Tim Marman's Loosely Coupled

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• Licensing the Office 2007 UI - what is Microsoft's IP strategy?

  Jensen Harris announced that the Office 2007 Ribbon UI can be licensed . For the last year or so, one of the questions I've been asked again and again has been: "Can I use the new Office user interface in my own product?" I have to be honest - I'm a bit baffled at this whole thing. Note, they are not providing any common controls for the Ribbon. Rather, they are "licensing ... intellectual property rights in the UI (which cover both design and functionality) and offering a comprehensive Design Guidelines document that is a roadmap for developers implementing the UI." The license is free as long as you follow the guidelines, and is intended "[f]or those that want to build their own UI that takes advantage of our design guidelines." The reason, as Jensen describes, is that "the new Office user interface was a huge investment by Microsoft and the resulting intellectual property belongs to Microsoft." The next question, of course, are what rights does Microsoft actually have with the Ribbon... Posted Nov 27 2006, 07:24 AM by Tim with | with 1 comment(s) Filed under: Technology, Intellectual Property, Software Development, Things that bother me, Things that amuse me, Copyright, Patent, Microsoft

• This Apple advertisement doesn't make any sense. Touche!

  I love the new Get A Mac campaign . Very clever, and great casting. I'm willing to overlook some of the factual inaccuracies because, hey, this is advertising, right? One of the most recent ads ( mov ) doesn't make a lot of sense to me though. The ad in question is touting Boot Camp, OS X's ability to boot both Windows and Macs. After the Mac and PC make their introductions, the Mac says "and I'm also a PC", going on to explain why the Mac is the only computer you'll ever need. It's clear that all of these ads, with the Bill Gates lookalike and all, are not-so-subtle jabs at Microsoft. Here's the thing - Microsoft doesn't sell computers, it sells an operating system. It doesn't matter whether that OS is running on a Mac or a Dell. And isn't it better if someone has to buy a full retail copy to install on a Mac than a pre-installed OEM copy? Ironically, the PC was using the term correctly. Touche is the acknowledgement of a hit - and sometimes used sarcastically to mock an opponent's absurd... Posted Jun 19 2006, 07:48 AM by Tim with | with 18 comment(s) Filed under: Technology, Rants, Things that amuse me, Microsoft, Apple, Advertising