Linked by Thom Holwerda on Thu 11th Aug 2011 09:33 UTC
Day 2 is underway in the Apple v. Samsung case in The Netherlands, a microcosm of what would have happened in Germany, had Germany implemented the concept of due process. Most interesting bit so far? Samsung is using the Knight Ridder tablet from 1994 as a case of prior art. I was unaware of this device, but be sure to watch the video - this is an iPad. Amazing. This doesn't actually surprise me though - my father worked at a large newspaper company his entire life until he retired a few years ago, and in the early '90s, he already attended demonstrations of devices like this, taking home promotional material that amazed my child brain. This was supposed to be the future of newspapers, until development on these kinds of devices suddenly halted - my father never understood why. Update: Forgot to mention that like yesterday, Andreas Udo de Haes, editor at WebWereld.nl, present in the court room, is covering this. This time, in English. Update II: Samsung has presented 20 cases of prior art for both tablets and smartphones. Update III: I'm liking Samsung's lawyers.
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Member since:2006-06-21
[...]it's how all these things are combined and presented that make the difference. This is a poor example of "prior art".
You're missing something: we're not talking functionality. This case is not based on patents. It's based on looks.
The Knight Ridder (and many other devices) look very much like the iPad and preceed it by many years. That makes it excellent prior art from the design viewpoint.
The Community Designs in the EU are currently stupid. Apple is abusing a very broken system. I hope the decision gets overturned and the designs system overhauled. Not sure if Apple can get slapped with a fine (after all, they were using an existing system within the rules and law of the EU, it's not like they did anything illegal) -- but I'd sure like that.
They're not content with having the best product, they're not content with making incredible amounts of money, now they want to kill competition completely? That's crossing the line; they went from "justifiably arrogant" into "insane megalomaniac" territory.
However, I don't believe Jobs is insane or stupid. So I'm chucking this down as a strategic move. Even if they get a hefty fine, Apple can afford it (got tons of cash). What they wanted is to slow down the spread of the Samsung Tab and they achieved that. It will take Samsung months to get their 10" tablets moving again, possibly missing the 2011 Xmas.
Edited 2011-08-12 08:50 UTC
Features
Linked by David Adams on 05/16/13 4:23 UTC
OSNews is a sponsor of this year's O'Reilly OSCON in Portland, Oregon, USA. A lucky OSNews reader will win a free three-day pass, including two tutorials days. To win the pass, post a comment on this story saying something about Open Source Software or OSCON. We'll pick a winner at random next week. If you don't have an OSNews account, you may email us your entry. Part of the conference is the 9th annual Open Source Awards, and today the 16th is the deadline for nominations. If you'd like to nominate an outstanding open source contributor, do it here. Read on for more information about OSCON. Update: The 20% discount code for OSNews readers is "OSN."
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/11/13 21:41 UTC
"Windows is indeed slower than other operating systems in many scenarios, and the gap is worsening." That's one way to start an insider explanation of why Windows' performance isn't up to snuff. Written by someone who actually contributes code to the Windows NT kernel, the comment on Hacker News, later deleted but reposted with permission on Marc Bevand's blog, paints a very dreary picture of the state of Windows development. The root issue? Think of how Linux is developed, and you'll know the answer.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/08/13 14:22 UTC
This is one of those news items that's fun to write, fun to read, fun to comment on, and where no one will be able to say anything unkind. It's all just one big ball of awesome fluffiness. TuneTracker, the BeOS radio automation software, has just released something very special: TuneTracker System 5, the first version designed entirely and specifically for Haiku. In fact, it actually includes Haiku in the software package. Better yet, TuneTracker also unveiled several system-in-a-box products - which have Haiku and TuneTracker pre-installed.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/02/13 15:28 UTC
Exactly twenty years ago, a document was published that played a huge role in establishing the web as we know it today. Twenty years later, and this simple and straightforward document is proof of an irrefutable fact: while closed technologies can change markets, open technologies can change the world.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 04/29/13 21:06 UTC
Oh multitasking. That staple of computing that got thrown out the window with many modern smartphones. We got some rudimentary thing in its place - but even as multitasking on phone and tablets improves, its user-visible side remains cumbersome. Windows 8 has a neat implementation, and now it's time Android follows in it footsteps.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 04/24/13 22:24 UTC
They're here! Whether that excites you or not remains to be seen, but the Galaxy S4, which will most likely become the best selling Android smartphone of the year by a huge margin, has been reviewed by all the major sites, and there's lots of interesting conclusions in there - although I think most of you will get the gist.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 04/18/13 11:21 UTC
Nokia has posted its quarterly results for the first quarter of 2013, and just like the quarters that came before, there's not a whole lot of good news in there. The rise in Lumia sales still can't even dream of making up for the sales drop in Symbian phones, and when broken down in versions, the sales figures for Windows Phone 8 Lumias in particular are very disappointing. In North America, Nokia is getting slaughtered.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 04/16/13 9:29 UTC
The day has finally come: Google has started shipping Google Glass to the lucky few early adopters. Now that it's shipping, Google has also unveiled a lot more about the API and the specifications of the device itself. While the company had already given out substantial details at earlier occasions, there are still a few surprises here.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 04/15/13 22:44 UTC
Almost exactly three years ago, I wrote about why OSNews was no longer OSNews: the alternative operating system scene had died, and OSNews, too, had to go with the times and move towards reporting on a new wave of operating systems - mobile, and all the repercussions that the explosion of smartphones and tablets have caused. Still, I was wondering something today: why aren't we seeing alternative operating systems on mobile?
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 04/14/13 18:22 UTC, submitted by MOS6510
You can say what you will about Windows Phone and Windows 8's Metro interface (I refuse to drop that name) - it's inefficient, unpopular, cumbersome, beautiful, ugly, organised, clean, limiting - but there's one thing we can all agree on: it's unique and distinctive. CNet has published a profile of Microsoft's Albert Shum, the man behind Metro, and he highlights what I think is at the very core of Microsoft's problems in mobile right now.More Features »
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2009-01-24
"this is an iPad"
What I see by watching that Knight Ridder video is a pen based e-reader. The iPad is the sum of it features and how they are implemented. This covers the physical design, interface design, the ability to run apps and browse the web with finger input and respond to other physical senors such as the accelerometer, gyroscope, proximity, voice, etc.... it's how all these things are combined and presented that make the difference. This is a poor example of "prior art". A windows based tablet would make a better subject but of course that is not an iPad either. Maybe they should just show a few classic Star Trek episodes.
That said, I strongly believe all software and process patents should be abolished - pure evil.
Edited 2011-08-12 02:29 UTC