I assume you mean this guy?

http://www.techdirt.com/articles/200...02372193.shtml

You really havn't got your facts right have you!

Facts right? Everything i read had said completely different

So, which is it, your article or the one i read years back?

The point i was trying to make is that whatever story is true, the ipod looks pretty much identical to the picture the guy did in the 70s! That article you linked to only states its not the same because it doesn't have as many features...

And the patent lapsed and therefore was no longer protected or if this fictitious school kids "invented" the iPod, there was never a patent in the first place.

You are just looking for any spurious argument to slag off apple. Even if it has zero basis in fact.

Perhaps not "We have invented such and such", but unless they tone it down tomorrow, there'll be numerous suggestions that feature x is revolutionary and feature y is like nothing ever seen before, despite x & y being already available on all of their competitors (as well as z which they won't mention as they're saving it for the 5S next year)

And so what if the patent expired? Does that mean you can just waltz in, pinch something and claim it as yours? Screwed up system if that's the case!


Actually I'm not. I'm only going by what i have read. I hadn't ever seen the article you put up so exactly how is one supposed to know?

I don't need a 'spurious argument' like that to slag off apple. Between the joke of a company and its users, there is material for about 20 years!

I'm sure everyone has seen this as it's been doing the rounds over the last few days

http://cdn-www.i-am-bored.com/media/braun-or-apple.png

I know they're different types of products but it does say something about Apple claiming Samsung stole their " trade dress" or whatever the term is!!

A nicely provocative article here:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-19557497

The author is not anti Apple just anti the current direction of Apple. Two things I loved. Quoting the author:

“To use a car analogy, six years ago the iPhone was like a sexy new flagship model from BMW or Porsche. Today it's a Toyota Camry. Safe, reliable, boring. The car your mom drives”

And comment 177:

“Someone said that Stephen Fry is a stupid person's idea of a clever person. Perhaps Apple is an uncreative person's idea of a creative company.”

Apple took a big risk with the iPhone and that has paid off handsomely. And as much as I have detested them as a company since I became aware of the Apple II in the late 70’s they helped drive innovation. I certainly do not think we would have the wonderful Android phones we have today if the iPhone had been so far out there. Could you imagine a market where we had Symbian crap like the N96, or awful the BB Torch phones were competing with Android – which would probably be still on Donut.

The iPhone forced a paradigm shift in the mobile phones manufacturers. And yes of course Samsung copied Apple at first. But they have and continue to invest huge amounts of money in R&D. Way more than Apple. The $1bn fine to become the biggest mobile firm was a price worth paying for Samsung and now they are the ones innovating and making the sexy phones, NOT Apple. And I do not buy this bull crap that the iPhone is a design classic “like the porche 911 or a BMW”. Bollocks it is. If you are telling me that a hugely innovative technological area like the mobile industry has reached its design zenith from a company with its second product then you are completely deluded.

Oh the irony!!

I wonder if Apple hold a patent for "unoriginal thought" itself...

I would disagree with that - I think the iPhone will go down as a design classic…the fact that the majority of smartphones follow it’s basic design show I think show that.

Also Porsche – classic yes, BMW, no

Apple have never claimed they invented the MP3 player. So I assume you are leveling the accusation that they pinched the idea against Microsoft, Creative, MPMAN, Diamond, Compaq etc. Apple were late in the game with the iPod... a full three years after others had 'pinched' this blokes idea. Yet you argue that Apple are the ones in the wrong. Interesting!

And as far as expired patents are concerned... A patent has a lifetime. Currently 20 years I believe. So not only did the blokes patent expire due to him not renewing it, it would have expired anyway 2 years before Apple released the iPod. You cant expect a patent to last for ever. That would be stupid.

Oh, the car analogy again I'd say iPhone is like Rolls Royce, not Porsche. With Porsche you care about the brand of course, but it must be fast, using latest technology. With Rolls Royce you get the brand, but you do not exactly care that much about speed or latest technology achievements. Because it's bloody Rolls Royce and that's enough.

The legal teams and advisors of these big companies are the ones milking all this. There would be no need for them if there was no litigation and counter-litigation. They need to justify their existence and mega salaries. They have no technical knowledge, yet are involved in everything from design to marketing, looking for things to exploit.

I honestly think all tech companies would much rather just get on with designing and making their products - but are being misadvised by legal bods who are taking advantage of the whole patent system. The whole system needs to be updated for the 21st century, as it is clearly being misused. Buying up thousands of patents for strategic use was never what the system was intended for. They are all at it now to some extent, and it diverts resources away from R&D where it really should be spent.

Have to agree with all that. I forced myself to watch Jobs' iphone presentation and what they brought to market really was stunning but like every dog has its day, so does every tech company and I strongly believe that Apple has had its day. The far east continues its onslaught and companies like Samsung, who did hitch a ride I admit, is now where its at.

Maybe the ORIGINAL iPhone design will go down as a classic, not the brick like 4/4S. And this design was not original, the thing that was original was the fluidity and innovation of iOS. The iPhone became a success for how it did what it did not how it looked (or come to that what it did).

And you are way off the mark about BMW (another company I loathe with passion and would never own). The design ethos of BMW is hugely admired by designers in a way that Porche and Mercedes cannot match. Individual models from these firms are admired rather than the brand as a whole. My point about Apple though was the lack of innovation regarding the design of the iPhone (not the internals) which is crazy given how early we are in the lifecycle of these type of phones.

Oh I do seem to hate a lot of companies.

I do like Mercedes, Porche, Bosch, Sony, Pioneer, Samsung and quite a few others though. I think my problem with certain firms is not so much about the producs rather the company image and the users.