If Android is a "stolen product," then so was the iPhone
arstechnica.com
If Android is a "stolen product," then so was the iPhone
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Re: If Android is a "stolen product," then so was the iPhone
#2By the way, a much better and more detailed commentary can be found here: http://www.billbuxton.com/multitouchOverview.html
Bill Buxton is currently a Research Scientist at MSR and he more than knows what he's talking about.
Re: If Android is a "stolen product," then so was the iPhone
#3If you focus only on the single feature that is multi-touch, sure, but it's the entire package that likely pissed Jobs off.
Pre-iPhone, Android's demo phones looked like a BlackBerry clone: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Android_mobile_phone_platf...
Re: If Android is a "stolen product," then so was the iPhone
#4I'm not sure anyone is arguing the iPhone invented all these individual technologies, and if anyone is claiming that, they shouldn't be as the evidence is overwhelming to the contrary.
I think the real meat of the argument is "iPhone synthesized all those individual pieces into something coherent and incredible.". It's kind of like how the Macintosh and Lisa took the ideas from PARC, perfected them, and turned them into a real product. I think the stink is being made that Android is copying that aspect of the iPhone, instead of just a piece or two.
Maybe that's not what's actually being argued, but that's what I think should be argued at least.
Re: If Android is a "stolen product," then so was the iPhone
#5I'm not sure anyone is arguing the iPhone invented all these individual technologies, and if anyone is claiming that, they shouldn't be as the evidence is overwhelming to the contrary. I think the real meat of the argument is "iPhone synthesized all those individual pieces into something coherent and incredible.". It's kind of like how the Macintosh and Lisa took the ideas from PARC, perfected them, and turned them i…
"I'm not sure anyone is arguing the iPhone invented all these individual technologies, and if anyone is claiming that, they shouldn't be as the evidence is overwhelming to the contrary."
Isn't that what the current legal battle over slide to unlock is over? I'll be the first to agree that the iPhone put all the pieces together, but it seems like every other week there's a new lawsuit over some iPhone or Android feature that is more of a common sense thing and probably shouldn't have been granted a patent.
Re: If Android is a "stolen product," then so was the iPhone
#6Ars is getting worse.
Re: If Android is a "stolen product," then so was the iPhone
#7I'm not sure anyone is arguing the iPhone invented all these individual technologies, and if anyone is claiming that, they shouldn't be as the evidence is overwhelming to the contrary. I think the real meat of the argument is "iPhone synthesized all those individual pieces into something coherent and incredible.". It's kind of like how the Macintosh and Lisa took the ideas from PARC, perfected them, and turned them i…
I mean, do we really want to support synthesis of other people's work as something that can be protected legally?
Especially when most development nowadays is clicking cogs together anyways?
This doesn't seem like a meme we should seek to perpetuate.
Re: If Android is a "stolen product," then so was the iPhone
#8Steve Jobs saying he's going to spend billions and billions on frivolous lawsuits should make still independent developers wary about getting boxed into his walled "ecosystem". Perhaps it's time to revise the laws on "thought property" to declaw the patent and copyright industries. We need more competition, not more "I have a lot of money therefore I get even more money" monopolies. Geez. Patent law is just turning into a subsidy for Silicon Valley.
Re: If Android is a "stolen product," then so was the iPhone
#9> Jobs called Android a "stolen product," but theft can be a tricky concept when talking about innovation.
This article is heartily missing the point.
Android is basically a stolen product. It's a direct successor and competitor to the iPhone, and the direction of Android in it's current form has been and is extremely influenced by what Apple has been doing.
Sure, the iPhone is a bunch of "stolen" technologies and ideas, but Apple brought them together to make something great in a way that had never been done before. What Apple did took vision, discipline, and execution. That is what Apple brought to the table, and that is what innovation is.
Nobody was making products that resembled the iPhone before Apple, but now everyone is trying.
We don't need to get all emotional about this. This doesn't have anything to do with the quality of the products, it's just the history about how this stuff came about. You are still free to like Android or WebOS or iOS or whatever you want. It's fine. Just recognize innovation for what it is.
Re: If Android is a "stolen product," then so was the iPhone
#10If you focus only on the single feature that is multi-touch, sure, but it's the entire package that likely pissed Jobs off. Pre-iPhone, Android's demo phones looked like a BlackBerry clone: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Android_mobile_phone_platf...
Apple did not invent multitouch however they did invent how it was used to make a phone with a very specific interface that was then copied feature for feature by Google who had intimate knowledge of its design.