We know Apple has claimed possession of the lowercase letter "i" and is fearsomely combative toward anyone with the audacity to name anything iProduct. Same goes for the word "app" followed by the word "store."
We also know that Apple considers its own products "magical;" so "magical," in fact, that the word is used over and over and over again in its advertisements and press releases.
(2011's 25 Geekiest 25th Anniversaries)
Whether Apple has gone so far as to make any legal claims on "magical" I do not know - it has for Magic TrackPad -- but my ears perked up during yesterday's broadcast of the British Open when I heard Google executive Vic Gundotra use the phrase "magical software" in a commercial for Mercedes Benz. And I'll bet Apple trademark lawyers watch golf, too.
Listen and watch as Gundotra throws caution to the wind and explains how "magical software" saved him from a car accident.
Is Apple going to do something about this or wait for Mercedes to open a magical app store?
(All kidding aside, Gundotra's story is a compelling testimonial to the advancements that have been made in collision-avoidance systems. Here's the three-and-half-minute director's cut of the commercial, which while unnecessarily saccharine in spots, gets to the heart of why this technology matters a lot more than most.)
Welcome regulars and passersby. Here are a few more recent buzzblog items. And, if you’d like to receive Buzzblog via e-mail newsletter, here’s where to sign up. Follow me on Twitter here.
- A few suggestions for destroying the “indestructible botnet.”
- Monkey business with a camera sparks copyright debate.
- What Microsoft paid The Stones to help launch Windows 95.
- Zillow’s rewrite of real-estate history annoys homeowners.
- Pilots spar over wisdom of relying on an iPad in the cockpit.
- Joni Mitchell song + cloud computing = geeky parody
- 18 holes, 18 shots: IT pro puts up rarest of rare Putt-Putt perfection.
- Programmer unknowingly live blogs raid that killed Bin Laden.
- Captain Midnight: 'No regrets' about jamming HBO back in '86
- Tech ‘firsts’ that made a President’s day.
- 2011’s 25 Geekiest 25th Anniversaries.