Man & Machine, who’s suing Apple and CBS for alledged infringement on the use of the Mighty Mouse name, replies to Mac-A-Doodle, via representative Erica Tingler:

Man & Machine, Inc. declines to discuss its trademark-infringement complaint against Apple, Inc. and CBS Corporation, the underlying merits of the case, or any related settlement discussions, since the litigation remains pending. Meanwhile, we remain committed to protecting our rights to the MIGHTY MOUSE trademark and also to finding a fair resolution for all involved parties.

Man & Machine designs and manufactures a completely customizable line of hygienic, cost-effective, water-resistant computer keyboards and mice. They are distinguished by their ability to be washed and disinfected, and matchless in their rugged, sealed design, 100% latex-free silicone construction ideal for medical, healthcare, dental, and institutional environments – the best of breed choice anywhere safety, durability and user health are priorities.”

All I can say is, all right then, may the mightier mouse win.

Update us on how it goes, Ms. Tingler. Good luck.

Psystar, that maker of those uber-controversial Mac clones, has created something else we never thought would see the light of day: Mac OS X Service Pack 1. Well, sorta.

Aside from its brazen hardware cloning, it installs Leopard onto these Frankenstein machines, in direct violation of provisions of the Leopard EULA that forbid 3rd party sales and installs of the operating system. Not cowed in the slightest by Steve & His Legal Eagles, now it even has the cheek to actually improve on Leopard by fixing some inherent problems in the OS, including glitches in Time Machine, Keyboard Viewer and various other niggles.

Beginning this Monday the various patches, bug fixes and workarounds will come preinstalled in shipping units, but existing users can download the bunch, which constitutes what is essentially Service Pack 1, from the Psystar website. Some fixes are specific to their hardware, like one that repairs conflicts between Apple’s Airport Extreme router and the Realtek network card that ships with the Psystar boxes, while some actually improve on Leopard, like support for new versions of Java and adding international standards for networked devices.

Oooh. Now we’ve seen everything. Whoever these guys are, they’ve got big ones, don’t they?

In the meantime, we wonder why Apple hasn’t lowered the boom on these cheeky bashi-bazouks. It’s gonna be fun when it finally happens, that’s for sure.

(Via InformationWeek)

The little mouse that could, did.

Generate a lawsuit that is. Apple Inc. and CBS are being sued by a Maryland-based company called Man & Machine for use of the name “Mighty Mouse” for Apple’s innovative little input device. Apparently Man & Machine had dibs on the name as it pertains to input devices, as in waterproof and chemical-resistant industrial-strength mice.

It’s a very circuitous story, actually. I thought naming Apple’s new mouse after the super-rodent we all know and love might result in legal tussles, but when they never materialized I figured Steve took care of it ahead of time. And he did. Apple bought the rights to the name from CBS, who had owned it since 1955, for their new benippled, buttonless wonder.

Then, suddenly, out of a blue sky swoops in Man & Machine, coming to save the day. Apparently they came out with their hospital/lab-friendly version of Mighty Mouse more than a year before Apple’s version, and they now claim that the name, in the context of computer peripherals, belongs to them, thereby compelling themselves to sue both Apple and CBS for the injustice. Man & Machine wants to block Apple’s use of the Mighty Mouse name and get some cash for their trouble. (I think we all know why they took this long to sue, don’t we?)

If they succeed, any suggestions on a new name for it? Mightier Mouse? Rodent Roller? Mouse-k-Steer?

(Via 9to5Mac)

Apple seems to be softening up on its one-provider-fits-all policy for the iPhone in other parts of the world.

Recent announcements reveal that yes, it is now possible to have different providers sell the iPhone in the same markets, particularly in Europe. For example, Deutsche Telecom has had the exclusive right to distribute the iPhone in Austria, but now Orange is getting in on the action there as well. In Italy, Vodafone and Telecom Italia are now both distributing the iPhone, while in Egypt and Portugal, Vodafone and Orange both have their fingers in the Apple pie.

In the US, the five-year exclusivity contract between Apple and AT&T apparently still stands, but T-Mobile USA has recently started providing wifi service in Starbucks cafes alongside AT&T. Hmm.

In the Doodler’s home country, it was recently announced that Globe, one of the two dominant telecom providers along with Smart, will be releasing the iPhone in the Philippines this year through its partnership with Singapore Telecommunications, which has acquired the rights from Apple for the region.

So it isn’t impossible to see a Smart iPhone in the future as well, after all.

Well, as we say here in my country, the more, the many-er.

The iTunes Store has just begun selling shows from cable company HBO, starting off with episodes from six shows: The Wire, Flight of The Conchords, Rome, The Sopranos, Deadwood and Sex & The City.

Most shows sell for $1.99 an episode like episodes from other sources, but in a departure from the norm, iTunes is  instituting variable pricing on the HBO shows, asking a dollar extra for episodes of Rome, Deadwood and The Sopranos, which is a first for the US iTunes market.

Previously iTunes UK started selling NBC shows with variable pricing as well. Along with the HBO precedent, this is a sign that Apple might be selling NBC shows on iTunes once more, since the pricing issue was one of the bones of contention involved in the Apple-NBC split earlier.