By : Ashley Quinn
That case was a big deal back in 1994.
The Mac OS and Windows were still in their
infancy
Apple lost decisively, with a Federal appellate
court deciding that Microsoft had not infringed
on Apple’s copyrighted “look and feel” of the
Mac OS.
When Apple first sued Microsoft for infringing on the look and feel of the
Mac OS the Board of Directors felt sure Apple would win. In fact, the
board was counting on the lawsuit to fix some of Apple's ills.
Apple argued, basically, that the GUI operating system was property of
Apple. Microsoft countered by citing a letter that allowed Microsoft to use
some Apple technology in exchange for certain programming concessions.
The lawsuit dragged on for six years, from 1988 to 1994.
The courts took a careful look at Apple's claim, decided that Apple had
licensed Microsoft to use innovations such as overlapping Windows and
sent Apple packing this week in August of 1993 (pending appeal).
Steve Jobs returned to Apple, and a year after that
Microsoft invested $150 million in Apple to keep it
from going under.
System and Method for Managing Power Conditions within a
Digital Camera Device
Granted in 1999, this patent is surprisingly broad -- it flatly
covers managing power in a digital camera device to a power
manager that sends state information to a processor controlling
the camera.
Automated Response To And Sensing Of User Activity In
Portable Devices
The real battle for the desktop isn't between Mac OS X and Vista, but
rather between Apple's Mac and the Windows-based products offered by
PC hardware makers.
Apple is competing against Microsoft's offerings, but it's not a retail
software battle. Apple is using its integrated software to eat up the prime
portions of the PC hardware market.
As PC makers fight to offer the cheapest boxes online and in big box retail
stores, Apple is expanding its share of the market by building its own,
smaller retail stores where users get a better buying experience and better
support.
Apple is also targeting products to what consumers want, not just
producing what is easy to build.
The latest video of HP’s
forthcoming Slate, the small Tablet
PC that made its debut in January at
CES.
Most people don’t remember that
HP was a co-defendant with
Microsoft in that long-ago lawsuit.
The alleged offense (dismissed on
virtually all counts) was copyright
infringement on the part of HP’s
NewWave operating environment, a
shell for Windows 3.1.
And now, 16 years later, HP is
building an alternate shell for its
new slate PC, to run on top of
Windows 7, a direct competitor to
the iPad.
Today’s video is a fascinating sneak peek at HP’s latest
attempt to add its own interface on top of Windows.
Despite being only 30 seconds long, the video rolls out a
laundry list of features that differentiates the new HP Slate,
clearly, from the iPad.
For starters, the new device has two cameras—a webcam
facing the user, a still/video camera facing out. You can
shoot videos and upload them to Facebook, or have a
Skype video conversation. Either action is simply
impossible on a first-generation iPad.
HP’s Slate has the kind of expansion options that an iPad
doesn’t have, such as a slot for SD memory cards and a
USB adapter. In the video, HP uses that USB port, ironically,
to connect a device using Apple’s trademark white USB
cable, with iTunes running on the Slate beneath it.
An awful lot has changed since 1994. Apple’s name,
for starters they dropped the Computers part a couple
years ago.
Apple’s management was inept in 1994 and is pure
genius today. And then there’s the balance of power.
That 1994 loss sent Apple into a downward spiral and
set Microsoft up for its defeat in U.S. v Microsoft seven
years later.
Today, Apple has all the momentum, with a certified
mega-hit in the iPhone and a promising start for the
iPad.
Apple unveiled its own version of the slate called
iPad while Microsoft unveiled Hp slate earlier in
this year.
The iPad may have higher platform but
Microsoft HP slate
still has a chance in
terms of functionality
& added features.
April 2, 2010, Apple launched iPad, their new
product for the tablet market.
April 1, 2010, HP announced the availability
details of Slate which is new Windows 7 slate
PC, which was first demonstrated during the
Microsoft CES 2010 keynote.
According to Steve Jobs, the reason for iPad’s
existence is to beat both smartphones and
laptops
With such a mission the Apple iPad will likely
walk down the same road as the iPhone
We all know what a netbook can and can't do
and now the time has finally come to figure
out what the Apple iPad can and can't do:
Browsing
Email
Photos
Video & Music
Games
eBooks & Newspapers
One remaining bit of illusion is that Apple simply can't
compare to the heavyweights that control the industry because
of its "small market share."
A comparison of Apple's market capitalization--the value of
the company assigned by investors in the market--helps to
explain why Apple can't be ignored.
Steve Jobs have openly discussed Apple’s plans to become a
greener Apple. It will not be the last. We plan to bring other
environmental issues to the table as well, such as the energy
efficiency of the products in our industry.
We are beginning to explore the overall carbon “footprint” of our
products, and may have some interesting data and issues to share
later this year.
Apple actually is removing toxic chemicals from its products and
recycling its older products.
Apple is already a leader in innovation and engineering, and we
are applying these same talents to become an environmental
leader.