What else has Apple taken credit for.....

[animaniac]

I like Apple and they make excellent products (even if they're extremely proprietary), but the fact is that apple takes credit for way too many ideas....


The Dock

Well, not a new idea by any means, but when people see a dock they tend too scream OMG AAPL RIPOFF!?!?!, hmmm...

Dock ala Acorn, ca. 1987 (Arthur OS, yes i know its more of an icon bar, but come-on 1987!):
http://62.149.36.42/~oooooooo/arthur/scr.gif

Now where did apple take their new Leopard dock from????
http://www.sun.com/software/looking_glass/details.xml Sun's Looking Glass first demoed 2003.



Spaces (Virtual Desktops)

Invented in Xerox PARC ca.1986....
BeOS, OS/2, Linux and Unix have had this a long time, we have had the X Window System for ages...
but apple still calls spaces revolutionary?



Dashboard

The Idea has floated around even before OSX, even if Apple did a really nice job, the idea wasn't 100% theirs:
example from 2000... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DesktopX


If you know any more, please share.

[LaRoza]

If you know any more, please share.

Most ideas aren't unique. In fact, I think most unique ideas have been used up for the most part.

As long as they don't try to prevent us from using them, it doesn't matter. You don't see Ubuntu marketting its multiple workspace capability because that is a given and expected by users. It would be like a car saleman "This car has inflatable tires!".

The OS X and Windows world are behind in many ways. OS X is catching up to Linux because it now uses open source technology and its kernel is open.

Windows has a ways to go though, but they should be copying the OS X features soon :-)

[YaroMan86]

Most ideas aren't unique. In fact, I think most unique ideas have been used up for the most part.

As long as they don't try to prevent us from using them, it doesn't matter. You don't see Ubuntu marketting its multiple workspace capability because that is a given and expected by users. It would be like a car saleman "This car has inflatable tires!".

The OS X and Windows world are behind in many ways. OS X is catching up to Linux because it now uses open source technology and its kernel is open.

Windows has a ways to go though, but they should be copying the OS X features soon :-)

Don't forget also that Ubuntu and most Linux distros have a significantly different philosophies than Windows or Mac OS X.

I do give OS X credit for moving toward a somewhat more open philosophy. But, it still has a long way to go before being truly open.

Windows, of the big three, is probably the worst of the bunch. They're highly proprietary. And they don't hesitate to copy technology from others, attach a buzzword to it, and pass it off as their creation.

Of the three, only Linux is free (As in speech) as well as free (As in beer.). Personally, that's very appealing to me.

[Twitch6000]

See this is one thing I find funny about apple and its community,they think everything apple has made was first and is original.When infact it wasn't/isn't.Trying to explain that to an apple fan is so hard its not worth it.Now doing talking with a Windows fan or Linux fan on these things atleast they go oh ok thats where the idea came from.
I do hope in the near future apple makes the mac better.Same with microsoft and windows(really unlikey lol).

[zmjjmz]

Although I earnestly don't know of whether or not things like this already existed, there _are_ some things that Apple had of their own.
Examples:
iChat's background thing. I'm pretty sure that hasn't been done before in the consumer market.
Stacks. I've seen it done since 10.5, but not before.

[jay019]

http://www.gentoo.org/news/en/gwn/20050124-newsletter.xml?style=printable


Woot! Looking glass is amazing. Wish it was moving towards being usable for everyday computing.

[animaniac]

@ jay019: Only thing missing is a Minority Report type screen:)

Also, i added a link to the project homepage to the original post.

[MaxIBoy]

How about compoziting? Apple puts a (very primitive) compoziting engine in OS X and expects us to think it's an innovation.

Woot! Looking glass is amazing. Wish it was moving towards being usable for everyday computing. Hope I can use looking glass + compiz.

[SunnyRabbiera]

Well its implementation that I think apple wants its credit for.
Lets take a look at its dock to start off with, sure docks have been around for a while but apples dock has its own implication... its a taskbar and a app launcher, not unique yes but for the most part its implementation is smoother then most other docks though it has a few bugs I dislike.
Its spaces feature is implemented well too, even though its not as good as ours it does have promise to make OSX work smoother then it was.
Its desktop effects though, yeh they can say they took the cake with that...
Apples set of desktop effects are great and are the inspiration for many desktop effects on both linux and vista, I say that apple has the best set of effects that implements much smoother then aero or compiz.

[ch_123]

Many years ago Apple (unsuccessfully) sued Microsoft when it released Windows 3.0 for copying Mac OS's "look and feel". Of course, Apple had in turn based/copied its GUI from efforts by Xerox in the late seventies and early eighties.

[LaRoza]

Many years ago Apple (unsuccessfully) sued Microsoft when it released Windows 3.0 for copying Mac OS's "look and feel". Of course, Apple had in turn based/copied its GUI from efforts by Xerox in the late seventies and early eighties.

Interestingly, Windows had a tiling window manager before they switched. I think they did wrong. They brought a desktop that makes more work for users.

I use wmii, a tiling window manager, and can't stand the OS X/Windows/GNOME/KDE/Xfce window managers.

[MaxIBoy]

They originally had an overlapping window manager, the tiling window manager was due to legal arrangements with Apple.

[jay019]

How about compoziting? Apple puts a (very primitive) compoziting engine in OS X and expects us to think it's an innovation.

Hope I can use looking glass + compiz.

Looking glass is like Gnome/KDE/Fluxbox/XFCE/etc. A complete (using the term complete loosley) desktop environment. It can be run like another windowed application, but once you install it you can choose to run it from the Session Chooser from GDM. Install it and give it a try. I found it ran a bit slow on my laptop, your results may vary. It would be nice if it was actively developed, but it seems to be abandonware.

[cprofitt]

I do give OS X credit for moving toward a somewhat more open philosophy. But, it still has a long way to go before being truly open.

I give Apple less credit than Microsoft for being open. Apple dictates the OS and the hardware.

[MaxIBoy]

As I've said before, any EULA more restrictive than the product itself (with regards to hardware support) should not be considered by the OSI.


A good analogy would if you had a flathead screwdriver with a license agreement prohibiting use of philip-head screws. Flathead screwdrivers are capable of working with philip-head screws, but you aren't allowed to because of the license.

[zmjjmz]

A good analogy would if you had a flathead screwdriver with a license agreement prohibiting use of philip-head screws. Flathead screwdrivers are capable of working with philip-head screws, but you aren't allowed to because of the license.

Actually, you'd have to understand that if the analogy were true, the flathead would barely be able to work on most philip-head screws.
It's prohibited too, which doesn't exactly help.

[ch_123]

I suppose you could throw the MP3 player on this list.

[damis648]

Many years ago Apple (unsuccessfully) sued Microsoft when it released Windows 3.0 for copying Mac OS's "look and feel". Of course, Apple had in turn based/copied its GUI from efforts by Xerox in the late seventies and early eighties.

However, they did patent the "overlaying" Windows, like the models we see all the time in most operating systems. Before Windows 3.0, Windows tiled windows.

[lisati]

Many years ago Apple (unsuccessfully) sued Microsoft when it released Windows 3.0 for copying Mac OS's "look and feel". Of course, Apple had in turn based/copied its GUI from efforts by Xerox in the late seventies and early eighties.
I remember something along those lines from the 1980s - it was a real GEM. The first MS-DOS based DTP software I had for one of my own machines used GEM as the basis for its GUI.

[conorsulli]

I noticed that project looking glass stunt as well. they also stole the WIDGETS idea from micro$oft who released their version way before in their beta longhorn releases... then mac copied it and people claim it was a mac-idea. This is the case for many features of vista what people think it stole from mac. It was just that they peeked at longhorn betas and then released thier new osx before vista with the ideas.

[cardinals_fan]

However, they did patent the "overlaying" Windows, like the models we see all the time in most operating systems. Before Windows 3.0, Windows tiled windows.
Why would they patent something so defective?

[K.Mandla]

Moved to Mac OSX forum.

I could've sworn I'd seen this thread before. Deja vu. Somebody reboot the Matrix.

[3rdalbum]

You'd think that Apple had invented incremental backups, wireless networking and MP3 players, by the way their marketing works.

Apple did not copy Xerox's user interface. Anybody who has seen the Xerox Star and the original Mac OS (or Lisa OS) would know this. Windows Vista's UI is closer to Lisa OS than Lisa OS is to Xerox's UI.

[AlphaMack]

Apple didn't rip off the Dock. Please look up NeXTSTEP.

[CrazyArcher]

Of all things, the MP3 player is probably the most annoying one...

[D-EJ915]

Apple didn't rip off the Dock. Please look up NeXTSTEP.
the next dock/bar/clip and what the "dock" is now are vastly different dude

[Alfa989]

Dashboard

The Idea has floated around even before OSX, even if Apple did a really nice job, the idea wasn't 100% theirs:
example from 2000... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DesktopX
I completely agree with the Dock an Spaces app, but I think you should look up System 1 (1984) and the "Desktop Accessories" (Calculator, notes, etc...) Apple engineers have said that that's where they took the idea from. :)

[Alfa989]

As I've said before, any EULA more restrictive than the product itself (with regards to hardware support) should not be considered by the OSI.
¿Talking about the OS X EULA?

In my opinion, is a totally different thing. I mean, grab an OS X install DVD, pop it in any PC, and you won't be able to intall it. To install it, you need to do some sort of tweaking to the OS or the hardware. And sorry, but that's not out-of-the-box installing.

My 2 cents. ;)

[Alfa989]

Apple didn't rip off the Dock. Please look up NeXTSTEP.
I believe they took it from Acorn, didn't they?

[Alfa989]

Of all things, the MP3 player is probably the most annoying one...
Lol, no one thinks Apple invented the Mp3 player! (Or at least nobody over here) :confused: