Why Apple [Inc.] is a Virus.

[Patranus]

So gathering a bunch of existing technology into a single device counts as an invention?

Apple isn't patenting the device, they are patenting features and technologies within the device.

 

[cheezy321]

So gathering a bunch of existing technology into a single device counts as an invention?

So are you saying combining an engine + wheels into a frame to make the first car is not an invention? LOL down the rabbit hole we go...

 

[dwell]

So gathering a bunch of existing technology into a single device counts as an invention?

Yeah, that's all Apple did -- gather a bunch of existing technologies.

Funny how Microsoft's touch screen device at the time the iPhone came out was a 200 pound table.

 

[BoberFett]

Ah, Apple fanboys. Always amusing.

 

[Mike Gayner]

These threads are so predictable.

 

[Mike Gayner]

Apple is suing over specific features which they have patents on. There is nothing wrong with that.

It's adorable that you don't seem to think that there's anything wrong with the state of patent law in the US.

 

[BoberFett]

Yeah, that's all Apple did -- gather a bunch of existing technologies.

Funny how Microsoft's touch screen device at the time the iPhone came out was a 200 pound table.

Did Apple invent the touch screen? The on-screen keyboard? The icon?

Those things were all around long before the iPad/iPod. Apple put together a brilliant package of existing technologies at the time the market was ready for it.

They did not however invent the tablet.

 

[Joseph F]

Since you Apple fanboys seem to want IP to be strongly protected, Would you like all DDR manufacture to stop because Rambus came up with it first?

 

[cheezy321]

Ah, Apple fanboys. Always amusing.

Yep, ask a bunch of stupid questions, make a bunch of retarded accusations, then try and mock apple fanboys. Your irony is always amusing. You are the person you make fun of. How does that feel?

 

[Dominato3r]

The amount of mad in this thread is hilarious

 

[cheezy321]

The amount of mad in this thread is hilarious

Its like that woman that comes in and says she 'watches sports' when in fact she has no clue what is going on during the game. Then she continues to make retarded ignorant comments and just generally pisses off everyone in the room.

That is what is going on in this thread right now.

Boberfett is doing the equivalent of watching a basketball game and asking why penalties like false start and encroachment aren't being called.

 

[Mike Gayner]

HAAAAAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

God this thread is hilarious. I can';t tell who I love the most - Apple fanboys or Apply anti-fanboys. You're all hilarious. I love that all of these threads make it well into the multiple pages, with all of the same arguments reposted again and again and again ad nauseum.

 

[dwell]

Those things were all around long before the iPad/iPod. Apple put together a brilliant package of existing technologies at the time the market was ready for it.

Which is the definition of innovation.

Did Samsung, Google, Microsoft come up with new or innovative ways to incorporate the "package" Apple came up with or did they pretty much clone the iPhone?

 

[Mike Gayner]

As much as I hate to agree with the Apple fanboys, to say that Apple don't innovate (and therefore that the iPod and iPad aren't great innovations) is so mindblowingly retarded that I can't even fully comprehend it.

 

[Dominato3r]

Which is the definition of innovation.

Did Samsung, Google, Microsoft come up with new or innovative ways to incorporate the "package" Apple came up with or did they pretty much clone the iPhone?

I'd say WP7 is pretty out there compared to iOS and Android.

 

[dwell]

I'd say WP7 is pretty out there compared to iOS and Android.

UI-wise true but it's still the same size, form factor, touch screen, apps, etc. If they iPhone didn't come along they'd still probably be trying to cram Windows on a phone like with WinMob.

 

[Joseph F]

Since you Apple fanboys seem to want IP to be strongly protected, Would you like all DDR manufacture to stop because Rambus came up with it first?

Just as I thought, everyone ignored this comment.
It's exactly the same, Rambus came up with the double-pumped signal clock, others copied it, and the consumer won because there was finally a decent high-bandwidth alternative to RDRAM.
Just as DDR and RDRAM are radically different, but share a few common technologies, so are iOS and it's competition.

 

[AMDZen]

Apple isn't patenting the device, they are patenting features and technologies within the device.

Don't hate the player, hate the game.

Is it Apple's fault that they can patent even the smallest of stupid things? They are just taking advantage of a system that is completely flawed.

The answer is simple. Change the system.

They are hardly the first. And if things don't change, Apple will hardly be the last to abuse that system.

 

[alent1234]

Since you Apple fanboys seem to want IP to be strongly protected, Would you like all DDR manufacture to stop because Rambus came up with it first?

didn't JEDEC get around rambus's patents with DDR2?

you can come up with similar products all you want as long as you make them different enough. there are AMD CPU's, Intel, ARM, PPC, SPARC and others that do essentially the same thing but in different ways

 

[Patranus]

Is it Apple's fault that they can patent even the smallest of stupid things? They are just taking advantage of a system that is completely flawed.

You are calling their innovation "simple" but the fact of the matter is that no one came up with their methods for carrying out those innovations before, hence their patents.

All of these other companies have been making mobile phones for 20+ years and didn't come up with these methods for doing these 'simple' tasks. Apple change the game and everyone is bitter they didn't get to the party sooner/see the future.

Patents protect and promote innovation.

 

[Ninjahedge]

UI-wise true but it's still the same size, form factor, touch screen, apps, etc. If they iPhone didn't come along they'd still probably be trying to cram Windows on a phone like with WinMob

That is not exactly fair.

You do not put 5 wheels on a car if 4 work, nor do you patent the concept of 4 wheels on a vehicle.

The size HAS changed, from small hand-held to the larger Samsung offerings (AAMOF, they are saying that the iPhone feels small in comparison). Thing is, you can only go so far with a HANDHELD device. Unless someone comes up with a way to make bigger hands, that is.

Touchscreen? Oh, so since one person used an INTERFACE MEDIA, nobody else can? The only one that deserves THAT patent is the one who came up with the actual device, not its use. Example is, you may patent a mechanical pencil, but you do not have any say in what it is used to write.

Back to OT, the whole point of this is to express that NO COMPANY should have the right to do all of this and hold the creation of new technologies at bay for fear of litigation. Apple is just the most public to do so at this moment, and posting a thread with their name on it gets 8 pages (@50ppp) in response.

Patent law was not written for this kind of thing, and it is being warped indiscriminately in the process.

 

[AMDZen]

You are calling their innovation "simple" but the fact of the matter is that no one came up with their methods for carrying out those innovations before, hence their patents.

All of these other companies have been making mobile phones for 20+ years and didn't come up with these methods for doing these 'simple' tasks. Apple change the game and everyone is bitter they didn't get to the party sooner/see the future.

Patents protect and promote innovation.

I agree. I love my iPhone and the one I owned before it. Vastly superior to Android and many people agree.

But I agree with the article in the OP, and letting Apple patent every little small innovation like they are getting away with doing - is the equivalent of a company patenting "buttons" on phones initially after rotary telephones.

I like to compare it to printing on Discs (CDs/DVDs) which is a patent owned by Epson. So any printer that is capable of printing on discs has to buy the patent from Epson. Canon and others said screw that, and instead you can't print on discs on printers for the US market. Luckily this is circumvented by buying a small addon and changing the printers specs to European which you can do on many printers.

Should Xerox have been able to patent printing on paper in this same manner? The Epson patent is the equivelant of that - only allowing one company to own a patent like that would be retarded.

Should IBM own the patent for all keyboards so that no other manufacturer could make one?

The examples could go on and on and on.

You can't patent such things. Well except you can now, Apple is getting away with patenting such ridiculous things.

Al Gore should own the patent to the internet, and no other company should be allowed to sell access to it accept GoreCo.

 

[dwell]

Back to OT, the whole point of this is to express that NO COMPANY should have the right to do all of this and hold the creation of new technologies at bay for fear of litigation. Apple is just the most public to do so at this moment, and posting a thread with their name on it gets 8 pages (@50ppp) in response.

You can license technology from patent holders in almost all cases.

The problem is the Google did not attempt to license Apple's technologies, they blatantly stole everything figuring the cost of litigation was worth time to market. Companies like Samsung take it a step further by trying to confuse consumers by copying Apple's designs, interfaces, and packaging outright.

 

[Ninjahedge]

The sad thing is this dwell...

If the LOOK of a gadget is enough to sell it, regardless of what it is and what it can do, the person buying it is probably an idiot.

Now, there ARE things that are good, but how can you patent a convex backing (so you can pick it up and hold comfortably)?

There are only so many ways you can design a tablet, given that most people feel comfy with one that approximates the size of a standard clip board.

 

[Patranus]

I also think it is pretty funny that people ignore the contributions Apple has made to the open source community. WebKit comes to mind first.