I'm obviously not going to change your opinion, mate, if you can't tackle the issues of the matter. I concede. Clearly, the iphone is an incredibly advanced device, exhibiting software and hardware advances far outside the scope of even the dreams of preceding devices.

There ya go. Feel a bit better about buying one now?

The web browser, NetFront 3.1, was above par at the time. In fact, I still use it to check movie times, research Pubmed and Wikipedia, download pdfs and docs, upload docs, check my student timetable and download lecture notes, and browse Fark, Reddit, and news sites — all on the go obviously.

It obviously has no Flash, and you need to change the user-agent to work with Gmail. However, you can set rendering quite flexibly, allowing convenient display of most sites even today.

Not bad for 2003 huh?

I fail to see your point? I'm not claiming it isn't a PalmOS device or that it had multi-touch function... parent poster was claiming 320x480 screens in mobile devices were introduced by Apple. It looks like the user quality at /. has stagnated as much as mobile technology over the past few years.

Wrong. You said "NO ONE (AFAIK) made a screen that was 320x480 and within two years AFTER the iPhone's introduction we saw screens of that EXACT size from Palm"

A simple Google search would have revealed that Palm devices have run 320x480 screens since 2002. Tens of devices of this screen resolution were released. I present one of the first,
http://pdadb.net/index.php?m=specs&id=1195&c=sony_clie_peg-nr70v

You must be a technically incompetent imbecile.

I have been playing DivX files downloaded from the net on my Sony palm since 2003. No conversion to a format Apple would like you to use first. And a 320x480 screen which was really not that special even at the time.

MP3s play in the background while I'm reading a textbook or controlling my TV.

The OS didn't have fancy bells and whistles everywhere because it was designed to be functional rather than battery-sucking eye candy.

There are apps on my palm that haven't yet been emulated on the iphone. It was an evolutionary step forwards in some ways, and backwards in others.

My Nikon D90 records in M-JPEG. That's to say, each individual frame is encoded as a JPEG file.

Who cares about what kind of special video-out they have when these cameras produce decent, usable video for a much cheaper price and with a huge library of lenses?

Have you been reading a different thread? As stated many times, and *even linked to in the original post*, the CSIRO has very recently had a similar case against several major manufacturers decided in their favour.

With this precedent now in place, and bolstered by extra capital, they are moving against other companies who have profited from their technology at no cost.

The money couldn't be going to a better cause. This is one of the examples of these patent laws being used for the good of the public and not for selfish corporate gain.

Thanks, very informative. The More You Know!

Why on earth did you leave her a tip at all?

I realise that there is a difference between America and Australia when it comes to restaurant practices, but I am constantly amazed at just how ingrained the concept of tipping is in your culture, even if people do not deserve it.