| Impulsivity said: I know a lot of people on the microsoft defense train like to avoid facts (since MS ALWAYS comes up shady when facts are involved) but Apple paid Xerox for the right to the technology, primarily by allowing Xerox to buy shares at a lower prefered rate (and providing millions in other forms of compensation) which was a good deal for Xerox since they were pretty much mothballing their GUI project.
Alternately MS did not pay anyone for Windows, they didn't pay apple (in fact they took the macs and aped them after promising not to explicitly), they didn't pay Xerox, they just copied and went on. This apple and MS are the same thing is bull. Apple has revolutionized multiple markets with original ideas over and over, while there has not been an original MS idea pretty much ever (ok maybe the sphere, but who the hell wants that?) PDAs? Apple Newton, touch screen on a PDA/phone again Newton then Iphone, functional consumer GUI and mouse? mac, consumer PCs? Apple II, touch screen phone interface? Iphone. every big feature in Windows 7, particularly the icon task bar? OS X There are a few things like hard drive MP3 players they weren't the first on the scene with, but they are undoubtedly better at it then their competition in those cases. I can't think of an instance where MS entered an established market with a superior product either. IE was not at all superior to Netscape, Windows mobile blows, Windows has been way behind Mac OS X for years and the Zune is a rip off of ipods from 3+ years ago in pretty much every way. That's not even including video games where pretty much everything has been a copy (yes even xbox live, anyone who had a dreamcast knows Seganet was first on that too). When they enter new markets they do so with an inferior product, usually with reliatilibty issues (see the zunes not working on certain days, the 360 overheating, vista crapping out on countless millions, huge gaping security holes ect). So yah, they are not the same company AT ALL, I have no idea why people try to paint them with the same brush. |
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=950DE7DE1E39F936A25751C1A96F948260
The Xerox Corporation filed suit here today against Apple Computer Inc., accusing it of unlawfully using Xerox copyrights in its Macintosh and Lisa computers.
Xerox contends that the Lisa and Macintosh software stems from work originally done by Xerox scientists and that it was used by Apple without permission.
Apple NEVER paid XEROX a dime. Apple outright stole it. However the case I mentioned was thrown out because of statue of limitations. It was the result of a suit by Apple against HP and MS and the court only found that HP had violated apples IP with the trash Icon otehr than that apple lost its case.
Xerox had a monopoly status in the 70s and its ability to protect its IP was severly limited. The people I know who worked on PARC stated many times they were mad because XEROX did not properly protect itself and allowed for the apples and MSs of the world to encroach.
The Mouse and GUI were developed by PARC...Xerox's mouse even had 2 buttons.... The mouse had been around since the early 70's and liek everything else Apple gutted the mouse and GUI took away features and sold it as there own.
The PDA phone had been around for a long time before the IPhone I know because I used them. I was even able to get full internet not the mobile internet because of Opera. The Spotlight and Widget features in 10.4 on was in the longhorne betas in 2002 before even 10.3 came out and was available as a download before for XP in 2003 though it was buggy then.
Both Apple and MS and pretty much any copany buys up IPs from smaller company's. Example Coverflow. I use both OS X and Windows. I prefer the Windows enviroment but some programs I like are available only on the Mac like FCP. It all depends on wat I am working on.
Just a fast Edit because I don't want to be the mindless fanboy giving credit to the wrong people. THe Mouse was actually developed in the 60's at Stanford.
