I lol’ed!

“In 2003, he unveiled Project Looking Glass, a prototype Linux desktop, and Mr. Jobs called to threaten a lawsuit because Sun was “stepping all over Apple’s IP.”

Sounds like Countdown to Looking Glass, but without the nukes.

Spoken like the CEO of a failed company.

After the whole Apple/MS “Look and Feel” fiasco I really don’t blame Apple for being aggressive in protecting their IP.

+

After the whole Apple/MS “Look and Feel” fiasco I really don’t blame Apple for being aggressive in protecting their IP.

Well said. And before anyone screams Xerox PARC, I do believe Apple legally and with PARC’s permission licensed their technology for the original Mac OS.

This is basically like if Schwartz pulled down Jobs’ swim trunks at the beach. Steve Jobs doesn’t understand the game. Unfortunately for Apple and its customers, he’s playing against people who get the game. And he’s in for an ass kicking.

And, yet, its Xerox that should be suing them all.

Sun abandoned Project Looking Glass, although Mr. Schwartz said it wasn’t the legal threat, it was the assumption that “the last thing enterprises wanted was a new desktop.”

My Little Pony decided to throw in the gossip ring? Say it isn’t so!

If assumptions are the best marketing efforts of a failed CEO, I can’t say I’d trust him to be a reliable witness on “who owns what” in regard to patents either.

I think Steve has learnt and he will not do the same mistakes twice. However showing some muscle with a phone call is more efficient (read quicker and cheaper) than a court battle.

Even though court exposure may help some competition , it is important for Apple to vigorously defend their patents more as a principle rather than a point of law.

You do not want to go into an endless law suit defining who owns what but in the same token you have to have a recorded precedent in you favor if you are going to expend in that market. (...)

Was this before or after Steve tried to
buy the Lighthouse applications because
Sun had buried them.

Lighthouse had copied Lotus Improv.
Omni has released exact copy of Diagram!

So Mr. Schwartz doesn’t have a point to stand on.

Xerox did sue Apple and lost. HTC did copy the look and feel of the iPhone with its Nexus One and will lose to Apple.

Xerox did sue Apple and lost.

Incorrect, Xerox sued Apple but the case was thrown out because the court said Xerox had waited too long.

whatever happened to that anyway

Let’s examine the timeframe. In 2003, Apple had about 4% marketshare and a company with less than that was about to rip them off.

7 years later, Apple has, on a good day, 8-9% of the marketshare and companies are STILL ripping them off. It’s no wonder Apple is trying to defend it’s IP. It’s all relative.

Sun is a dead company. It’s been a black hole for years drowning in it’s own red ink. They should have sold off or licensed all their IP a decade ago and saved their stockholders major grief.

Sun is a dead company. It’s been a black hole

I see what you did there

Sun is a dead company. It’s been a black hole for years drowning in it’s own red ink.

I am with Khaled, it is a very Shakespearian type of phrase. Well done Tiger.

I do believe Apple legally and with PARC’s permission licensed their technology for the original Mac OS.

Apple didn’t license tech from Xerox, but Xerox didn’t care as it was not interested in making it commercial; it thought this was just not worth it.

However, Apple did develop that GUI and WIMP tech further, and in fact hired away several engineers from PARC who were closely working on these projects. MS, OTH, stole the Mac OS lock, stock and barrel.