inventing (stealing) ideas

[Shane East <seast@home.com>]

An interesting bit of OS debate fallout is the distasteful nature of stealing
ideas and copyright. Microsoft seems to have profited from Apple innovations,
some argue Apple "borrowed" from Atari. Recently, I assisted on a photo shoot
that placed an up scale, American, touring sedan on the beach, with a loving
couple in the foreground. This supercharged car was painted a beautiful color
we Audi enthusiasts recognize as Pearlescent White. This front wheel drive car
also quickly got stuck and had to be dug, inflated, and towed out of the sand.
Just as I was about to blurt out: " They stole Audi's paint but should have
taken the Quattro.", I realized the guy standing next to me was from Detroit,
and in essence, wrote my paycheck that day. So today, I finally get to share
my pithy remark.
	Of course, there's no reason this car should ever be on the beach, so I'm
really not knocking it; my C-GT would have gotten stuck, and maybe even a Q.
The situation centered on what I perceived as "stolen" innovation and market
differentiation. 
	Ah! car photography! Ever see a million dollar pick-up truck? Hint: It's a
completely hand built prototype; mostly designed in Germany.
-Shane East
-In sunny San Diego, on a Mac!(actually, Power Computing)