So there’s a statement credited to former Google CEO Eric Schmidt that Apple is trying to sue its way to success rather than innovate. Curious, and crazy, among other things.

Curious in that the Android OS is obviously heavily influenced by the iOS, and has been from the very first day. Sure, Google acquired Android several years earlier, and it’s clear their target then was Microsoft, not Apple. The arrival of the iPhone changed everything. Does Schmidt he really expect people to believe that Apple doesn’t innovate?

Sure, it’s easy to find telltale influences, or inspirations, in Apple’s operating systems. The Window menu, for example, appeared in Windows ahead of the Mac OS. Being able to resize a document from all corners of the screen in Lion was also offered in Windows first, but I don’t expect that Microsoft is ready to sue Apple for “borrowing” a few look end feel concepts. And, yes, the new Notification feature in iOS 5 was clearly inspired by the Android OS, but that’s not nearly enough to justify Schmidt’s claims that Apple doesn’t innovate.

Continue Reading…

This article was posted on Monday, July 25th, 2011 at 12:00 AM and is filed under News and tagged with: Android, Android OS, Apple, Eric Schmidt, Google, iOS, Mac Os, Microsoft, Microsoft Windows, Windows.