April 24th, 2000

[8:00 AM] Apple Smells Something Fishy, Considering Options With FishPC iMac Knockoff by Bryan Chaffin C-Net reported over the weekend that Apple was examining their options concerning FishPC. FishPC is yet another company that has sought to capitalize on the success of the iMac by ripping off its design. The company recently introduced the product, but Apple just learned of it during the Easter holiday according to the C-Net article. The company quotes Apple spokespersons as saying that Apple was examining their options. In the meanwhile, according to the FishPC Web site: FishPC is the new era of computing. No longer do you have to be like everyone else. No longer will everyone determine what you should have or what you should use. FishPC changes all the rules. It's a statement. Its [sic] hip. Its [sic] groovy. Its [sic] a PC. It's sweeping the world by storm. It has the power and the punch of the big systems, but is so compact, smaller than a 30cm ruler. You've got to have it. Apple has successfully stopped SOTEC, Daewoo, and their US partners from selling and distributing the eOne and the E-Power, both iMac knockoffs. Of the two, the E-Power was a complete imitation of the iMac while the eOne was more derivative. You can find more information on FishPC and their products at their Web site. The C-Net article has more information from Apple, as well as other related information. We recommend that you read it. The Mac Observer Spin: The above quote from the FishPC site is such a poorly written marketing fluff piece. Above and beyond the grammatical errors, it's just plain bad. That out of the way, who are these folks kidding? Certainly not us. They claim to be changing the rules, but indeed they are simply copying the rules as written by Apple. The FishPC unit certainly lacks the curves of the iMac (note that you can see this in the above animation), but the company has clearly targeted the iMac in their design. Apple has been quite successful in defending their iMac look, but the company has not yet tested the legal fields in Australia, so all bets are off. <RANT> What is it with companies who feel they are entitled to profit from Apple's hard work? Once again we will salute companies like Compaq, Gateway, and Dell for introducing alternative designs for their consumer offerings that do not borrow from Apple or the iMac. Certainly those products are not as sexy as the iMac, but they are DIFFERENT! Clearly Designing Different can be done, but it would seem another looter is always ready to replace the ones that Apple knocks out. It's a sad commentary on the mindset of these people. </RANT> FishPC - Apple