“Last week, right in the middle of the silly season when most people aren’t paying attention, there were seismic events which changed the face of the technology landscape,” Rory Cellan-Jones writes for BBC News.
“They saw one giant name in America’s computing history – or at least its mobile division – swallowed up by another, and a firm with an even more prestigious past effectively giving up on personal and mobile computing,” Cellan-Jones writes. “And they left another computing Titan looking even more dominant.”
“Google’s move on Motorola and its warehouse of patents appeared bold at first sight, offering the prospect of a more integrated Android ecosystem,” Cellan-Jones writes. “A week on it looks defensive, and hardly likely to produce the kind of end-to-end, software-to-stores operation that generates such huge margins for Apple.”
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“And a share price which fell 10% over the week did not suggest that the market saw the Motorola bid as a stroke of genius,” Cellan-Jones writes. “HP’s hyperactive Thursday, which saw it dump WebOS, buy the UK’s Autonomy and announce plans to hive off its personal computing division will have been even less of a concern in Cupertino.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Cellan-Jones writes a bunch of malarky about patents stifling innovation. Apple is defending its intellectual property from blatant theft. That is their right to do so. There is no innovation begin stifled. At any time, Apple’s so-called competitors are free to stop copying Apple, cease dressing up their inferior wares to look like Apple products, and do something original for a change.
Some of the comments below the article are just bizarre, for example;
Does that sound like a sane person typing that?
Same logic (NOT) that the tea party uses.
+1
Yeah, those wacky tea party people – I mean, seriously, how dare they push for a balanced budget, rein in uncontrolled spending, free and fair trade, smaller and more responsive government. So illogical.
+1
Moronic is more like it. Hold the country hostage at any price?
Fuck them !
The only difference between the tea party and cancer is that the tea party will definitely be eradicated in 2012.
I agree that Tea Party should be more flexible. I mostly agree with their agenda, but, in politics, if your not holding all the cards you shouldn’t try to dictate. There is a large constituency that simple doesn’t want what the Tea Party wants and so the Tea Party should be a little better at compromise. Good Americans, yes. Good politicians, no. It’s hard to call it a movement when there is none.
I love how standing on one’s principles is “holding the country hostage”.
Meanwhile, you leftist idiots violated the constitution left and right to try and pass bills that the american public opposed, including obamacare, which itself is unconstitutional.
The Tea Party tried to do the right thing, and you’ve got your head so far up your ass you call them morons. Meanwhile, your guys are blatant criminals destroying the legal framework of the country… and you’re fine with it.
You don’t care how many children have to go without insurance, just so your fat ass gets a subsidy, right!
Left Right – My ass !!!
It’s taken a miracle and a brave president and bi partisan team to get an economical recovery underway, of the worst financial disaster this country has ever known, created by unregulated greedy multi corporate thieves (shielded and protected by the party of the rich). The second recessionary dip and market collapse is solely owned by the lack of any confidence in this great country, brought about by a bunch of inbred , uneducated and ignorant fucks that put the county second to their idiotic agendas and idealism (huh!), which they actually call patriotic.
A landslide in favor of a decent, educated and fair president we’ve had in years , (who’s bent over backwards to show an example of compromise and civility, to a selfish mean spirited breed of greed) will end this lie. Count on it !
“tried to do the right thing”? seriously. I do not think you guys are fooling anyone other than your simpleton base that gets their info from the crooked Australian who controls the loudest voice in broadcasting here in the States.
The other 99% of the world is laughing at you guys.
You know your “grassroots” organization is run by Oil & Energy barons bent on deregulating the energy industry so they can has many BP Gulf spills as they want leaving the public holding the oily bags.
BUT…..it is very logical of them to have signs showing the President of the United States as an African witchdoctor, as Hitler, and a Marxist. It is logical of them to have signs calling for Medicare to be protected from becoming a government program. It is logical of them to be organized and funded by the Koch brothers.
Here’ how to boycott and destroy the Koch brothers:
http://www.treehugger.com/files/2011/03/boycott-koch-brothers-products-where-to-start.php
I bought a new MacBook Pro 15″ Quad-Core i7 this week and replaced the drives with 2 1TB drives. I also got the one with 8 Gee Bees and high res display. I truly think I’m in love.
Gosh you guys can be spectacularly stupid sometimes; Medicare IS a government program. I’m Canadian and even I know that!
++1
I can’t understand the hatred some people have over anything Apple. It’s disproportionate and baseless.
How are you expected to reason with that kind of people?
You don’t – they are destroying and dumbing down everything…and it looks like the only ignorance support them.
Funny to hear you say that, given that you’re just like them. Your politics is based on ignorance and self loathing, and your morality is completely absent as you seek to use violence against innocent people for your own profit.
Apple never does that, but you leftist do.
You know, Steve Jobs is a libertarian, don’t you?
Uh, since when?
Jobs has long been associated with progressive politics and Democratic contributions
actually I meant a separation between your brain and your ass – engineer…( yeah right!)
How do you know anything about me you born by accident fucktard?
Steve Jobs is a born Liberal and Apple is testament to his kind of open mindedness and innovation which inbreds of your ilk will never be capable of. Now, do us all a favor and get run over by an engine because that’s the only time a connection between your brain and your ass will be possible.
actually I meant a separation between your brain and your ass – engineer…( yeah right!)
“No,” is the short and correct answer.
Rory Cellan-Jones == Charlie Sheen.
DUH…WINNING!
Google is not capable of an “end-to-end, software-to-stores operation,” especially when it comes to conceptualizing, innovating, and inventing. That’s why they steal those things from others.
When microsoft had a near monopoly I did not see these sorts if complaints in print, and that company had vast reasons for complaint.
I think Google only really wanted to take on Apple with Android from a “duck and cover” type operation where they could lob something out in the market place (Android software) and minimize their direct involvement. Buying Motorola and the expectations from that invites a whole bag of hurt, distractions and responsibilities for Google. And now they must deliver on a whole different level – an insurmountable Apple level and how many succeed at that?
Just imagine where everything Google produces through Motorola will be perpetual betas. There would be a riot of half-baked, throw-at-wall, experimental products and the usual travesty of dodging from blame that they are give-aways and the users ought to be thankful to the eternally “do-no-evil” Lady Bountiful. With the newly acquired 7,000 bogus patents under its belt, Google has a license to vigorously steal, copy and pillage from others with impunity under the protection and horse trading of these bogus patents.
I think the Harlem Globetrotters win too often. Maybe Rory can do something about that.
Is Rory Cellan-Jones writing the same anti-Apple crap too often ?
I’ll tell you who the hell is winning on a regular basis. Steve Ballmer’s winning. But you have to lose to win. So baldie’s losing big to win big. Zune, PlaysForSure, Kin, sure those are carcasses of not winning. But what’s the consequence of winning? Windows 8. That’ll be a win so big that it’ll presage the Mac taking over the PC. Now that’s winning.
“you have to lose to win” – Hulk Hogan, Suburban Commando
No, Apple is winning too rarely. They should win basically all trials about capacitive multi-touch gesture-based UI in mobile products. And even then it is not “too often”, it is just what would be fair.
No. Stupid question. Next
Even Microsoft created a phone that doesn’t look and work like an iPhone. Is it that hard to go get some really creative people and start creating something new? Patents don’t stifle innovation. They stifle people who cannot innovate. Anyone worth a damn is trying to create their own thing without relying on Apple to be their r&d team.
“If Apple makes one, we should make one” is not a viable business plan.
Well said. Copying Apple is not innovation.
“Patents don’t stifle innovation. They stifle people who cannot innovate.”
Very well said, definitely sig worhty. 🙂
I love Apple and their products, but the consumer is rarely best served by a lack of competition. So I do hope someone can step up to keep them competitive.
Apple is doing a darn good job even with the lack of effective competition. In the long run, sure, I could see the potential for complacency followed by degradation of the driving Apple corporate vision. But that is a real risk for all thriving companies, and Apple (under the guidance of SJ, at least) seems highly resistant to resting on its laurels.
I don’t disagree with that, bro; and I know we’re on the same side as fans of Apple.
But when I hear these tech “pundits” obviously longing for Apple to be taken down, I have to wonder where was all this praying for ‘healthy competition’ during the past 20 years of the Windows regime, when restrictive EULAs and ruthless OEM licensing pretty much locked people into only taking what they were given?
You know, when Dell wasn’t even PERMITTED to advertise that they could sell a box with Red Hat on it, thanks to the kind of rapacious, predatory practices that’ Redmond engages in. Or the kind of bundling abuses that the European courts (at least) would acknowledge as clearly monopolistic. Years and years of iron-fisted control over the entire PC industry, and yet I don’t remember hearing many people wailing about the need for competition then.
As others have pointed out, the iPod went through several years of non-stop refinement and innovation when it had ZERO competition. The Mini was the hottest mp3 player on the planet when Steve summarily killed it in 2005 and replaced it with the NEW hottest player: the Nano. Thus, I think Apple has shown (and continues to show) that it can maintain the pace of innovation on its own timetables, with or without direct competition.
Apple’s new product development competes against everything that exists today, including their old products. Since their old products are already the best, there is really no need for outside challenges.
Winning too often does seem to stir up a lot of unwarranted hatred on “the other side”. No one likes to lose…and then read about it EVERYWHERE they look!
all the handset manufacturers had successful interfaces that allowed cellphone, texting, basic data and crippled web browsing experiences before Apple launched the iPhone. Then Apple did it better and released a real mobile web browser and suddenly competitor’s felt their interfaces were not successful, and the only way to survive was to copy Apple. How does Apple stifle innovation by inventing a new interface for a cellphone?
Is Apple winning too much?? Only if you are a would-be competitor…
Cellan Jones does have the advantage that he is a Mac user — his TV news reports frequently include shots of a MacBook (or MBP). He’s not some anti-Apple zealot. Whilst his comments may not always be right, or to the liking of everyone, but he’s a pretty good correspondent, who gives good and fair coverage to Apple hardware and news stories.
And I wonder how mant here can pronounce his name properly!