Walter Isaacson
Three hundred of Steve Jobs' patents, four stories down
May 20, 2012: 6:08 PM ETIf you didn't already know about the Smithsonian's exhibit, you'd never find it
At the Smithsonian: The patents and trademarks of Steve Jobs
FORTUNE -- First you have to find which of the Smithsonian's 19 museums houses the Steve Jobs' exhibit that opened last week -- not an easy task for someone unfamiliar with the monumental geography of Washington D.C.
Then, once you locate the Ripley Center -- a tiny circular building, just to the right of the Institute's big red castle -- and subject your backpack to the usual weapons search, you still have to ask (because there is no sign) where you can find The Patents and Trademarks of Steve Jobs: Art and Technology that Changed the World.
Then it's a subterranean voyage four stories below ground into a space that is deceptively, suspiciously large. A space deep enough to hide a vice president or two.
Finally, next to the MathAlive experience where all the middle-school-age kids seem to be headed, there it is: A blow-up of Steve Jobs' face on the cover of Walter Isaacson's biography. And behind it, row after row of framed documents representing every patent ever signed by Apple's late co-founder.
Some are simple icons -- the iPhone's map icon, the air ballon for Messages. Some are objects so familiar they have become icons in their own right. The original Mac. That silly, circular mouse. The flying-saucer shaped AirPort base station. The Apple Store's glass stairway.
The first patent, filed on Nov. 3, 1980 and illustrated with the case of the Apple II, is described simply as "Personal Computer." The last patent, filed on Oct. 4, 2011, the day before Jobs died, is for "User Interface for Providing Consolidation and Access."
Design patent 504,889
After a search of several minutes I was able to locate design patent 504,889, unhelpfully named "Electronic Device."
It's on the strength of that patent, according to FOSS Patents' Florian Mueller, that Apple (AAPL) on Friday asked the U.S. government to ban Samsung's Galaxy Tab 10.1.
I snapped a photo and sent it to Mueller.
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Three scenes from Aaron Sorkin's Steve Jobs biopic we can't wait to see
Apple's CEO left the master of dysfunctional relationships a lot of material to work with
FORTUNE -- Viewers who have followed Aaron Sorkin's TV and film work over the years were delighted to learn Tuesday that one of Hollywood's most gifted screenwriters has officially signed on to adapt Walter Isaacson's biography of Steve Jobs for Sony Pictures' (SNE) film.
Sorkin is the master of romantic relationships that are painfully, hilariously dysfunctional. The MORE
Philip Elmer-DeWitt - May 16, 2012 11:35 AM ET -
Apple wants Steve Jobs' bio excluded from Samsung trial
If it gets its way, the jury will hear no talk of Apple waging thermonuclear war on Android
FORTUNE -- FOSS Patents' Florian Mueller has been reading through the motions Apple (AAPL) and Samsung filed in advance of their upcoming patent trial in the Northern District of California and has come across a few interesting tidbits.
Both sides want to exclude some of the things that have been written about them.
Samsung doesn't want MORE
Philip Elmer-DeWitt - May 1, 2012 10:53 AM ETPosted in: Android, Apple, Florian Moeller, FOSS Patents, Google, iPhone, Patents, Samsung, Steve Jobs, Walter Isaacson -
Ashton Kutcher is not playing Walter Isaacson's Steve Jobs
The star of Twitter and TV sitcoms is doing a quick indie film, not the Sony biopic
The blogosphere lit up Sunday night with the news that Ashton Kutcher, star of Twitter and TV Sitcoms (That 70s Show, Two and a Half Men), had been signed to play the title role in Jobs, a film being described as the story of Steve Jobs' transformation from "wayward hippie" to co-founder of Apple MORE
Philip Elmer-DeWitt - Apr 2, 2012 5:47 AM ET -
Headed for Los Angeles
If you're in L.A. Thursday or Friday, join us at the Apple Investors Summit
We'll be speaking, along with Steve Jobs biographer Walter Isaacson, Apple (AAPL) co-founder Steve Wozniak, Fortune's Adam Lashinsky, Asymco's Horace Dediu, Bullish Cross's Andy Zaky, Posts at Eventide's Robert Paul Leitau, AAPLPain's Travis Lewis, The Street's Jason Schwarz and many more.
To register, click here.
Philip Elmer-DeWitt - Mar 14, 2012 5:07 AM ET -
Apple & the book cabal: Is there a settlement in sight?
A closer look at the deal Steve Jobs offered the publishers suggests a way out
When regulators -- first at the European Commission, then last week at the U.S. Department of Justine -- alerted Apple (AAPL) and five major book publishers that they faced antitrust suits for alleged collusion to raise e-book prices, some of the sharpest negotiators in business started looking for a way to settle.
But how to do it?
Going MORE
Philip Elmer-DeWitt - Mar 12, 2012 10:44 AM ETPosted in: Amazon, Apple, European Commission, iPad, Publishing, Steve Jobs, Steven Pearlstein, Walter Isaacson, Washingto Post -
The Justice Department finally catches up to Steve Jobs
Warns Apple and five book publishers that they are about be sued for collusion
The late Steve Jobs was never one to worry much about antitrust laws.
He made a casual agreement with Google (GOOG) in 2008 not to poach one anothers' top employees that U.S. regulators saw as an illegal attempt to hold down wages. In early 2010 he devised a subscription model for iPad magazines that put draconian restrictions on MORE
Philip Elmer-DeWitt - Mar 8, 2012 9:52 AM ETPosted in: Antitrust, Apple, Books, Collusion, European Commission, Google, iPad, Publishing, Steve Jobs, Tablets, United States Justice Department, Walter Isaacson -
The story behind Norman Seeff's iconic Steve Jobs photo
"We were two guys goofing off having fun," he recalls 28 years later
Ray Basile, who hung out in Norman Seeff's Laurel Canyon studio as a teenager and now writes a blog called iPhone Savior, has posted a long interview with the South African photographer whose portrait of Steve Jobs ended up on the cover of Time Magazine and the book jacket of Walter Isaacson's' biography.
Seeff, who had long career as MORE
Philip Elmer-DeWitt - Feb 20, 2012 5:56 AM ETPosted in: Apple, iPhone Savior, Mac, Macintosh, PCs, Ray Basile, Steve Jobs, Walter Isaacson, Whitney Houston -
Scott Forstall is Apple's 'CEO-in-waiting' says new book
The senior VP's chief weakness, writes Fortune's Adam Lashinsky, is his naked ambition
He's young (43). Comfortable on stage (played Sweeney Todd in high school). Has serious nerd credentials (Stanford, NeXT). Shares Steve Jobs' obsession with detail (keeps a jeweler's loupe in his office to check every pixel on every icon). And the division he heads -- mobile software -- drives nearly 70% of Apple's (AAPL) income.
"He's a sharp, down-to-earth, and talented MORE
Philip Elmer-DeWitt - Jan 17, 2012 5:29 AM ETPosted in: Adam Lashinsky, Apple, Fortune, Jony Ive, Scott Forstall, Steve Jobs, Tim Cook, Walter Isaacson -
Apple books the Guggenheim for a Jan. 19 education event
Returns to the venue where Rupert Murdoch launched The Daily on the iPad
Eddy Cue, Apple's (AAPL) senior vice president for Internet software and services, is reported to be in charge of the much-touted special event scheduled for the morning of Jan. 19 in New York City. The wording of the blackboard-like invitation sent to reporters Wednesday -- "Join us for an education announcement in the Big Apple" -- suggests that this could MORE
Philip Elmer-DeWitt - Jan 11, 2012 1:31 PM ETPosted in: Apple, Education, iPad, New York City, Rupert Murdoch, Steve Jobs, Textbook, Walter Isaacson
