Yes, there would. People always want to buy **** as cheap as possible.
Case in point vvv
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Apple Files Patent Infringement Suit Over 'Knock-Off' Power Adapters
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Yes, there would. People always want to buy **** as cheap as possible.
Case in point vvv
knock-off
I remember 3 years ago I was looking for an RCA cable so I could use my iPod on my TV. Apple's official dock was $100. While it would have been nice to use the remote, it wasn't worth that much. The other option was the headphone to RCA cable. Apple's official cable was $30 at the only local store I could've gotten one, though I could've mail-ordered it for $20 (plus shipping).
I remember walking out the store to a small kiosk outside that sold (almost) the same cable for $2 (normally I think you'd find it for $6)
about the "almost" part, the only difference is that Apple intentionally changes the color coding on their wire. When you use the standard plug, the video came from one of the audio plugs, instead of the standard yellow.
Most people would just match up the colors. This would give them the impression that only Apple wires work with Apple products. Just a clever way of extorting the customer.
If you don't want people to buy the "knock-offs", don't sell your products with a 500-1000% premium.
I remember 3 years ago I was looking for an RCA cable so I could use my iPod on my TV. Apple's official dock was $100. While it would have been nice to use the remote, it wasn't worth that much. The other option was the headphone to RCA cable. Apple's official cable was $30 at the only local store I could've gotten one, though I could've mail-ordered it for $20 (plus shipping).
I remember walking out the store to a small kiosk outside that sold (almost) the same cable for $2 (normally I think you'd find it for $6)
about the "almost" part, the only difference is that Apple intentionally changes the color coding on their wire. When you use the standard plug, the video came from one of the audio plugs, instead of the standard yellow.
Most people would just match up the colors. This would give them the impression that only Apple wires work with Apple products. Just a clever way of extorting the customer.
If you don't want people to buy the "knock-offs", don't sell your products with a 500-1000% premium.
Oh my god...are you KIDDING ME?
Are they going to sue Belkin for making those iPod touch cables/charge units next?
Real low, Apple.
Not likely.
1) The iPod 'dock' connector isn't an Apple patented connector. (IIRC)
2) They license Belkin to make 'Made for iPod' stuff.
Maybe you should do some minor research before you rant about something you don't understand?
I don't know what the agreement, IF ANY, is between those two companies, to be honest. But I wouldn't be surprised to see a lawsuit between the two, either. Belkin cords and adapters cost WAY less than the Apple brand, and you can find them everywhere...even grocery stores.
I just think Apple needs to put a lid on their over zealous legal team. Haven't they alienated enough companies already?
Maybe you should do some minor research before you rant about something you don't understand?
Cute! But we're not talking about Belkin. And no, I didn't read it. I just know they're more dependable then the actual Apple cords.
But hey, let Apple go sue happy. They need something to distract from their DOA 27inch imacs.
I find the $80 price tag of the power adapters from Apple Retail a bit on the Hyper Exotic end of the spectrum. The technology inside has existed for years, and likely costs Apple only $5 per unit to make.
I love my Mac Systems, I just hate price gouging on needed accessories like this, and Mini display Port items.
I love my Mac Systems, I just hate price gouging on needed accessories like this, and Mini display Port items.
The referenced patent is a design patent, and covers the industrial design of the adapter. It doesn't cover magsafe.
In this case, the design of the box, and especially the flip-out cable holders, are the point of the patent. By duplicating it exactly, they've clearly infringed. You might argue that design patents are a bad idea, but as long as they are law, this is a clear-cut case.
In this case, the design of the box, and especially the flip-out cable holders, are the point of the patent. By duplicating it exactly, they've clearly infringed. You might argue that design patents are a bad idea, but as long as they are law, this is a clear-cut case.
I bought one of these BY ACCIDENT since they don't come right out and say "Aftermarket". I sent it back and fought the restocking charge based on mis-representation. The quality was poor, especially at that price!
On the other hand, Apple claims they will license that connector and hasn't. Last I checked, iGo and Kensington STILL don't have a MBP compatible device and iGo used to have a "please contact Apple on our behalf" page in place.
Here's a reference to the now removed page: http://www.jforsythe.com/jforsytheblog/2008/01/29/ApplePutsTheSmackDownOnIGoMagSafeTips.aspx
I don't mind Apple coming up with neat new tech, but when they use it make me buy their $40 wall warts for $79 with NO expandability (like the iGo); I think they need to get a clue.
mac-10
On the other hand, Apple claims they will license that connector and hasn't. Last I checked, iGo and Kensington STILL don't have a MBP compatible device and iGo used to have a "please contact Apple on our behalf" page in place.
Here's a reference to the now removed page: http://www.jforsythe.com/jforsytheblog/2008/01/29/ApplePutsTheSmackDownOnIGoMagSafeTips.aspx
I don't mind Apple coming up with neat new tech, but when they use it make me buy their $40 wall warts for $79 with NO expandability (like the iGo); I think they need to get a clue.
mac-10
Well, you do need glasses, because the post you responded to was saying the opposite of what you think. Read it again.
I paid good money for a quality APPLE MBP but the APPLE adaptor supplied was "****".
So, I could of paid the premium for a replacement APPLE adaptor, but as my personnel experience left me thinking it was ****, I decided to buy some other cheap **** as I couldn't be any ******* worse than the ******* **** that APPLE supplied. Then when the cheap **** broke I could say ****! that **** is ******* **** but at least I ******* saved some ******* hard earned cash !!!
Quoting a friend who read this thread earlier.
"Anything that Apple comes out with first....no company should have the right to produce it. Period. Apple invented it. They get to charge a little more for being that smart and making something that good. There shouldn't be cheap knock-offs of anything like that. There's ONE. The original."
Have fun with that.
"Anything that Apple comes out with first....no company should have the right to produce it. Period. Apple invented it. They get to charge a little more for being that smart and making something that good. There shouldn't be cheap knock-offs of anything like that. There's ONE. The original."
Have fun with that.
It wasn't just a color coding change, it was a pin-out difference. There isn't a standard for headphone jack to RCA pin-outs, and apparently Apple and this generic cable's company chose a different order. The generic cable's colors didn't match up because the signals were coming off different 'pins' (the 3-4 bands on the 'headphone' plug). Apple knows the pin-out they used, so their cables are color coded correctly for it. The generic cable's manufacturer doesn't know the correct pin-out for any given piece of equipment, so they probably did some research and chose the most common pin-out they found. It just doesn't happen to match Apple's choice. (An actual standard would help there.)
Both cables work equally well in any 'headphone jack to RCA' *if* you know the actual pin-out (vs. the pin-out assumed by the cable). You'll find that that generic cable 'fails' with quite a few other brands of equipment for exactly the same reason it 'failed' for the iPod.
Sadly, $30 for a cable isn't an out-of-band price these days, despite the fact that even top-tier cables tend to cost about $2-5 to produce and ship to market. There's likely nothing deficient about that $2 cable, but Apple's price of $30 isn't extortionate by any means.
Apple rarely comes out with anything entirely new though, they generally revolutionize a current product or market.
What in the world are you talking about?? There is a huge aftermarket for Apple compatible accessories.. Some people don't like the idea of paying 300% Apple tax on commodity accessories that cost a few bucks to produce.
I heartily disagree. So long as Apple charges exorbitant amounts for their power adaptors, there will always be a market for less expensive "knock offs".
Incidentally, the knock-offs from this story ($59 from Laptops-for-Less) aren't the only knock-offs out there. Just do a Google search and you'll find others. As far as getting cheap knock-offs, there's one you can get from Buy.com for $24.93. Now that's one I could see being okay with, even if it's somewhat cheaply made. At least the price would reflect the quality, right?
So the truth is that Apple is simply defending themselves from an obvious knock-off product, just like any other company would. But, but, but it's so much more fun to imagine that it's an evil conspiracy!
Magsafe Auto Adapter for MacBook Pro
Two weeks ago I purchased one of these from OWC for $49. I thought the price was a little high, but it is a quality item. Works at 85w for any of the MBPs. Good thing I got it then. Still on the OWC site:
http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Other%20World%20Computing/ADPTMSC85/
Looks like it will be next to go, although it doesn't duplicate anything that Apple makes or sells. Made in China.
Two weeks ago I purchased one of these from OWC for $49. I thought the price was a little high, but it is a quality item. Works at 85w for any of the MBPs. Good thing I got it then. Still on the OWC site:
http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Other%20World%20Computing/ADPTMSC85/
Looks like it will be next to go, although it doesn't duplicate anything that Apple makes or sells. Made in China.
I'm pretty sure this lawsuit isn't the first contact between these two companies, and was probably a last resort. That's pretty typical in the corporate world. I'd guess that, at the end of the day, Media Solutions Holdings gave Apple the proverbial finger and this was Apple's response.I don't know what the agreement, IF ANY, is between those two companies, to be honest. But I wouldn't be surprised to see a lawsuit between the two, either. Belkin cords and adapters cost WAY less than the Apple brand, and you can find them everywhere...even grocery stores.
I just think Apple needs to put a lid on their over zealous legal team. Haven't they alienated enough companies already?
Another point, patents that aren't defended become unenforceable. If you think Sony or HP or Dell or anyone else (esp. Sony) wouldn't defend a similar patent in a similar situation then you are sadly mistaken.
I bought what I thought was an Apple adapter for my MacBook from an ebay reseller. Regrettably it was an unbranded pattern part. Advertised as an Apple adapter. It lasted four months! Then heated up and stopped working.
If this is about some MagSafe patent, I'm a little uneasy because there's not really any other way to deliver power to a modern mac laptop BUT with some kind of magnetic attachment. Unlike other formats there's no way to build a snug male to female connector for MagSafe power in.
I wonder, though, if it's more about the "wall hump" design. These things were indistinguishable from Apple branded adapters; discouraging THAT behavior is important because it's likely to confuse consumers who aren't savvy enough to ken the different between "Apple adapter" and "100% Apple compatible." Or to permit brand piracy; see the post above mine.
Apple's track record with power adapters is pretty poor. I've had some manor of trouble with every adapter they've build since 2000, starting with that huge and terrible "UFO" style adapter. The MagSafe is the best yet, but even it has trouble -- the bolstering jacket on the connector end isn't very sturdy, and if you commonly sit with the power adapter to your right (with the cable stretched across the back of the laptop) you will eventually fray the the cable unless you make a little loop at the MagSafe end. I've lost two in this manner.
(And of course there's the many idiots who tried to run their laptop off the wrong adapter. High school physics folks: put too much current through a component and it will fail. Or, better still, elementary math. 60 is less than 85; that makes it underrated.)
I appreciate the attempt to keep the cable streamlined and attractive, since it's a necessity (ask my wife about the copious collection of gadgets in our house that DON'T follow this policy -- she isn't kind to them, says they make the house look like a power company). But seriously, if it weren't for third parties like Madsonline I would have likely dropped the platform completely. And then I'd be a very sad bear.
I wonder, though, if it's more about the "wall hump" design. These things were indistinguishable from Apple branded adapters; discouraging THAT behavior is important because it's likely to confuse consumers who aren't savvy enough to ken the different between "Apple adapter" and "100% Apple compatible." Or to permit brand piracy; see the post above mine.
Apple's track record with power adapters is pretty poor. I've had some manor of trouble with every adapter they've build since 2000, starting with that huge and terrible "UFO" style adapter. The MagSafe is the best yet, but even it has trouble -- the bolstering jacket on the connector end isn't very sturdy, and if you commonly sit with the power adapter to your right (with the cable stretched across the back of the laptop) you will eventually fray the the cable unless you make a little loop at the MagSafe end. I've lost two in this manner.
(And of course there's the many idiots who tried to run their laptop off the wrong adapter. High school physics folks: put too much current through a component and it will fail. Or, better still, elementary math. 60 is less than 85; that makes it underrated.)
I appreciate the attempt to keep the cable streamlined and attractive, since it's a necessity (ask my wife about the copious collection of gadgets in our house that DON'T follow this policy -- she isn't kind to them, says they make the house look like a power company). But seriously, if it weren't for third parties like Madsonline I would have likely dropped the platform completely. And then I'd be a very sad bear.
I understand cheap poor quality fakes do harm to premium brands, and as such APPLE must defend themselves.
When the premium brand supplies cutting edge technology with a fragile (self destructing) adaptor I take exception. In Europe, Apple want 134 dollars for an original adaptor that lasted 12 months.
Once bitten, twice shy...
What are you talking about?
???? This isn't about the MagSafe connector.
The patent (link) references the modular design for the flip-out prongs in the transformer.
Did you even follow the links in the original article?
Just for grins I looked up Madsonline and, lo and behold, what is missing from the screenshot of their 60 watt power adapter?
???? This isn't about the MagSafe connector.
The patent (link) references the modular design for the flip-out prongs in the transformer.
Did you even follow the links in the original article?
Just for grins I looked up Madsonline and, lo and behold, what is missing from the screenshot of their 60 watt power adapter?
Oh my god...are you KIDDING ME?
Are they going to sue Belkin for making those iPod touch cables/charge units next?
Real low, Apple.
Not likely.
1) The iPod 'dock' connector isn't an Apple patented connector. (IIRC)
2) They license Belkin to make 'Made for iPod' stuff.
Maybe you should do some minor research before you rant about something you don't understand?
I don't know what the agreement, IF ANY, is between those two companies, to be honest. But I wouldn't be surprised to see a lawsuit between the two, either. Belkin cords and adapters cost WAY less than the Apple brand, and you can find them everywhere...even grocery stores.
I just think Apple needs to put a lid on their over zealous legal team. Haven't they alienated enough companies already?
You said, "Are they going to sue Belkin for making those iPod touch cables/charge units next?" Then, to another poster who commented on that same post (#8872625, included above for completeness), you said, "I don't know what the agreement, IF ANY, is between those two companies, to be honest. ... Belkin cords and..."
Sure seemed to me like you were talking about Belkin. My mistake.
I must be missing some context, because I'm not sure what you're referring to having not read.
Great! So buy them, and not the actual Apple cords. Nothing wrong there.