Apple raids Xerox YET AGAIN - for its chief beancounter

Xerox has announced that Apple has snaffled its chief financial officer Luca Maestri to be the new Cupertino corporate controller from the end of February. The firm synonymous with photocopying said Maestri was a "stellar finance executive" and that it had started a search to replace him. Maestri will take over from ex-Appler …

[Ragarath]

Say it like it is...

Your Version:

Over at Apple, whose early GUI desktop computers were heavily influenced by technology developed at Xerox's PARC lab in 1979, Maestri will help CFO Peter Oppenheimer count the fruity firm's mountains of cash.

The Real Version:

Over at Apple, whose early GUI desktop computers were heavily influenced by copied technology developed at Xerox's PARC lab in 1979, Maestri will help CFO Peter Oppenheimer count the fruity firm's mountains of cash.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Say it like it is...

Here we go again!

I know we all love to rag on Apple as the epitome of evil and the wickedest wickedest company on the planet, et cetera et cetera.

And we've all heard this "they stole from Xerox" story repeated ad infinitum as if it's the gospel truth.

But it isn't true, look it up and you'll see what I mean.

Try here, for starters: http://www-sul.stanford.edu/mac/parc.html

[Ragarath]

Re: Say it like it is...

But it isn't true, look it up and you'll see what I mean.

They did say it like it was. Apparently you weren't old enough to know.

I knew a few of these would appear. Yes I am old enough to know but it does seem that your getting to old. Your eyes are failing and they missed the rather obvious troll icon at the side of my post *sigh*.

[Observer1959]

Re: Say it like it is...

They did say it like it was. Apparently you weren't old enough to know.

http://www-sul.stanford.edu/mac/parc.html

[JaitcH]

Apple has stolen so much ...

IP so learning of it starting to pinch staff is hardly surprising.

Must be better quality than some of Apple's staff, who simply get canned.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Apple has stolen so much ...

So for Apple to steal is wrong, but for everyone else to copy the Mac GUI was perfectly legit?

Lets not forget that the Xerox designs were all research that had been sat about in their R&D for decades. If Apple hadn't used it then who knows what would have happened to it. We might still be using keyboards and cursor keys to use a computer.

The only reason they didn't clean up was the high price of the Apple Lisa. If the Mac had come out first then the Windows PC wouldn't exist.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Apple has stolen so much ...

> high price of the Apple Lisa. If the Mac had come out first then the Windows PC wouldn't exist.

??

The Lisa first shipped in January 1983

The Mac first shipped in January 1984

Windows first shipped in November 1985

[Observer1959]

Re: Apple has stolen so much ...

I believe he was trying to say that had the Mac come out in 83 (at it's cheaper price then Lisa), then it would have been harder for Windows to catch up.

Gates wanted Apple to license their OS but they refused. This is what gave Gates the opportunity to get his Windows out onto DOS machines and thus gain market share.

[JaitcH]

Re: Apple has stolen so much ...

Lets not forget that the Xerox designs were all research that had been sat about in their R&D for decades.

So research has no value? And Apple doesn't have stuff sit around for ages?

No wonder you are so much of a coward to post as Anonymous uttering that Tosh.

[ian 22]

Re: Apple has stolen so much ...

I was a developer on Project Janus in 1978. Janus was Xerox' attempt to commercialize PARC research, and resulted in the 8010 workstation and related servers, all communicating via Ethernet. So, no designs were sat about PARC "for decades".

Sadly, the 8010 was only flogged to Fortune 500 companies, and Xerox failed to patent PARC designs. Made me crazy and old before my time.

[Ivan Headache]

I was a developer on Project Janus in 1978

Sorry Ian, in 1978 you were a 'Computer Programmer' - a relatively rare breed.

Developers didn't appear until much later - now they're 10 a penny.

[Chad H.]

Re: Apple has stolen so much ...

Since when is "stolen" the same thing as "paid for"? I smell a record company exec.

[Jurassic]

Xerox is a business, not a religion

"Apple raids Xerox YET AGAIN"

If by "raids" you mean "pays to license technologies", then you are absolutely correct.

In fact, Apple would love it if their competitors would "raid" Apple's technologies like that... instead of stealing it. ;-)

[imaginarynumber]

Re: Xerox is a business, not a religion

Apple paid to visit PARC, not to take whatever they wanted. Do you not recall Xerox trying to sue Apple (whilst apple were engaged in suing MicroSoft) ?

When I pay to go to the cinema, I do not expect to be able to record the movie, make some edits and then burn it to DVD and flog it on market stalls up and down the country.