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Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!rutgers!rochester!pt.cs.cmu.edu!andrew.cmu.edu!ks26+
From: ks26+@andrew.cmu.edu (Kenneth Sykes)
Newsgroups: comp.windows.ms,comp.sys.ibm.pc,comp.sys.mac
Subject: Re: Apple gets favorable ruling
Message-ID: <kYDBoKy00XoZIA30U1@andrew.cmu.edu>
Date: 7 Apr 89 16:08:54 GMT
References: <6271@bsu-cs.UUCP> <1068@Portia.Stanford.EDU> <2574@cadre.dsl.PITTSBURGH.EDU> <25056@mirror.UUCP>,
	<1492@yunexus.UUCP>
Organization: Mellon College of Science, Carnegie Mellon, Pittsburgh, PA
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In-Reply-To: <1492@yunexus.UUCP>

> Boy, you can sure tell YOU haven't worked in an IBM-only shop.  If The
> 'suits' in your MIS or ACS dept. can say 'You don;t need mAcs, you
> have PCs with MS-Windows", you are screwed, blued, and Tattooed, and
> there's little you can do about it.  The users have no recourse and
> that's how Apple loses ground to the competition.  If, on the other
> hand, the only place to get the Mac-ish interface is from Apple, then
> the users can complain hard and long, and the MIS/ACS peple have to
> capitulate eventually (angry mob with lit tapers entering the computer
> room...)
>
> IBM... idiots bought me...
>
> -- nrg

There are a few things to consider that haven't been hit on yet:

1.  Apple's current market share is roughly 10%, whereas the IBM-PC is roughly
     23%.
2.  There are GUI's available that offer more than the MAC, Windows, GEM, etc.
     (NewWave in particular).  There was some discussion of 3-D windowing systems
     on comp.graphics that would blow away all of the above.
3.  In spite of the fact that Apple won the first decision, all it has
established is that
     Windows 2.03 is not covered under said contract.  I wouldn't be so hasty to
pop
     the champagne: Contract disputes are concrete cases, but copyrighting
look-and-feel
     is VAGUE.  Needless to say it will be a long, hard battle that wastes the
time of two
     companies that could better spend their energies developing new technology
instead
     of bickering over the old.

In light of the above, Apple may be better off swallowing the suit and working
towards
making their platform compatible with IBMs.  This would allow them to sell
software
to approximately 1/3 of all personal computers, instead of 10%.  Doing so may
allow
them to increase market share by "graying" the line between IBM and Apple.

--Ken Sykes