CompuServe Messages

I saw the article and practically had a heart attack. This is a flat out disaster for the software industry and for computer users. Lotus won on look and feel. As you know, I had to study this case and the programs involved very closely when I was doing a spreadsheet program a couple of years ago. VP Planner and Twin do have the same look and feel, but they are very far from identical to 1-2-3. In fact, they both have significant features 1-2-3 lacks. As industry pundits have been saying since the suit began, this is the same as Ford suing Chrysler because Chrysler put the steering wheel, brake pedal, and gas pedal in the same relative positions as Ford. The ruling is a real blow against interface standardisation. My only hope is that it will be overturned. The ruling stated that an interface can be patented, something I think higher courts may have trouble swallowing. -Brian