Sun former CEO: Steve Jobs threatened to sue us over patents too
Former chief executive of Sun Jonathan Schwartz has accused Steve Jobs of threatening patent action against his company in 2003, related to desktop OS technologies, in a long blog post that highlights a series of tech patent squabbles.
Schwartz introduced his blog posting commiserating for Google, although Apple's current patent lawsuit is actually being taken against HTC, the hardware partner behind the Google-branded Nexus One, and does not directly involve Google at all.
HTC also makes most of the other significant Android phones on the market as well as a number of high profile Windows Mobile phones, both under its own brand and cobranded with other companies.
Schwartz said that Jobs called him personally in 2003 "to let me know the graphical effects [in Sun's Project Looking Glass project] were ?stepping all over Apple?s [Intellectual Property]." If Sun decided to release the product commercially, Jobs reportedly threatened to sue for infringement.
Schwartz said that Sun chose not to launch the product in question, but that the decision was not affected by Jobs' threat. Instead, he said Sun abandoned the Linux desktop user interface shell because it thought there would be no market for a Windows desktop competitor among businesses.
The point of the blog posting was further muddled by Schwartz's comments that Apple's Keynote app was likely infringing on intellectual property in Sun's Concurrence. It is an open secret that Apple based elements of its suite of iWork apps on a series of productivity apps created by Lighthouse Design for Jobs' original NeXT Computer.
Schwartz was a cofounder of Lighthouse, and therefore an associate of Jobs during his stint at NeXT. The Lighthouse apps were "the Offices suite" for NeXT, and were a personal favorite of Jobs. NeXT needed Lighthouse because Microsoft had refused to port its Office apps to the platform, with Bill Gates famously saying he'd rather "piss on it" than develop apps for the advanced operating system Jobs created after leaving Apple.
However, when Sun bought Lighthouse in the mid 1990s, it locked up the company's suite of apps and threw away the key, abandoning all new development. Apple was then forced to create a Cocoa-based productivity suite on its own over the last decade, as Sun had no interest in developing for Cocoa because it was then focused on pushing Java.
Microsoft only begrudgingly did the least amount of work necessary to get its existing Mac Office running on the new Mac OS X, using Apple's legacy Carbon environment rather than porting Office to use the advanced new Cocoa frameworks.
Apple is now touting iWork as a suitable replacement for Office on the Mac desktop, and debuting it as the first multitouch productivity suite, developed for the upcoming iPad.
Schwartz introduced his blog posting commiserating for Google, although Apple's current patent lawsuit is actually being taken against HTC, the hardware partner behind the Google-branded Nexus One, and does not directly involve Google at all.
HTC also makes most of the other significant Android phones on the market as well as a number of high profile Windows Mobile phones, both under its own brand and cobranded with other companies.
Schwartz said that Jobs called him personally in 2003 "to let me know the graphical effects [in Sun's Project Looking Glass project] were ?stepping all over Apple?s [Intellectual Property]." If Sun decided to release the product commercially, Jobs reportedly threatened to sue for infringement.
Schwartz said that Sun chose not to launch the product in question, but that the decision was not affected by Jobs' threat. Instead, he said Sun abandoned the Linux desktop user interface shell because it thought there would be no market for a Windows desktop competitor among businesses.
The point of the blog posting was further muddled by Schwartz's comments that Apple's Keynote app was likely infringing on intellectual property in Sun's Concurrence. It is an open secret that Apple based elements of its suite of iWork apps on a series of productivity apps created by Lighthouse Design for Jobs' original NeXT Computer.
Schwartz was a cofounder of Lighthouse, and therefore an associate of Jobs during his stint at NeXT. The Lighthouse apps were "the Offices suite" for NeXT, and were a personal favorite of Jobs. NeXT needed Lighthouse because Microsoft had refused to port its Office apps to the platform, with Bill Gates famously saying he'd rather "piss on it" than develop apps for the advanced operating system Jobs created after leaving Apple.
However, when Sun bought Lighthouse in the mid 1990s, it locked up the company's suite of apps and threw away the key, abandoning all new development. Apple was then forced to create a Cocoa-based productivity suite on its own over the last decade, as Sun had no interest in developing for Cocoa because it was then focused on pushing Java.
Microsoft only begrudgingly did the least amount of work necessary to get its existing Mac Office running on the new Mac OS X, using Apple's legacy Carbon environment rather than porting Office to use the advanced new Cocoa frameworks.
Apple is now touting iWork as a suitable replacement for Office on the Mac desktop, and debuting it as the first multitouch productivity suite, developed for the upcoming iPad.
Comments
Apple is the target of Nokia, Kodak and other minor players. Putting aside the urgent need for patent reform, Apple is seeking leverage. It needs to test its patents in court, the least bloody way to test those is with a small timer like HTC.
Once it has proven patents Nokia will step back and if it hurts Android and Windows Phones in the process Apple will feel it this won 2-0.
Shooting wars often hurt civilians, sadly in this case its HTC who takes the proxy war.
Schwartz said that Sun chose not to launch the product in question, but that the decision was not affected by Jobs' threat. Instead, he said Sun abandoned the Linux desktop user interface shell because it thought there would be no market for a Windows desktop competitor among businesses.
That, and it looked like half-assed crap. I remember when there was quite a buzz going around about Project Looking Glass, and many comparisons were made to OS X at the time. Doesn't surprise me at all if this is true.
I think we've heard enough from Mr. Schwartz and his now-defunct company.
Microsoft only begrudgingly did the least amount of work necessary to get its existing Mac Office running on the new Mac OS X, using Apple's legacy Carbon environment rather than porting Office to use the advanced new Cocoa frameworks.
If Microsoft Office is that Bad then why do 3/4 of Mac users have it on their Mac.
It puts a smile on Steve Balmer's face with every sale.
http://www.macworld.com/article/1380...se_office.html
And now that it's Cocoa I imagine that will only go up.
Besides, Microsoft is Apple's new BFF to fight off Google dominance in every market.
Good luck with Bing!
CEOs calling one another to inform them they are infringing on their IP instead of using lawyers as intermediaries sounds awfully gentlemanly.
Steve Jobs is not a gentleman and never has been.
Steve Jobs is not a gentleman and never has been.
I see your shift has started.
If Microsoft Office is that Bad then why do 3/4 of Mac users have it on their Mac.
Because people are under the impression that they somehow need MS Office and that nothing else exists in the Office suite market. It's what they use at work and they assume it's what they need at home. They're bringing that Windows mentality to the Mac platform. I feel sorry for them, but Apple seems to be making some headway in weaning people off Windows. Like a dangerous addiction, it takes time to bring users around. They aren't going to quit cold turkey and feel alright.
Steve Jobs is not a gentleman and never has been.
The next time you have lunch with him tell him I said hi.
I see your shift has started.
Isn't that a typo?
I see your shift has started.
I heard the wine bottle open in your thread and thought I'd post before I couldn't understand your ever so informative 9 page posting and the infamous French quotes that you look up in Wiki.
Oh, wait...
Because people are under the impression that they somehow need MS Office and that nothing else exists in the Office suite market. It's what they use at work and they assume it's what they need at home.
The oddest thing about his post is the weird ass logic that the popularity of Office for Mac means that MS has put extensive resources into the Mac office suite development.
The truth is Office for Mac is one of the handful of areas MS makes money, but MS has used Office for Mac as leverage against Apple by stalling updates and features.
Because people are under the impression that they somehow need MS Office and that nothing else exists in the Office suite market. It's what they use at work and they assume it's what they need at home. They're bringing that Windows mentality to the Mac platform. I feel sorry for them, but Apple seems to be making some headway in weaning people off Windows. Like a dangerous addiction, it takes time to bring users around. They aren't going to quit cold turkey and feel alright.
The next time you have lunch with him tell him I said hi.
It doesn't matter to Microsoft. It's still cash in their pockets.
I wouldn't have lunch with Steve Jobs. He'd probably tell me he forgot his wallet and make me pay for it. Plus the thought of it makes me lose my appetite (much like your postings).
Isn't that a typo?
It doesn't matter to Microsoft. It's still cash in their pockets.
I wouldn't have lunch with Steve Jobs. He'd probably tell me he forgot his wallet and make me pay for it. Plus the thought of it makes me lose my appetite (much like your postings).
Why are you here?
Why are you here?
To ask why 3/4 of Mac users that don't care for Microsoft need them. It was a part of the article. Why are you asking other than to troll me.