restart. I don't have the full list of things they allow at hand, though, just saying what I see apps do just now in my device.
As for Android jailbreaking/rooting being just for fun, I got to disagree. Most android phones come loaded with bloatware, some of it never stops running and draining battery resources (like GameLoft games that have multiplayer modes, constantly running looking for game invites.) Some of these also can be extremely large, eating the built in memory storage. I don't know you but I call the ability to uninstall third party apps a pretty basic functionality.
As for legality, EULAs cant declare something illegal, specially given a recent law that protects the activity of jailbreaking phones. Heck, Apple has been known to hire developers from the jailbreak community, and this coming from a company with a very aggressive legal department.
Yes, a new update will likely break the jailbreak, but you don't have to update. How many Android phones are still running 2.2 because they will never even be given the chance to upgrade to 2.3? I know my Gravity Smart is stuck in 2.2 and that's 4 months old. I just updated my nearly 3+ year old iPhone 3Gs to iOS5 and it ran smoothly. So a new update removing a jailbreak in iOS is more than insignificant when looked at relatively, specially when a new jailbreak is ready before an update leaves beta.
Not that there is much I feel the urge to jailbreak over since 4.0. Only phone that is still jailbroken is a 3G, that cant run 4.0 without dying. I jailbreak that one for multitasking and wallpapers, basic stuff but its also an unsupported device.
Unless you can make those android apps, side by side in window mode, it's not a desktop but a home screen.
The scrolling in the 2 widgets is entirely manual. The one That auto scrolls simply shows that it also can be scrolled by code.
As for clicking home to see widgets in android, it matters nothing if an app that is doing nothing is in the background if I can't go back to it fast after looking at the widget. As it stands, I must click home, look at the widget then find the icon for the app if it's not in the home screen.
With the widgets in the notification pane, I don't have to ever send the thing to the background.
On jail breaking, lots of android phones must go through similar hoops to error and get the supposed standard freedom the OS offers. This is not illegal in either platform.
It's allright to not like apple products, just clarifying facts on the current state of these.
And since they (Apple) keep harping to Samsung about FRAND, IMHO, Samsung should give Apple a taste of its own medicine and stop supplying iDevice parts. After all, fair's fair and why should be they (Samsung) be obliged to supply
Samsung is legally obliged to fullfill contractual agreements no matter what lawsuits are going on against other parts of the company.
In addition, even when the contracts expire, I am sure Samsung has more to lose than Apple if they decide to stop supplying them. Apple will take their billions to another manufacturer that may just end profitting due to the deal and suddenly becoming serious Samsung competitors. So Samsung's loss would be 2 fold: They lose Apple's billions and strengthen a rival.
Given that phones have no desktops, no phone has widgets. In OSX widgets are actually in their own screen you can summon (not too different from notifications in iOS 5.) As for the maximum size, cant say what is possible in iOS since right now the API is private.
Also, the widgets I show in that screenshot ARE sub windows, with their own interfaces and are actually scrollable (at least these two are designed to be manually scrollable in horizontal form.) The Stocks one is always scrolling and you can touch it to stop the scrolling and speed it up or scroll backwards.
Unlike Android, you dont have to ever leave the app (or move it to the background) to see them either, since they are part of the drop down notification screen. Its even easier than moving a window sideways in the computer desktop to look at an underlaying widget.
Tapping the center of either will open up the respective corresponding apps in the phone, and both have a small button at the lower right corner that will take you to the yahoo websites that feed them data.
The data (locations to monitor weather for, stocks prices to keep scrolling) that either displays is in sync with the main Weather and Stock apps, but from what I seen there is no reason (other than space) that these cant be developed to be configured independently or from the settings app.
It's very likely jailbreakers will expose this and start crafting new widgets soon.
So, based on your own definition, other than the unknown of size and metaphore of desktops not existing in phones, these are widgets.
Think where Android will be by then...
With the disapointing list of features in 4.0? Doubt very far.
Im not saying that they invented multi touch, but claiming a sci fi movie as evidence of prior art is ridiculous and makes it sound as the writer of such statement was not able to find any prior art. Multi Touch technolgies are extremely old and we started seeing it spread now mainly due to the expiration of old patents locking it down.
As for apple's multi touch "ownership", they do have some patents that are very specific to one of the many implementations. Their ownership on said implementation, also, is not due to them inventing it but due to them aquiring it's inventor's company.
Also, most of the things Apple claims in cases are things like very specific interface behavior. Things like the way the interface moves when you are scrolling from one screen to the next, where everything feels as if it was held in place by springs. Pull too little, and things will spring back into place. Pull a document down past it's end/start and you will see a textured area be revealed, as if you were pulling a real document, and automatically spring back into place when let go off.
Also contested are the often ridiculed "icon grids" but not due to being a grid, instead for very specific things like precisely placed icon spacing and doc real state and proportion. There is no reason why Android phones should not have a 5x5 grid, for instance, specially with the fast proliferation of large screen android phones.
These are all things that are not required to be part of a smartphone change in design would not ruin a product.
Do note: I dont hope Apple wins any of these patent suits. I hope they loose or back out of them, mainly because I hate the world of patent law. I can see where they feel they been wronged, though.
I think the logic is:
You were involved in the project, and used the ideas on your own project while working on this, you stole them.
You were not involved in the project, or waited until everything was out of the door and moving before you decided to implement similar ideas in your project, then you just copied as anyone would have the rights to.
**Ignoring patent law, just based of honor and respect.
That is a fake excuse. No phone maker will release a phone without Google's blessing since doing so prevents them from adding the Android Market, marketing it as Android, or including any other Google branded service.
I think it was more of one of these two reasons:
A) Honeycomb was a hacked mess they were embarassed about
B) They fared some one **cough Amazon* would grab the raw OS, fork it and manage to establish a successfull Tablet line before they managed to gain ground.
Multipoint touch gestures? I remember seeing those in Minority Report
Is that a stealth aknoledgment that Apple did invent Multi Touch gestures, and before they did it was just pure fantasy and science fiction? Because, you realize, Blade Runner didn't invent the flying car either, right?
Interesting unannounced fact is, iOS 5 does support widgets. They dont work as Android ones, though, and are not (yet) available for third party development. They are part of the new notifications pulldown and currently only have a Weather and Stock app extension, you can see them under the Notification settings appropiately named Weather Widget and Stock Widget, and the only setting is the ability to enable them in the Notification Center.
Here is a shot:
http://osxdaily.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/ios-5-videos.jpg
I think Steve's grudge was not just about the "copying" but about the betrayal story behind it. Google's CEO was part of Apple's board of directors. He was aware of what was going there, and he either lied to everyone at Apple about their phone OS plans, or went on their backs and told the Android team what was Apple's take and made them drop the BlackBerry race and go Touch.
Steve trusted Schmidt, just like he trusted Gates about MacOS, and he suffered the same fate (I do have to admit, for such a secretive man, he should had known better.) I guess the difference is now Apple having enough money to pursue infinite legal battles and a spice of leftover grude of the last time this happened.
Samsung's case is likely more specific, too. Samsung is a big manufacturer of iDevice parts and it's likely enthrusted with a lot of design information. There are supposed to be division walls that prevent this type of secret information from spreding into divisions that compete with client's interest, but witnesses in the current lawsuits have pointed at there being leaks on such walls. So thats another company they must feel betrayed by.
You may notice, despite the noise that went about when Palm Pre with WebOS was announced, there was no real legal battle there. I doubt it had much to do with Palms ability to use their patents to defend themselves and more with the fact that they had no presonal grudge there, just business interests.
It is easy for us to say how childish, and counter productive these lawsuits can be, but its hard to understand it without actually standing in their shoes. Try just to imagine a smaller case scenario of equal personal impact. Perhaps a co-worker stealing credit or stealing your job and being rewarded for it. A comic book artist creating a character or story to have a friend rip it off and publish it with small alterations. Heck, there was no lawsuit there, but look at the Babylon 5 vz Deep Space 9 issue. It still is possible to find remnants of Straczynski early 90s web and usenet rantings expressing his anger at the plagiarism.
When you are the victim of these idea thefts, it can be extremely upsetting. When it is done by a trusted business partner or friend, it can be insanely infuriating. It does not matter how good the competition is for the industry, or the alternatives for the consumers, your emotions will go highwire. The closest your relationship to the individual or entity in question the worse will be.
Dont take me worng, I am very sad for Job's passing, but with him gone I predict the current cases may keep going for the next couple of years, but in about 2 years, maybe just 1, we will start seeing settlements and a reduction of said cases. The momentum will be carried for at least a year or two, but after that, I take it we will see more willingness to do settlements. Not saying lawsuits are going to stop. Just as Microsoft protects their "business interest" and patents, Apple will likely be the same way, they will just not try to be as destructive about it.
Good if you like Google+. Bad if you like people trying to shove Google+ down your throat by taking something you depended on and making it not work without Google+. It's like saying you can't use Windows without installing Internet Explorer.
This too.
Well for me its all bad.
For one, i refuse to get a Google+ account, so if I'm forced to do this, I wont use reader anymore.
Second, my job blocks all social networking sites. Even if I wanted to make a concession in the sake of Reader, I wont be able to use it at work since it will be blocked. This also means every single employee of my company (huge international company) wont be using Reader during work hours anymore.
Guess it's time for me to find RSS software that can cross-platform sync via Dropbox. Heck, I may find a new hobby writing one myself.
Before then, people would have to own a GameBoy or beeper if they wanted something to look at while looking down and avoiding crossing eyes on the street, shy away from others getting of an elevator, ignore their families, etc...