HP taken to task for releasing iMac clone - Page 5

I think the answer is the same as why laptops became very, very popular.  The old tech didn't have the lithium-ion battery life, nor did it have the processing power of today's machines.  The same to be said for the mac-mini designs, all laptop hardware based.  The G4 was a slug, although great at the time for dorms and apartment dwellers who only needed to write papers and email.  Gaming on a G4 mini was laughable.  Not the situation anymore with the advances in technology.

 

The capability of today's machines allow for such designs to exist, in other words.  AIO's are coming around to the forefront because they are taking up the top of a small desk, rather than a huge desk with a "cubby" for a separate tower.  The graphics cards in the AIO's coupled with the decrease in heat from the CPUs allow them to be just as capable as the old tower design.  In short, you can have both processing power and excellent gaming experience on a much less intrusive footprint now, whereas 5 years ago this wasn't possible.

Too late buddy, they already do sue over tire design. Including trade dress. http://www.docstoc.com/docs/81960702/Maine-Industrial-Tire-v-Solid-Source-Tire-_-Wheel-et-al

 

It appears that historically companies (and individuals) and states used to just rip each other off, and the current system is in part a reflection of the magnitude of that prior theft. If you like ironic twists look into how own part of the revolution industrial revolution received a not insignificant boost from ignoring British patents and replicating them wholesale, yet now we face our own copycats overseas.

 

Now granted, I'm not an expert, and this is all opinion and a quick bit of web research to find bits of info I vaguely remember. Take with multiple grains of salt. Maybe some pepper. Mostly I'm just amused at how ardent and militant folks are about their opinions, which carry little weight and almost less factual information. Kinda like mine. ; )

Sorry, but I'm not seeing it.

While it's entirely possible that HP's computer is inspired by the iMac, there's nothing wrong with that. I don't see it as a slavish copy in the sense that the Samsung Tab copied the iPad. In particular, look at the front view. The iMac screen goes to the edge on the top and sides and has silver along the bottom. HP's is a black border all the way around. Similarly, you can't confuse the back or sides of the computers.

Besides, I'm not sure how protectable this particular design is. There is prior art and I'm not sure that Apple has design patents covering the design. If they do, then it comes down to the specific claims of the patent.

 

Wait, how? You don't see the copying in the foot design, much less the overall shape and hardware combination?

It's not a copy. It's quite hideous and has plenty of different features and aesthetics. There will be no lawsuit from Apple on their design.

 

I guess I don't see how that isn't a copy and this is:

 

 

Particularly given these patents.

 

Well now. With your link to a tire company suing another tire company, I stand thoroughly corrected on my assertion that "no consumer will confuse donuts and tires."

That pic has many elements that aren't natural to a physical object. You can clearly make an argument that they looked at Apple's design and made as exact as possible while trying to spend money on more complex features of the casing. What those elements with the HP? From the front? From the side? It's aluminum? It has a monitor? It ha a stand? Engineering-wise that new HP AIO is quite unique. It's ugly, but it's their own design. At most you can say inspired by Apple but it really looks like they wanted to get in on the AIO market. What other options could they have used for an AIO with an adjustable display? They put the computer parts in the stand, which is different. You can't expect them to have the base of the stand be smaller tha n the top of the stand. You can't expect them to put the articulation somewhere other the center without some severe engineering costs.

What will the anti Apple critize now ?
Windows PC users buying products that physically clone the designs they like to put down !

I'll bet HP would like to go the whole way and install MacOS X.

 

They've been shipping their computers with a fake "Dock" for years now. I think they'd absolutely just up and do it if it weren't for the fact that it WOULD bankrupt the company when Apple sued over it.

They didn't invent the rectangle, true. But the PC makers tried making all in ones and failed in their earlier tries. Now that the iMac has been around for a while is seems only natural that the Windows guys try again. And why not make it look a little like an iMac? The design works. Nobody really owns a design. Someone always sees something they remembered and starts drawing and there you have it. They perfect it, clean it up and there you go. I'm curious as to how the new iMacs will look. Can't believe Apple will change it too much.

It tapers to 7" wide at the front. 

Holy shit the stand on that HP all-in-one is absolutely disgusting.

I don't think it's about slavishly copying on the computer itself, but the keyboard, trackpad and mouse look incredibly similar to Apple's. The "head" is pretty similar, sans the "chin". The stands are considerably different.

In response to some comments by others:
But the main appearance distinction between the iMac and HP & Vizio is in the stand, the "head" looks needlessly similar.

The fact that the actual brains might be in places other than behind the monitor doesn't look that important. When in conjunction with all the input devices, the differences relative to the whole package decrease.