4 ms·

"The 'invention' of the GUI was a very long process, which, in my view, started with Ivan Sutherland's Sketchpad (1st generation GUI), and ended with the work d

"The 'invention' of the GUI was a very long process, which, in my view, started with Ivan Sutherland's Sketchpad (1st generation GUI), and ended with the work done at Xerox (3rd generation GUI)." The article loses credibility when it suggests that the invention of the GUI stops at Xerox, when Apple invented (among many other things) drag and drop, overlapping windows, a practical mouse (that could track diagonally, didn't break down, and did more with one button than xerox did with three). But what would I know? "The Macintosh was the first computer worth criticizing." Alan Kay I'm totally on board with apple not owning rounded rectangles, but Samsung's copying of Apple has extended to literally using Apple's UI graphics in store displays.

ajross 14y ago
> Samsung's copying of Apple has extended to literally using Apple's UI graphics in store displays This is new to me, cite? Obviously doing that would amount to cut and dry copyright violation, and Apple would be well within its rights to demand the in-store displays be removed. But this isn't a spit about clip art. They're claiming ownership of an increasingly nebulous idea of a "tablet" (it seems it's no longer just about the narrow design patent, or about the size, or aspect ratio, or curved corners). That's a different thing, and not at all related to what you're talking about.
- spiralpolitik 14y ago
  http://thenextweb.com/apple/2011/09/24/who-copies-who-samsung-store-display-re-uses-apple-icons/ http://thenextweb.com/apple/2011/09/24/who-copies-who-samsun... Last I checked the App Store and Safari were not available on Android. In fairness its a store within a store so the Samsung might not have been directly responsible.
- 2muchcoffeeman 14y ago
  Comment was referring to this: http://allthingsd.com/20110923/what-are-apples-icons-doing-on-samsungs-wall-of-apps/ http://allthingsd.com/20110923/what-are-apples-icons-doing-o...
radley 14y ago
For those of us in San Francisco, it's easy to connect Apple's store design to the early Sony Style store at the Metreon. The Apple Store is not a direct copy (at all) but it's easy to see how it was inspired.
Symmetry 14y ago
Xerox actually wasn't limited to non-overlapping windows, the Xerox Alto which was demoed to Apple had them, it was only the Xerox Star that was sold outside the company that couldn't manage those.
- Tloewald 14y ago
  Iirc when Andy Herzfeld demoed overlapping Windows with automagic clipping Xerox engineers were flabbergasted. Perhaps Xerox had overlapping windows but clipping was left to applications. In an event, speaking as someone who actually used Xerox's systems years after the Mac shipped, it was hugely inferior in all important respects to the original Mac UI -- any superficial similarities notwithstanding. Again, see Alan Kay's comment.
shawndumas 14y ago
http://www.mac-history.net/computer-history/2012-03-22/apple-and-xerox-parc http://www.mac-history.net/computer-history/2012-03-22/apple...
freehunter 14y ago
didn't break down I hardly think that reliability is an invention.
equalarrow 14y ago
> I'm totally on board with apple not owning rounded rectangles.. This isn't a question about Apple owning rounded rectangles - unless they happen to be phones and tablets. This rounded rectangle thing has gotten a little out of hand. It's easy to see why Samsung has framed it in this manner; because, of course, Apple couldn't 'own a rectangle with rounded corners', how absurd! Does that mean Apple owns tv remote controls, or keyboards or all the other rectangles with rounded corners on them?! But that's a false argument and analogy. Apple is not going after keyboards, tv remotes, etc. They are going after Samsung's copied phones and tablets. It's that simple and to dream up analogies is to try to derail the real issue. However, if some still feel that Samsung is an inventive company that would never outright steal any ideas, all you have to do is look at some of these examples: App store icons: http://obamapacman.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/Samsung-Mobile-Italy-store-copies-Apple-App-Store-Safari-Icons-Euronics-Centro-Sicilia-580x433.jpg http://obamapacman.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/Samsung-Mo... Black iphone cables: http://cdn.mactrast.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/Samsung-Apple-Cable-Copy.jpg http://cdn.mactrast.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/Samsung-A... Black iphone square charger: http://site.accessorygeeks.com/yswimages/samsung-micro-usb-data-cable-travel-adapter-etaou80jbe-blk.jpg http://site.accessorygeeks.com/yswimages/samsung-micro-usb-d... These are just a few things but it's pretty clear that Samsung has no problem just copying outright. I don't think they're going to win this trial and I don't think Apple is going to own all black rectangles.
- waterlesscloud 14y ago
  Innovation in moving rounded corners from tv remotes to phones == 0. None. At all. So why is it protected by a patent?

ajross 14y ago

> Samsung's copying of Apple has extended to literally using Apple's UI graphics in store displays This is new to me, cite? Obviously doing that would amount to cut and dry copyright violation, and Apple would be well within its rights to demand the in-store displays be removed. But this isn't a spit about clip art. They're claiming ownership of an increasingly nebulous idea of a "tablet" (it seems it's no longer just about the narrow design patent, or about the size, or aspect ratio, or curved corners). That's a different thing, and not at all related to what you're talking about.

spiralpolitik 14y ago
http://thenextweb.com/apple/2011/09/24/who-copies-who-samsung-store-display-re-uses-apple-icons/ http://thenextweb.com/apple/2011/09/24/who-copies-who-samsun... Last I checked the App Store and Safari were not available on Android. In fairness its a store within a store so the Samsung might not have been directly responsible.
2muchcoffeeman 14y ago
Comment was referring to this: http://allthingsd.com/20110923/what-are-apples-icons-doing-on-samsungs-wall-of-apps/ http://allthingsd.com/20110923/what-are-apples-icons-doing-o...

radley 14y ago

For those of us in San Francisco, it's easy to connect Apple's store design to the early Sony Style store at the Metreon. The Apple Store is not a direct copy (at all) but it's easy to see how it was inspired.

Symmetry 14y ago

Xerox actually wasn't limited to non-overlapping windows, the Xerox Alto which was demoed to Apple had them, it was only the Xerox Star that was sold outside the company that couldn't manage those.

Tloewald 14y ago
Iirc when Andy Herzfeld demoed overlapping Windows with automagic clipping Xerox engineers were flabbergasted. Perhaps Xerox had overlapping windows but clipping was left to applications. In an event, speaking as someone who actually used Xerox's systems years after the Mac shipped, it was hugely inferior in all important respects to the original Mac UI -- any superficial similarities notwithstanding. Again, see Alan Kay's comment.

shawndumas 14y ago

http://www.mac-history.net/computer-history/2012-03-22/apple-and-xerox-parc http://www.mac-history.net/computer-history/2012-03-22/apple...

freehunter 14y ago

didn't break down I hardly think that reliability is an invention.

equalarrow 14y ago

> I'm totally on board with apple not owning rounded rectangles.. This isn't a question about Apple owning rounded rectangles - unless they happen to be phones and tablets. This rounded rectangle thing has gotten a little out of hand. It's easy to see why Samsung has framed it in this manner; because, of course, Apple couldn't 'own a rectangle with rounded corners', how absurd! Does that mean Apple owns tv remote controls, or keyboards or all the other rectangles with rounded corners on them?! But that's a false argument and analogy. Apple is not going after keyboards, tv remotes, etc. They are going after Samsung's copied phones and tablets. It's that simple and to dream up analogies is to try to derail the real issue. However, if some still feel that Samsung is an inventive company that would never outright steal any ideas, all you have to do is look at some of these examples: App store icons: http://obamapacman.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/Samsung-Mobile-Italy-store-copies-Apple-App-Store-Safari-Icons-Euronics-Centro-Sicilia-580x433.jpg http://obamapacman.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/Samsung-Mo... Black iphone cables: http://cdn.mactrast.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/Samsung-Apple-Cable-Copy.jpg http://cdn.mactrast.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/Samsung-A... Black iphone square charger: http://site.accessorygeeks.com/yswimages/samsung-micro-usb-data-cable-travel-adapter-etaou80jbe-blk.jpg http://site.accessorygeeks.com/yswimages/samsung-micro-usb-d... These are just a few things but it's pretty clear that Samsung has no problem just copying outright. I don't think they're going to win this trial and I don't think Apple is going to own all black rectangles.

waterlesscloud 14y ago
Innovation in moving rounded corners from tv remotes to phones == 0. None. At all. So why is it protected by a patent?