The photocopiers have been in overdrive in Cupertino

[ChazUK]

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Well, I've just set up iOS5 and the drop down bar makes me feel quite at home as an Android user.

The top bar notifications aren't bad at all and manage to be different and similar to Android at the same time. It really is nice to have decent notifications on iOS tho.

Apple may have inadvertently made it easier for Android users to feel at home with iOS 5.

 

[kdarling]

Apple may have inadvertently made it easier for Android users to feel at home with iOS 5.

More like deliberately made it easier for Android users to move over / come back.

 

[ChazUK]

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Apple may have inadvertently made it easier for Android users to feel at home with iOS 5.

Or deliberately made it easier.

Apple always claims that they don't do focus groups, or cater to passing consumer whims, but the Twitter integration speech at WWDC specifically talked about how many people use that service.

I was trying to be less sinister, but you probably are right.

 

[maflynn]

Apple really didn't show us anything new this WWDC, did they?

Depends on your perspective. Aside from cloud buzzword what we see is a reboot of the mobileme service and thus being rebanded with the now cooler cloud name. I can't say if iCloud will be better the mobileme, but its hard to imagine it being worse. My only concern is whether I'll lose my .mac email address.

The second bit of big news was iOS which admittedly played catch up to Android. Sadly it did not leap frog android in terms of features.

Finally we have Lion which I'm not sure if its really earth shattering. I think its more of the ipadification of OSX and what killed it for me was the app store download only purchase requirement. I'll stick on 10.6 as long as I can and then if I have to, windows. There is so much feature parity that I see no reason to stick with OSX if apple fails to provide benefits to aide my work flow.

I can't say I was disappointed but I'm pleased to see apple catching up and providing the features I gotten used to when I was on an android phone. I hope I don't have to deal with an email change from @mac.com to @icloud.com.

 

[*LTD*]

More like deliberately made it easier for Android users to move over / come back.

Good point.

Once certain features make it into iOS and are then given the "Apple treatment", there's much less reason to choose the competition's products, especially when there are so many negatives left to deal with - fragmentation, malware, unpolished UI, etc.

Apple did the same thing to RIM with iMessage. Where before users had to put up with a lot of trade-offs in order to enjoy certain features on Android, there's no longer any need to make compromises.

Once features already available elsewhere make it into iOS they work better, look better, and are more enjoyable to use. Apple's implementation of notifications, for instance, is much better thought-out than what we find in Android.

You can now have better-implemented notifications and BBM-like messaging within the Apple ecosystem (which means a superior User Experience), so why even bother choosing anything else? Users can now have all the goodness that's a part of the iPhone, plus whatever other features - just better implemented in iOS - that used to make the competition more compelling.

Very clever.

Apple didn't actually copy anything here. They took a set of ideas and made them look and work the way they should, on an Apple device. That last part's the kicker.

That's a pretty bad deal all around for (in this case) Android and RIM.

 

[KingCrimson]

It's not that Apple copies competitors, it's that they take their half-baked ideas and perfect them.

 

[roadbloc]

Apple didn't actually copy anything here. They took a set of ideas and made them look and work the way they should, on an Apple device. That last part's the kicker.

What I find most interesting is that the way it should work on an Apple device just so happens to be the exact same way they do on Android phones.

You drag a slider-jobby thing downwards to see notifications on both mobile OS's. The only difference I can see on iOS, is a fabric texture on it and the notifications are ordered differently. If that is the hight of Apple's apparent innovation when they 'took them set of ideas' (which pretty much means they copied features), then God help Apple.

 

[OllyW]

Apple didn't actually copy anything here. They took a set of ideas and made them look and work the way they should, on an Apple device. That last part's the kicker.

Your delusion seems to be growing at a similar rate to Apple's profits.

 

[dukebound85]

Apple didn't actually copy anything here. They took a set of ideas and made them look and work the way they should, on an Apple device. That last part's the kicker.

How can you say that with a straight face?

We all know if Android pulled this move instead of Apple, you would be all up in Google saying they stole Apple's ip and whatnot and should be sued to oblivion

Quite amusing to read nonetheless lol

 

[G4er?]

It's not that Apple copies competitors, it's that they take their half-baked ideas and perfect them.

Apple has had enough time. Where the heck is my mid sized monitor less desktop Mac!!!

 

[*LTD*]

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It's not that Apple copies competitors, it's that they take their half-baked ideas and perfect them.

This. Whenever something is given the "Apple treatment", it gets better/easier/more enjoyable.

This is the real fear - whether in the background or in the forefront - felt by Apple's competitors. Apple has no such fear, quite frankly. Leave certain features out of Apple devices, and they still sell like mad, because what *is* already in there is done to perfection, usually in terms of the UI and the smooth experience thanks to the software and hardware designed for each other.

Your Hyundai may have leather seats. Put them in an Aston Martin, however, and they become art.

If iOS is indeed the highest and best iteration of a mobile OS across all devices (which it currently is), then feature cross-pollination into iOS is bad news for the also-rans.

 

[Rodimus Prime]

Good point.

Once certain features make it into iOS and are then given the "Apple treatment", there's much less reason to choose the competition's products, especially when there are so many negatives left to deal with - fragmentation, malware, unpolished UI, etc.

Apple did the same thing to RIM with iMessage. Where before users had to put up with a lot of trade-offs in order to enjoy certain features on Android, there's no longer any need to make compromises.

Once features already available elsewhere make it into iOS they work better, look better, and are more enjoyable to use. Apple's implementation of notifications, for instance, is much better thought-out than what we find in Android.

You can now have better-implemented notifications and BBM-like messaging within the Apple ecosystem (which means a superior User Experience), so why even bother choosing anything else? Users can now have all the goodness that's a part of the iPhone, plus whatever other features - just better implemented in iOS - that used to make the competition more compelling.

Very clever.

Apple didn't actually copy anything here. They took a set of ideas and made them look and work the way they should, on an Apple device. That last part's the kicker.

That's a pretty bad deal all around for (in this case) Android and RIM.

Translatetion. Apple and Apple fanboys are huge bunch of hypocrites.

Come on *LTD* this is even pathetic for your level of fanboyism

 

[rien333]

Why does it have to be copying? Maybe it is just a good a way do something that others implanted earlier then Apple did. Why do all the cars have their engines on the frontside and not on the backside? Not because they were copying each other but just because it is a better way of doing it. Maybe it is not a good example but I hope that you guys can get my point.

 

[OllyW]

Why does it have to be copying? Maybe it is just a good a way do something that others implanted earlier then Apple did. Why do all the cars have their engines on the frontside and not on the backside? Not because they were copying each other but just because it is a better way of doing it. Maybe it is not a good example but I hope that you guys can get my point.

Then why is it treated differently when other companies use an idea that Apple has already implemented?

 

[TheSideshow]

Then why is it treated differently when other companies use an idea that Apple has already implemented?

Quoted to get an answer. People aren't bashing Apple for copying so much as they are pointing out that Apple seems to get a pass when it takes features. Whereas other companies would have been beaten to death by MacRumors/Blogs.

Look at the Windows 8 article here for a nice example where Microsoft didnt copy anything yet they tried to draw parallelism to the iPad.


Microsoft Previews Windows 8 with Cues from iPad and App Store

 

[KingCrimson]

99.99999% of Apple users don't care.

 

[*LTD*]

You expect an answer? LOL you can *expect* it all day, doesn't mean you'll get one. And who is "we"? Who do you presume to speak for around here aside from yourself?

But I'll indulge.

Fair play to Apple. Fair friggin play. They've been ripped off in the mobile space since 2007 more times than anyone can count. They're singlehandedly responsible for your enjoyment of your Android touchscreen phone with all that app goodness. Ditto Windows Phone 2007. They're singlehandedly responsible for coming out of nowhere and shoving all of us into the next mobile age, while Ballmer and Ed Zander and the fools at Nokia laughed their asses off. And now Apple's showing the way into the post-PC era with the iPad. Apple's been doing everyone else's damn R&D in this space for years. So fair play to Apple.

If Apple were to actually follow up with all the violations and infringements on their IP that have taken place since the original iPhone was shown to the world, and put substantial resources behind the effort, half the mobile industry would collapse and we'd see injunction after injunction against god knows how many vendors - massive shifts in mobile strategy from the also-rans, starting with "look-and-feel", trade dress violations, etc.

Google, by the way, is THE MAIN infringer in this space, along with their hardware partners. They make Microsoft look like Ned Flanders. Android is a vast agglomeration of ripped-off tech hiding behind the "open" moniker. With ads.

Here's an example of what's just around the corner:

http://fosspatents.blogspot.com/2011/06/oracle-wants-huge-cut-of-googles-mobile.html

“One of the best-kept secrets in the patent dispute between Oracle and Google is what Oracle demands in terms of compensation for past damages and on which terms (monetary and other conditions) Oracle might allow Google to continue to distribute its Dalvik virtual machine as a result of a settlement or, alternatively, if Oracle prevailed in court and obtained an injunction,” Florian Mueller reports for FOSS Patents.

“For the first time in this entire lawsuit (which began almost ten months ago), a publicly accessible document provides, despite some blackened passages, a pretty good indication as to how demanding Oracle is,” Mueller reports. “I have analyzed the situation and I can tell you up-front: the word ‘demanding’ is an understatement. The position on damages for past infringement taken by an Oracle expert appears to be such that Oracle would want Google to pay damages for past infringement that would in the worst case far exceed any money Google has made with Android so far — and would likely expect Google to pay even more going forward.

Mueller reports, “The two companies are not just miles but light years apart, and it could very well be that a defeat in court would require Google to make fundamental changes to its Dalvik virtual machine — changes that would likely affect many if not all existing Dalvik-based (.DEX) applications. But even in purely financial terms, there’s serious doubt as to whether Google would be able to meet Oracle’s requirements while continuing to make Android available without charging a per-copy license fee.”

“Interestingly, Google itself admits that it could have done a license deal with Sun (apparently before it was acquired by Oracle) but rejected its terms,” Mueller reports. “That refusal could now prove one of the worst mistakes in Google’s 13-year history as a company.”

Aside from that tidbit, the point is Apple just bit Google and everyone else square in the ass by shoving one of their key features into iOS, thus turning it into an Apple-ified feature. This will have (if it hasn't already) the net effect of nullifying its existence on non-Apple devices until the also rans manage to change or improve it.

And I'm happy they did this, after being ripped left and right continuously since 2007. It's about damn time.

What you *will not* see, however, is anyone working up the guts to go after Apple on this - especially Google. That's one Pandora's box they know is best left unopened. Oracle already has their foot in the door. Who else is next?

Fair play indeed.

 

[Rodimus Prime]

You expect an answer? LOL you can *expect* it all day, doesn't mean you'll get one. And who is "we"? Who do you presume to speak for around here aside from yourself?

But I'll indulge.

blah blah blah standard covering Apple hypocritical stuff

So Apple is a bunch of hypocritical people and you are just trying to cover for them.
You did not answer the question. Instead you cover for them. *LTD* You and apple have lost all right to say anyone else copying and even it is funny watching people like you scramble and not answer the question. Simple fact is Apple is just as bad of a copy cat as everyone else.

I truly funny that Apple was talking about themselves when they said 2011 was year of copy cats.

 

[chugg]

Gotta hand it to LTD. A huge post that completely dodges the question and at the same time manages to sound like Apple advertising and rhetoric.

 

[LethalWolfe]

Steve Jobs then:

I mean Picasso had a saying he said good artists copy great artists steal. And we have always been shameless about stealing great ideas.

Steve Jobs now:

"We can sit by and watch competitors steal our patented inventions, or we can do something about it. We've decided to do something about it," said Steve Jobs, Apple's CEO. "We think competition is healthy, but competitors should create their own original technology, not steal ours."

It's the defensive denial of the obvious by the 'loyal' that I find so humorous. It reminds me of a joke I heard from a SCUBA instructor once, "There are people that pee in their wetsuits and there are people that lie about peeing in their wetsuits."


Lethal

 

[Claefer]

I find it funny. Apple must of been talking about themselves when they said 2011 was the year of the copy cats.

You're being very disingenuous.

 

[maflynn]

You're being very disingenuous.

I think he nailed that quote. Don't throw stones if you live in glass houses. Job's chided the industry for copying apple, yet when apple copies the industry its ok.

Lets call a spade a spade, apple being arrogant continually states how they innovate and how others copy/steal. Now that they blatantly ripped off android the fanboys come out of the wood work doing logical gymnastics to justify apple's copying

 

[KnightWRX]

I think he nailed that quote. Don't throw stones if you live in glass houses. Job's chided the industry for copying apple, yet when apple copies the industry its ok.

Lets call a spade a spade, apple being arrogant continually states how they innovate and how others copy/steal. Now that they blatantly ripped off android the fanboys come out of the wood work doing logical gymnastics to justify apple's copying

Apple corporate has always been a bunch of hypocrites. Where do you think the "Reality Distortion Field" or "RDF" thing came about ? Anyone who is surprised in 2011 about Apple ripping off ideas from other while doing their darndest to sue/publicly humiliate others doing the same thing hasn't been around Apple for long.

 

[thejadedmonkey]

I think it's even more than that WRX, I don't know if you've noticed but the RDF used to be used all of the time. People were so excited about Apple's iMovie (a full fledged movie editor for less that $100!), iPod (1000 songs in your pocket!) or the new PowerBook G4, (with a high-res 1440x900 screen!). We knew it wasn't the best, but it was unique, and exciting all the same.

To see a thread titled "The photocopiers have been in overdrive in Cupertino" - with so much support no less - shows that Apple is really falling. Don't get me wrong, they're still "hip", but the fanbase that they had back in the early 2000's is long gone, replaced by the coffee shop hipsters.

If you want a better example, look at the Mac Pro section, and you'll see how there's no RDF going on in there either anymore - and they used to be the bread and butter of Apple, back when it was a PC company, touting the corporate line that the IBM PPC G5 is 2x as fast as a comparably clocked intel CPU.

 

[garybUK]

If you want a better example, look at the Mac Pro section, and you'll see how there's no RDF going on in there either anymore - and they used to be the bread and butter of Apple, back when it was a PC company, touting the corporate line that the IBM PPC G5 is 2x as fast as a comparably clocked intel CPU.

This. also look at why iPod's and iPhone's needed a computer... to get people to buy into the computers remember the 'Halo' effect? now it's the other way round.

I used to be one of the biggest fan's, got the original iPod firewire, Powerbooks, Mac Pro's, I had the iPhone 1, several iPods. Apple are a arrogant company becoming the bullies of the industry, just as Microsoft was once seen. I remember the days when Microsoft were the new IBM it was cool to hate them. This is becoming Apple. Every company has their time at the top and unfortunately they are going to alienate themselves from the rest of the industry....... this is dangerous seeing as Apple don't actually make anything!