Sometimes you’re better off losing than winning…

Will Pope Francis have the vision to tackle this?

by Hannah Harborow

110
Advocating risk management is not “victim blaming”

by Sarrah Le Marquand

210
Defeating bullying one child at a time

by Peter James

310
Why can’t I be pope?

by Xavier Toby

410
My democratic dilemma after the death of a despot

by Gabriel Pizani

510
Punch on: Open thread 14/03/2013

by The Punch Team

610
Atheist church’s faithless flock proves value of religion

by Sam Clench

710
There’s no such thing as a free bus ticket

by Jessica Irvine

810
Politicians can’t control the economy

by Albert Alla

910
How far do the National Rifle Association’s sights focus?

by Scott Limbrick

1010

by Anthony Sharwood

10 Jul 11:40am

Must Reads

The Punch is moving house

385

Will Pope Francis have the vision to tackle this?

122

Advocating risk management is not “victim blaming”

251

Filed under: Ipad, Samsung Galaxy, Tablets, Technology

95 comments

Oh, the ignominy. The sheer, utter humiliation. Samsung go to court to prove their tablets aren’t a blatant rip-off of Apple’s iPad, and what does the British judge say?

She'll be Apples… though not quite Apples enough to get into trouble

The judge says they win. He agrees that their products are not the same as Apple’s. He says, and I quote: “They do not have the same understated and extreme simplicity which is possessed by the Apple design.”

And then he says, in what must have felt like a belligerent, ungloved slap across Samsung’s corporate face: “They are not as cool”.

Ouch. Poor old Samsung. In the techo world, there is no greater insult that being called uncool. It’s the ultimate putdown. It’s like when American Idol judge Simon Cowell used to tell warbling contestants “you’d be lucky to sing in the piano bar of a Holiday Inn”.

Apple has been playing the cool card since 1984, when it famously showed us, with the aid of an ‘80s chick in short shorts, that the year 1984 wouldn’t be like George Orwell’s 1984.

Then in the era before the iDevice and the supreme coolness of pretty much everything designed in Steve Jobs’s twilight years, there was that series of Mac vs PC ads.

In that campaign, the Mac was represented by a dude in a T-shirt, while the PC was personified by a middle aged schmuck in an ill-fitting grey suit*.

Yes, Apple have been cool for a long time and still are, even if there are now countless gizmos, many of them cheaper, which do pretty much exactly what the iThingos do and look the same.

Similar court cases will soon be heard in Germany and the Netherlands. Samsung should hope they actually lose this time. Bugger the legal ramifications. The payoff from the coolness will more than compensate.

And by the way, if they do lose they should remind themselves that there’s nothing that wrong with being a copycat. After all, as Steve Jobs himself said, “Creativity is just connecting things”.

*Author’s note: at least the uncool guy in the ad didn’t have the usual symbol of total loserdom: baldness.

Share post:
Print page:
- Print Article

95 comments

Show oldest | newest first

- Cobbler says:
  
  11:59am | 10/07/12
  
  How absurd. Apple have done nothing but rip-off everyone elses designs for year, dumb it down, claim it’s idiot proof and then resell it at 200% the price.
  
  For them to start doing this puts their flagship phones and ipods at pretty big risk of being banned since they were old news when they came into being.
  
  Reply
Ohcomeon says:

12:14pm | 10/07/12

Who did Apple rip off? Tablets were garbage before the Ipad, I used pretty much every version of windows mobile tablets, and they all sucked.

Apple simply make excellent appliances. But I wouldnt touch their computers with a barge pole, unless I have to for work.
Meph says:

12:32pm | 10/07/12

@Cobbler

Before the iPod Touch and iPhone, most touch-screen devices used inductive based screen technology. Commonly the plastic cover that was necessary to pinpoint where you were touching was prone to tearing, rendering it useless. Capacitive touch-screens were uncommon due to the expense and complexity of design, so if nothing else, you have apple to thank for the explosion of cheap and effective scratch resistant touch-screen devices you see and likely use every single day.
Confused Fuddy Duddy says:

12:40pm | 10/07/12

Ohcomeon please name the windows tablets that were available before the iPad.
JB says:

12:42pm | 10/07/12

Do you have any examples to back up this statement.
Who did they copy when they released the iPad? iPod, iPhone?
Come one sport, prove this isn’t just a stupid baseless statement, give us some facts.
NikRaf says:

12:50pm | 10/07/12

who did apple rip off ! lets see Gene Roddenberry with the star trek communicators, the pads out of 2001: A Space Odyssey . there is the 2 you need to look at to see where the rip off’s came from . but just about everything nowadays is
Cobbler says:

01:28pm | 10/07/12

The following companies were producing mp3 players years before the iPod - SaeHan Information Systems, Diamond Multimedia, Hango Electronics, Creative, Cowon (who’s product was called the iAUDIO before the iPod ever existed), Archos.

Companies like HP, Panasonic and Frontpath have been making tablet PCs for ages (I’m talking since the late 90’s).

That’s not to say that these products were perfect (not that Apple’s are) but there’s a clear history of products fitting the niches of iPods, iPads and iPhones that Apple have obviously largely copied. Their marketing department is brilliant, no question, but to suggest that their work is original and to take a company like Samsung to court over it is a pretty big call.

Samsung is basically doing the same thing with the iPhone in America. If that gets up there will certainly be a lot of tears.
JB says:

01:53pm | 10/07/12

@Cobbler, Did ANY of the products you mentioned look very similar to the iPod? In addition seeing as a court has agreed with patent infringement they seem to have a case, at least in the eyes of the court
@NikRaf, stay on your meds mate!
Another Chris says:

02:07pm | 10/07/12

Cobbler,

Apple didn’t rip anyone off. They don’t break new ground, they simply improve what’s already out there (i.e capacitive touch screens). iPod’s are one of the easier to use brands. They were one of the first to chuck 1.8” hard disks in MP3 players.
I believe Compaq/HP both had Tablets on the market before Apple that used XP tablet edition. There are most likely other brands out there too.
Their design, whilst ridiculously simple would have a level of IP on it and subsequently, it’s been one of the most copied designs in the world.
I’m an IT Guy. I use Windows 7 for desktop and laptops and apple on my portable devices. Why? Because I like simplicity. Apple have a slick GUI with a polished OS that does the job well. I don’t want a massive screen on my phone, it needs to fit into my pocket and not inhibit my movement. I don’t want to customise everything on my Tablet or phone. Ok, iTunes isn’t the best but their are other apps out there that can replace it if you really feel strongly about it.
Jason Todd says:

02:08pm | 10/07/12

Cobbler -

I don’t think anyone would call into question that MP3 players and tablet PC’s existed before Apple revived them, but it is what Apple did with them that made a difference.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not a huge Apple fan, but what they have done really well is marketing to the average consumer. Tech heads flip their lid at trying to use an Apple device because things are so locked in and so constrained, but that factor that tech heads find so frustrating is what winds up appealing to the average user. Locked in means hard to break.

Apple products are easy to use and pretty idiot proof straight out of the box. That is an appealing quality for a lot of people. Particularly those average folks who are not technologically inclined.
Greg says:

02:13pm | 10/07/12

Apple and Steve Jobs especially never had an original idea in their lives their game plan is simple
1. take an already existing idea
2. modify it & put it in a pretty package
3. jackup the price
4. ????????
5. Profit

everything they have done was around before they ‘invented’ it mp3 players, smart phones, laptops, computers, tablet computers.
They are just incredibly good at making things look nice and pandering to the lowest common denominator (apple fans)
jim says:

02:35pm | 10/07/12

@Cobbler, If you don’t want it, don’t buy it.

If you want a cheaper version, you get what you paid for.

All Apple is doing is protecting their Intellectual property. They may have spent millions of dollars researching design, almost half a decade in designing the software or layout. When they find perfection at a cost of millions, someone else copies the design at no R&D cost on their end…

So what do you want? Human civilisation without inventions?
Why invent then? Where is the reward?
Mr. Jordon says:

02:45pm | 10/07/12

The only people who say that Apple just rips other off dont know much about Apple.
Pickles... The Drummer says:

03:36pm | 10/07/12

@Jim - So by your logic Apple should be paying royalties or be banned from producing everything they have because Xerox spent millions inventing the mouse, GUI, WYSIWYG word processing, etc and then Steve Jobs stole it?

The Samsung tablet looks as much like an iPad as the iPad looks like every other tablet before it. Why? Because there is only so many ways a tablet can look, its a tablet after all, a screen and a plastic case, nothing more.

Apple are trying to build a monopolistic empire. Its about time they had the good old Microsoft monopoly law suit brought against them. After all, they are a bigger monopoly and more anti competitive than Microsoft ever was.
Astrosodi says:

03:36pm | 10/07/12

And if you read the judgment rather than just relied on the journalists reporting the one line (the one about not be ‘as cool’), you’d quickly discover that another point the Judge in this case amde was that Apple did not invent the tablet. The Judge pointed to quite a few (50) examples of tablets that pre-dated the iPad. Making a product cool and fashioanable is not the same thing as inventing it. the iPad may be ‘cool’. The Judge also pointed out a remarkable number of differences in design bewteen the two products, and stated that of course utility (function) prescribes certain similarities, and Apple cannot hold a valid patent for functional aspects. ‘Cool’ is in the eye of the beholder, so behodl away!
Salec says:

04:32pm | 10/07/12

@Meph
Yes most phones used inductive technology becuase that was all that was available. Apple didn’t invent the capacitive touch screen, nor were they first phone with it. They lucked out and released their phone just as usable touch screens were making it to the market - see the LG Prada, which looks a lot like the iphone and had a capacitive touch screen and was released 2 months before it.

Phones with nothing but a touch screen were an inevitable consequence of the forward progress of touch screen technology which allowed multi-touch - nothing to do with Apple.

Apple have a wonderful marketing department, and good ideas, but they aren’t the be all and end all. Most of their products are slightly technically inferior to their direct competitors, but much more user friendly. Their UI design is second to none, by a long way. Hence their popularity.

But to suggest they invented, or popularised capacitive touch screen technology is just wrong. They happened to release their phone just as the technology matured to allow multi-touch.
Sam de Brito says:

08:32pm | 10/07/12

Fair dinkum. What did Apple rip off? How about the GUI and NLS and the mouse?
LL says:

08:34am | 11/07/12

Ipone ripoff
LG Prada released before the Iphone was announced.
Tablets were around before multiple models

It does not come down to functionality or looks (albeit in this case they went for a very borad design patent saying they own a rectangle device which is absurd.) It comes down to Apple making something better for users patenting stuff that was invented before them and hten claiming they invented it.

Eg the Kinect hand gestures first psuehd out by Microsoft but guess who si trying to patent the idea’s DING DING DING DING Apple.

They copy other peoples inventions patent them, then claim they invented it.
- Alfie says:
  
  12:00pm | 10/07/12
  
  Nowhere near as cool.
  
  Sent from my iPad.
  
  Reply
- What's it all about says:
  
  12:23pm | 10/07/12
  
  If they compared useullness, ipad is the big loser.
  
  Posers like the style over substance.
  sent from my windows 8 tablet.
  
  Reply
Alfie says:

12:59pm | 10/07/12

‘usullnes’

Like predictable text, you mean?
Inky says:

05:37pm | 10/07/12

Oh dear Alfie, looks like you missed slightly as well. He actually said ‘useullness”.

Isn’t it nice to have a mouse?
Simon says:

06:01pm | 10/07/12

Actually, it is well settled and documented that Jobs ripped off the mouse from Xerox
- miloinacup says:
  
  12:29pm | 10/07/12
  
  I own a samsung galaxy phone and all I ever hear from my iPhone owning friends is how much they wish their screen was as big as mine, and how light my phone is compared to theirs.
  
  I’ve owned both and while I hate the fact that android apps are nowhere near as good as iphone apps, I prefer my samsung.
  
  Reply
NigelC says:

02:10pm | 10/07/12

Spot on. I have a Galaxy SII (and Galaxy Tab 10.1) for personal use and work also provides me with an iPhone which is smaller and heavier and offers nothing to beat the Samsung product.
MarkF says:

02:53pm | 10/07/12

Couldn’t agree more. Just bought a Samsung Galaxy Note so I have no need of a tablet with the big screen for consuming media and internet content on the Samsung. It also allows me to jot down notes at work so a win win for me.

My eldest daughter just had to have an Iphone 3gs. Told her they were crap with limited functionality and apple trying to gouge you every time you turned around. She got it of course. Had great fun teasing her when the battery exploded and blew the phone apart (thankfully while it was on charge). She now has a HTC and is a committed droid fan.

Whenever I listen to someone raving on about their crapple stuff and how superior they think it makes them two words spring to mind. Sheep and wanker.
natalie says:

02:59pm | 10/07/12

Not to mention a lot of the apps that are free on the Android market are not free as ipone apps.
B says:

04:48pm | 10/07/12

Yeah, because iPhones are soooo heavy and the screens are sooo much smaller. Please. Talk about nit picking.

Apple products are easy to use, look good, and that’s why they sell. Haven’t you figured out that the world bases everything on looks, technology included.

Never had one problem with ANY of my Apple products.

People just love to bash Apple. Don’t like it, don’t buy it - and allow others to buy them and use them in peace. What do you care if I have an iPhone? It doesn’t infringe on your rights. You don’t see Apple users mouthing off about other products.

In other words, shut your word hole.
Ben C says:

05:11pm | 10/07/12

@ B

“You don’t see Apple users mouthing off about other products.”

That’s because they’re too busy boasting about how “good” their product is.

“Haven’t you figured out that the world bases everything on looks, technology included.”

I don’t know about you, but I’d rather my purchases be functional rather than pretty. That’s why I steer clear of Apple.
HappyCynic says:

08:35am | 11/07/12

@the Apple users

You guys realise that the iPhone is actually not the best-selling smartphone? In Australia it is but we’re one of the few markets where it does outperform its competitors. Android rules the market these days, with Samsung and HTC fighting it out for top spot, so there’s proof that function generally wins out over form.

For the record I love Apple products, I’m just not a d!ckhead about it.
cracks me up says:

10:32am | 11/07/12

and how many times you can drop it without damaging the screen
- John says:
  
  12:31pm | 10/07/12
  
  There is nothing - but nothing - as boring as an argument between the Apple fanbois and the Apple haters.
  
  Why people get so worked up about this stuff (“Steve Jobs was God!”, “Steve Jobs was evil personified!”) is one of the great mysteries of the early 21st century.
  
  Reply
M says:

03:40pm | 10/07/12

You know what kind of worries me but not really? This obsession with the latest phone/gadget. I will admit that I fell prey to it myself, but after an iPhone 3 and currently a HTC, i’ve reached the conclusion that a phone is a phone is a phone, and all I really want from it is to call and text and maybe send the odd facebook update. Thus, it doesn’t phase me which model I will get next, or which has the biggest processor. I’m no tech head by any stretch of the imagination, and thus, the OS wars mean little to me. My next phone will be the one with the longest battery life.
Lee says:

06:22am | 11/07/12

It used to be Microsoft was the evil one and Apple was the underdog. Now Apple is proving they are just as monopolising of the market when given the chance. Personally I don’t want i anything as I feel the only main difference between them and others is a good marketing department. I am an android fan and personally I have found an app for anything I have wanted. I just want a smart phone with a decent battery life
- willie says:
  
  12:39pm | 10/07/12
  
  Haven’t you heard. Mainstream isn’t cool. If a stuffy old judge thinks the ipad is cool its definitely not.
  
  Reply
VVS says:

05:37pm | 10/07/12

That’s what I was wondering… since when was a 60 year old white guy an arbitrator on what is cool???

If the just thinks it’s cool it probably was at one point in history, but not anymore.

“If peeing in your pants is cool, consider me Miles Davis”
- NikRaf says:
  
  12:43pm | 10/07/12
  
  “The judge says they win. He agrees that their products are not the same as Apple’s. He says, and I quote: “They do not have the same understated and extreme simplicity which is possessed by the Apple design.””
  
  you do know he may of been saying you need a brain you use the Samsung tablet but you can be a blonde and use a ipad
  
  Reply
Mick says:

04:50pm | 10/07/12

an iPad
Nic says:

11:17pm | 10/07/12

*may have
You don't know says:

10:59am | 11/07/12

to use
- Mahhrat says:
  
  12:44pm | 10/07/12
  
  You will always buy Apple for the looks, you buy everything else for the flexibility (and in some ways, functionality).
  
  While the individual products can be very good, iTunes does its best to undo all that good work. It’s a terrible program, the requirement to use it is absurd, and the whole thing just smacks of the kind of ridiculous elitism that’ll apply for 30% of the population, while the rest of us buy everything else.
  
  Reply
M says:

01:13pm | 10/07/12

Yep, iTunes is a bastard of a programme.
LJ Dots says:

01:50pm | 10/07/12

M, I commend you for your grace, composure, restraint and decorum when describing iTunes. Well done.
Jb says:

02:05pm | 10/07/12

Clearly you have never owned a Mac or know their capabilities!
So really you look and sound like a fool!!!
Ben C says:

02:18pm | 10/07/12

@ Jb

For artistic endeavours, I would recommend a Mac, no questions.

Everything else, go with a PC.
Greg says:

02:22pm | 10/07/12

JB 95% of things you can do on a mac can be done much better on another platform windows linux w/e

the exceptions being arty things like graphic design and music making, so if you aren’t involved in those fields you are just paying overs for a mac so you can try and sound cool.

Buying something in a shiny coloured box when you can get a better version for half the price in a plain black box for half the price, makes perfect sense
M says:

03:44pm | 10/07/12

I’ve owned a mac, and I’ve owned a windows PC. I’ll take windows thanks.
M says:

03:45pm | 10/07/12

LJ dots, it was all I could do to not let loose at the thought of itunes. There is much hate bottled up over that stupid program.
Ohcomeon says:

09:09am | 11/07/12

M,

your Itunes problems are largely user error. Fact.

I sort out a lot of peoples Itunes, and their problems are nearly always self inflicted. Folks dont realise its a database, and if your data is garbage then it will run like garbage.

Meh. Ive got 250gb of music in Itunes running on a server, i can stream wireless music all around the house to three different zones, use the ipad as a remote control, and it all works perfectly, all the time. Sure the interface can be sluggish at times for file transfers, but if youre not using wireless sync by now you are doing it wrong.
- fml says:
  
  12:49pm | 10/07/12
  
  “In the techo world, there is no greater insult that being called uncool.”
  
  Maybe if you are a technology hipsters, anybody who understand technology knows you only buy apples for the look.
  
  Ask anybody who buys an apple mac, do you use them for the graphics or audio software? The majority say, no. Then you buy it for the looks? they say, no again. Then why do you buy apple macs? because they do what I need. Which is essentially, surf facebook and send emails. What they do not understand is that you can by a linux machine for less than 1/4 the price.
  
  Apple purchasers are technology hipsters. Admit it.
  
  Also, They should buy the new raspberry pi’s, $35, you can even browse facebook and send emails.
  
  Also, Apples chinese practices are disgusting with their high rate of suicide (something technology hipsters do not give a crap about), Also, the hypocrisy of apple who used to complain Microsoft’s litigation and anti competitive practices are now using the same tactics against samsung. I am not a samsung fanboi, I just despise “Apple Fanbois” thinking that they are technologically savvy.
  
  #End Rant.
  
  Reply
NikRaf says:

01:09pm | 10/07/12

if you look around i think you will find apple has always been whining about what other people do and taking them to court because they have some thing close to what apple has out at the time

its a bit of do as i say not as i do
Admiral Ackbar says:

02:59pm | 10/07/12

I agree with fml, and will now proceed to eat my own head. Om nom.
- Fred says:
  
  12:54pm | 10/07/12
  
  “Cool” often means tosser. Being a pretentious hipster and paying 2-5 times the price for the same thing whilst pretending to care about the world and using a product that was made by some poor Asian working in a factory where many people have killed themselves I believe renders one in that general tosser ballpark.
  
  Actually, if you’ve seen the way they carry on when they open an Apple store or release a new product, as if they’ve just saved the world, I think it’s safe to say they are very much a bunch of tossers.
  
  Yep. Tossers.
  
  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f7vMIqpLYuI
  
  Reply
- SKA says:
  
  12:56pm | 10/07/12
  
  I actually would have been keen to get a samsung galaxy but laziness won out. Trying to convert out all my itunes library was far more effort than just getting an iphone. These days, I like both Samsung Galaxy and the iPhone… but then, I’m definitely not “cool”
  
  Reply
- Jason says:
  
  01:27pm | 10/07/12
  
  It’s not the company which annoys me, it’s the users who never shut up about the “superiority of the apple products” and the way the mainstream media constantly advertise for Apple in the form of “news articles” about the latest product release.
  
  Sure Apple do pay Chinese people a pittance to make their nice hardware and it’s very pleasing to the eye (even if functionally limited by the OS), but they are a long way from the best. For quality, performance and customer support I’d take Asus hardware hands down. This is based on 20 years working in IT infrastructure btw, not just a fanboi view.
  
  Reply
JB says:

02:00pm | 10/07/12

@Jason, 20 experience? So you started with dialup modems too then.
I have had a mac and other Apple products for many years. I too have had previous experience with Asus products and I am not a fan like you are.
I have had less problems with me Mac in 4 years then in 6 months with a PC of any brand. Clearly you are a PC person and never owned a Mac you really can’t comment can you.
I will grant you some functionally is limited by the OS but that is something that is minor compared to the overall reliability to the brand.
Lee says:

06:29am | 11/07/12

My favourite was an article saying that Tablets are now usually called iPads no matter what brand they are. What a crock I only hear of people calling a tablet and iPad when they are one. The only people that call any Tablets an iPad are those with iPads or those that have no idea. JB I will put functionality right up there on the wanted list
- Blind Freddy says:
  
  01:49pm | 10/07/12
  
  I recently bought a Samsung Note - the one with the big screen. It makes the iPhone look pretty ordinary by comparison and it’s soooo good to be free of iTunes.
  
  Cool? Who cares . . .
  
  Reply
- master says:
  
  01:58pm | 10/07/12
  
  So this is what “journalism” has turned into?
  
  Reply
- freethrow says:
  
  01:59pm | 10/07/12
  
  apple dont really invent anything, they buy other companies ideas and inventions then market the shit out of them. sure they own a lot a patents, but so did Thomas Edison.
  i dont even want to talk about itunes….
  
  Reply
- Doh says:
  
  02:05pm | 10/07/12
  
  Wow another journo who doesnt get it.
  
  How does Apple now block Samsung selling, they now have to argue that the Samsung IS AS COOL as theirs.
  
  The Judge just put it right back on Apple and their stupid use of Cool as a patent. Samsung actually won, they can now sell their products and market them as ‘Hot’ or something similar, Apple just won the right to use a word.
  
  Reply
- John Dark says:
  
  02:11pm | 10/07/12
  
  Huh, and here was I thinking this was going to be Ants’ summation of the State of Origin ...
  
  Reply
- Mr. Jordon says:
  
  02:36pm | 10/07/12
  
  Have a look at Samsung’s product lines.
  
  They just copy the market leader. Their vacuum cleans for example are just a straight out copy of Dyson.
  
  Reply
- AdamC says:
  
  02:36pm | 10/07/12
  
  Apple is extremely effective at creating products with broad mass appeal that look good, are very reliable and are based on easy-to-use interfaces. I can never understand why ultra-technical geeks are so over-the-top in their criticisms of the highly-integrated and tightly-controlled Apple products and services.
  
  Apple products are not made for ultra-technical geeks, they are made for people like me who like using gadgets and technologies but are not really sure how any of it works. People like me do not mind the lack of flexibility and appreciate the user-friendliness.
  
  When taken out of its context, the anti-Apple sentiment makes no sense. For example, I do not like fruit juices. They are too sweet and too acidic and lack the nutritional benefits of eating actual fruit. So I do not drink fruit juices, but their popularity does not upset me. Lots of people like fruit juices, just as lots of people like Apple. Were I to start ranting about how bad fruit juices are, most people would just think I was a nutter.
  
  Meanwhile, Samsung has a good model in basically knocking off Apple products and selling their stuff more cheaply. There is nothing wrong with that, so long as they can stay ahead of Apple’s litigation.
  
  Reply
James1 says:

02:55pm | 10/07/12

Agreed. I don’t like the fact that Apple retains tight control over their products and services, so I don’t use Apple products and services. My nine year old daughter doesn’t have such issues with Apple, so she does use them. What neither of us do is bother to tell the other one they are stupid for pursuing products that suit their preferences.

The tendency you raise reminds me of the gaming thread. Some people like to play games, so they play games. Other people don’t, and in some cases instead of just not playing games, they expend effort telling other people that they shouldn’t play games either.

Furthermore, while watching Today Tonight for research purposes only and absolutely no other reason, I have discovered that there are people who rant about how bad fruit juices are, rather than just not drinking them and eating fruit instead.

I’m sure there is a lesson in human nature buried somewhere in those disconnected observations.
- sami says:
  
  02:36pm | 10/07/12
  
  I am proudly uncool: I love my samsung and I love my bald bloke
  
  Reply
Alfie says:

02:50pm | 10/07/12

Which little bald bloke do you play with the most?
Another Chris says:

03:24pm | 10/07/12

i c wut u did thar Alfie.
- Bill Stickers says:
  
  03:16pm | 10/07/12
  
  Am I the only one who remembers how ‘Apple’ ripped off the name from a hugely popular record company? Even the Logo was similar.
  
  Reply
- Mr. Jordon says:
  
  03:59pm | 10/07/12
  
  The Beatle’s company was called Apple Corps. Steve Jobs choose the name Apple because at the time he fruitarian and spent a lot of his time on apple orchards.
  
  Are you suggesting that no one can ever use the word ‘apple’?
  
  Reply
Danny B says:

04:55pm | 10/07/12

Apple has - I think they tried suing a German restaurant for using ‘their’ logo and corporate imagery, even though the logo was completely different.
- Levi Seven says:
  
  04:06pm | 10/07/12
  
  um - has any heard of the Fujisu Stylistic tablets that were released years before the ipad - hmm the ipad bears a striking simularity to them
  
  Reply
Mr. Jordon says:

05:17pm | 10/07/12

I would like to see some evidence of this.

But what everybody is forgetting is that Apple had the Newton over 20 years ago:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newton_(platform)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Personal_digital_assistant
- Gloria says:
  
  05:21pm | 10/07/12
  
  Sometimes when you win, you really lose, and sometimes when you lose, you really win, and sometimes when you win or lose, you actually tie, and sometimes when you tie, you actually win or lose. Winning or losing is all one organic mechanism, from which one extracts what one needs.
  
  Reply
stephen says:

06:07pm | 10/07/12

And what organic mechanism is that ?
The bullshit one ?

And you forgot one important thing, amongst others :that when you win, someone else feels bad.

Now don’t that just beat all ?
Gloria says:

06:20pm | 10/07/12

Oh Billy, you’re so stoopid.
freethrow says:

06:48pm | 10/07/12

I too know what its like to thirst!
freethrow says:

07:03pm | 10/07/12

Billy, I have four words for you: “Listen to the Woman”.
- Inky says:
  
  05:41pm | 10/07/12
  
  Everyone reading this thread should go and listen to the Bill Gates vs Steve Jobs Epic Rap Battles of History. Becuase y’know, it’s pretty cool.
  
  Reply
- stephen says:
  
  06:01pm | 10/07/12
  
  Apple are excellent, and I have all their products bar the iPad.
  I’m waiting for them to develop a bacpac with a jet thruster so I can get from A to Z quickly.
  
  They can call it the iWannagetouttahere.
  
  Reply
- Craig says:
  
  08:03pm | 10/07/12
  
  The race dosn’t go to the first mover, it goes to the organisation that best meets its user’s needs.
  
  Apple took a bunch of products and made them work better for people. That is the hardest part of invention. Hardware and software are commodities, Apple charges a price premium for usability.
  
  Whether you respect them for this or not, they are successful because of it.
  
  Reply
Apple Smapple says:

09:16pm | 10/07/12

No. Race go to an organisation that convince them that the organisation will meet a user’s need which need the organisation manufactures in the first place [marketing 101].

Ergo, Apple convince people firstly that they have a need, which secondly only Apple can fulfil.

The only thing Apple are good at are marketing.

Sent from my Window Phone 8 via a Windows Server 2008 on my Windows Surface which is a bunch of products that work better for people and which are not not charged at a premium for people who truly understand functionality and substance over smoke and mirrors.
- Noely says:
  
  06:44am | 11/07/12
  
  My daughter recently learned a very important lesson in cool… As other kids, had to have an ipad, as it is cool, was basically uselss in highschool as nothing worked with it and was always having to borrow one of our computers to finish assignments, basically it was a cool toy to play with only. Hit Uni this year and was unhappy that instead of upgrading her ipad to the new version we got her an Asus Transformer Prime. After 6 months at Uni her and ‘bumble-bee’ (the prime) are inseparable, she is constantly amazed at how much work she can do, stunned that other devices work with it, even more importantly, now that she has to pay for stuff herself, stoked that she can use numerous cords and the like, not having to purchase all the extra bits & pieces that apple require, AND loves that when doing assignments with others (as you have to do) you can actually toss a USB in there, AND it is all basically the same size as her old ipad, and she can still ‘play’ with it on the train?
  
  Working in IT we have never cared about cool, popularity etc., we have always wanted what WORKS best in the circumstance. Apple is over-priced and apart from hard-core graphics work, pretty well redundant and a waste of money for the average person. I am sure that Marketing degrees in years to come will be featuring Steve Jobs and Apple as they are predominantly a pop culture marketing firm, long gone are the days when they were a serious IT firm.
  
  Reply
Ohcomeon says:

09:21am | 11/07/12

Thats pretty embarrasing for you that you work in “IT” but you couldnt make anything work with her Ipad.

Im a sysadmin that looks after hundreds of PCs, and my ipad is an essential tool for work and play. For every single limitation that Apple places on IOS, theres 5 workarounds. Theres literally nothing I want to do with mine that I cant. It opens any file I want, and I can send any file anywhere to and from the pad.

I pity your customers if you are as ignorant about computing in general as you are prejudiced against apple.
- seanb says:
  
  09:00am | 11/07/12
  
  Curiously, the actor playing the un-cool PC guy in the ad uses a mac in real life.
  
  Reply
- ITGod says:
  
  11:11am | 11/07/12
  
  Apple vs Anything Else…
  
  iTunes.. I rest my case!
  
  Reply
Ohcomeon says:

12:01pm | 11/07/12

ITGod suffers from user error. Who woulda thunk it?
- ITMan says:
  
  11:16am | 11/07/12
  
  @Ohcomeon: I am an IT Manager, and from experience, we just NEVER hire a sysadmin that shows up with an iPhone or an iPad. We really don’t want any “sysadmin” that hasn’t a clue.
  I would prefer one who has a phone or a tablet running custom roms, at least they know something about the devices they are using plus have some semblance of security.
  
  Reply
Ohcomeon says:

11:59am | 11/07/12

Hilarious. Real techs make use of any tools. Refusing to hire someone because of the phone they carry just makes you a dickhead. We hire people that can make anything work with anything, because thats what actually happens in the real world. When an visiting MD from another company comes in with an unsupported IOS device, you probably just sneer at them instead of being able to get it to talk to anything.

Im not for a second saying that Apple is any good for Enterprise, its simply not. But saying the pad isnt a useful tool just means youre ignorant.

Custom roms. Lol. Youre priceless. You are basing an employment decision based on something an 8 year old can do. Too funny.

I know some top flight MS engineers that use IOS products for home, youre the one without a single clue.
- ITMan says:
  
  12:42pm | 11/07/12
  
  @Ohcomeon: Fact: if you let a visiting MD plug his unsecured iPad or any IOS device into your network then you are a fool. Have you no concept of security whatsoever?
  
  Anyway my point is proven and yet another reason we don’t employ any tech who shows up to an interview with an iPhone or an iPad.
  
  Reply
Ohcomeon says:

01:19pm | 11/07/12

Got any more strawmen while youre at it?

Where did I say Id let an unsecured device onto the network? And pray tell what exactly is the infection or exploit vector of an ipad vs an android tab? Specifically now please.

Its quite easy to access and sandbox data on any device without letting it near your network proper. I get the feeling you are a lot more ‘Manager’ than “IT”.

PS youve proven nothing except that you shouldnt be in a position of hiring technicians.
- ITMan says:
  
  12:44pm | 11/07/12
  
  @Ohcomeon: Oh and P.S. I agree on your comment “Real techs make use of any tools.” however your assumption that iAnything is anything other than a toy is where you are failing.
  
  Reply
Ohcomeon says:

01:31pm | 11/07/12

Toy? I can do basic server management in bed over encrypted VPN on my pad. Im pretty sure my old Etch a sketch couldnt do that. Android can also do that. But android is Pr0 and IOS isnt. Got it.

Then I might do some music composition on Beatmaker. Shame its a toy. I know Ill fire up one of the pro music suites on my Android. Oh wait, there arent any because it doesnt have any low level audio support in the kernel, something they have only begun to address last week. Wont be taking that on stage then. Shame I have to use the toy Ipad instead.

Keep sneering. Ill just go back to using my secure portable touch computer that does whatever I want.
- ITMan says:
  
  01:57pm | 11/07/12
  
  @Ohcomeon: Yes and my PocketPC from 10 years ago could access of secure VPN. Music apps have what to do with business again?
  Toy, nothing more, nothing less.
  
  Oh and P.S. allowing unsecured, devices connection to any part of your network is a MASSIVE security risk and a fire-able offense around here.
  
  Thank goodness you don’t work for us, although I just know you wouldn’t make it through the interview process
  
  Reply
Ohcomeon says:

03:40pm | 11/07/12

So, what specific security issues are there with plugging an iPad into your network over an Android or windows device? Specific exploits please, I’d hate to think you don’t actually know what you’re talking about.

Every company forbids plugging in unsecured devices. That doesn’t prove your assertion that the iPad is a toy. While you’re at it, what specific security protocols do other mobile devices support that IOS doesn’t?

Sorry, comments are now closed for this article.

Facebook Recommendations

Read all about it

Punch live

Up to the minute Twitter chatter

See all tweets

Nosebleed Section

choice ringside rantings

From: Hasbro, go straight to gaol, do not pass go

Tim says:

They should update other things in the game too. Instead of a get out of jail free card, they should have a Dodgy Lawyer card that not only gets you out of jail straight away but also gives you a fat payout in compensation for daring to arrest you in the first place. Instead of getting a hotel when you… [read more]

From: A guide to summer festivals especially if you wouldn’t go

Kel says:

If you want a festival for older people or for families alike, get amongst the respectable punters at Bluesfest. A truly amazing festival experience to be had of ALL AGES. And all the young "festivalgoers" usually write themselves off on the first night, only to never hear from them again the rest of… [read more]

Light weight

Gentle jabs to the ribs

Superman needs saving

Can somebody please save Superman? He seems to be going through a bit of a crisis. Eighteen months ago,… Read more

28 comments

Sometimes you’re better off losing than winning…

Must Reads

Most commented

95 comments

Cobbler says:

Ohcomeon says:

Meph says:

Confused Fuddy Duddy says:

JB says:

NikRaf says:

Cobbler says:

JB says:

Another Chris says:

Jason Todd says:

Greg says:

jim says:

Mr. Jordon says:

Pickles... The Drummer says:

Astrosodi says:

Salec says:

Sam de Brito says:

LL says:

Alfie says:

What's it all about says:

Alfie says:

Inky says:

Simon says:

miloinacup says:

NigelC says:

MarkF says:

natalie says:

B says:

Ben C says:

HappyCynic says:

cracks me up says:

John says:

M says:

Lee says:

willie says:

VVS says:

NikRaf says:

Mick says:

Nic says:

You don't know says:

Mahhrat says:

M says:

LJ Dots says:

Jb says:

Ben C says:

Greg says:

M says:

M says:

Ohcomeon says:

fml says:

NikRaf says:

Admiral Ackbar says:

Fred says:

SKA says:

Jason says:

JB says:

Lee says:

Blind Freddy says:

master says:

freethrow says:

Doh says:

John Dark says:

Mr. Jordon says:

AdamC says:

James1 says:

sami says:

Alfie says:

Another Chris says:

Bill Stickers says:

Mr. Jordon says:

Danny B says:

Levi Seven says:

Mr. Jordon says:

Gloria says:

stephen says:

Gloria says: