Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!samsung!olivea!mintaka!geech.gnu.ai.mit.edu!rjc From: rjc@geech.gnu.ai.mit.edu (Ray Cromwell) Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.advocacy Subject: Apple's claim on GUI techniques Message-ID: <1991Mar19.204622.4797@mintaka.lcs.mit.edu> Date: 19 Mar 91 20:46:22 GMT Sender: daemon@mintaka.lcs.mit.edu (Lucifer Maleficius) Organization: The Internet Lines: 47 I saw this in comp.sys.mac.system: ------included text---- In article <4323@gmdzi.gmd.de>, strobl@gmdzi (Wolfgang Strobl) writes: >doner@henri.ucsb.edu (John Doner) writes: > >>As for Windows, the original version, the one current when the Apple >>lawsuit was filed, was no more than a slavish copy. > >As far as I know, the Apple lawsuit wasn't filed against the original >version. Anyway, I would like to hear some arguments why you think that >Windows (either version) is a "slavish copy", in your opinion. Well, I don't know about "slavish copy," but here's the list of interface items still under contention (from MacWeek). I leave it to each of you to judge the merits of them: 1. Overlapping windows. 2. Windows appearing partly on and off screen. 3. Windows brought to top when selected. 4. Active top window. 5. Gray outline of windows dragged along with cursor. 6. Window redrawn in new position. 7. Newly exposed areas on screen displayed after window is moved. 8. Movable icons. 9. Icons displayed behind open windows. 10. Icon titles. ----end included text----- Every single one of those concepts listed are TOTALLY and completely obvious. Take a person who doesn't know anything about Apple's GUI, ask him to design a windowing system that maximizes screen real estate and he will come up with overlapping windows. None of Apple's claims listed are particulary innovative. They are obvious solutions to limited screen real estate, cpu speed, and ram. One good thing is that Apple's claims seem to conflict with AT&T's "patent" on overlapping windows using backing store. Perhaps AT&T will get pulled into the battle. -- /~\_______________________________________________________________________/~\ |n| rjc@albert.ai.mit.edu Amiga, the computer for the creative mind. |n| |~| .-. .-. |~| |_|________________________________| |_| |________________________________|_|