IJLUSTIG@pucc.Princeton.EDU (Irvin Lustig) (03/22/88)
An interesting aspect of the "look and feel" argument relates to
Microsoft Excel. I have used Excel on the Mac for a few years
and was instantly able to use the PC version on a friend's PS/2.
The interesting part of the PC implementation is that it contains
a Mac-like user interface as a frame for the interface to Excel.
So the question that gets asked is where does the Macintosh user
interface end and the Excel user interface begin? Can Apple sue
Microsoft for "look and feel" similarities in a case like this?
(I don't think Apple would because Excel on the Mac sells too
many Macintoshes!)
Comments, anyone?
-Irv Lustig
Asst. Professor
Dept. of Civil Engineering and Operations Research
Princeton University
Email: irv%basie@princeton.eduiris@Lindy.STANFORD.EDU (IRIS) (03/24/88)
In article <4743@pucc.Princeton.EDU> IJLUSTIG@pucc.Princeton.EDU writes: >An interesting aspect of the "look and feel" argument relates to >Microsoft Excel. I have used Excel on the Mac for a few years >and was instantly able to use the PC version on a friend's PS/2. >The interesting part of the PC implementation is that it contains >a Mac-like user interface as a frame for the interface to Excel. >So the question that gets asked is where does the Macintosh user >interface end and the Excel user interface begin? Can Apple sue >Microsoft for "look and feel" similarities in a case like this? ... >Comments, anyone? > -Irv Lustig As I understand it, the PC version of Excel gets its "look and feel" from Windows, and not from the Excel application itself. If I'm remembering correctly, Excel runs under a runtime version of Windows which loads with Excel. So Apple is really again only suing for the "look and feel" of Windows, and not of Excel itself. David Finkelstein Stanford University davef@jessica.stanford.edu