Maybe Samsung didn't do all that much Apple copying after all.
In case you didn't know, Apple Computer won a massive victory in court over Samsung, basically saying that Samsung copied Apple's designs. One of the chief sound-bytes from the case, widely reported across all media, was a quote from an Samsung executive who reportedly said:
"...make something like the iPhone"
to designers. Sounds like copying, right?
Well hold on there for a moment. It seems that Apple (& its cadre of lawyers) engaged in a bit of spinmeistering, the kind of stuff that both Presidential campaigns have done; you know, taking just a sliver of a sound-byte out of context.
Here's the actual quote from the Samsung executive, as taken from the article:
"I hear things like this: Let's make something like the iPhone."
In other words, not "copy the iPhone" but rather "people say we should copy the iPhone". That's the difference between...
"People say I write in the gonzo style of Dr Hunter S. Thompson."
vs
"I copied the work of Dr Hunter S. Thompson and called it my own."
The Samsung executive goes on to say:
"When everybody talks about the UX (a Samsung phone model), they weigh it against the iPhone. The iPhone has become the standard. That's how things are already."
A further nail in the Apple spin-machine logic.
I'll let folks come to their own conclusions, to the extent they care, about this kind of stuff (they should, but that's another topic for another day). My conclusion is this: Apple is sleazy. They portray this Hippster vibe of peace, love, Steve Jobs and granola, but that's really not what he company is about. They are simply ruthless business people who don't care who dies making their products (Foxconn anyone?) and how much truth they need to stretch in order to make even more money. They are a-kin to the worst Wall Street types, except they sell gadgets.
And iTunes sucks.
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