Eric Schmidt - page 2

It isn’t easy being Android when you’re a fugly green humanoid robot and mad as hell. These protesters braved ridicule by dressing themselves as Google’s green mascot to bring attention to a thorny tech issue.

A new corporate accountability consumer group called SumOfUs wants Google to exit the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. If the CoC sounds about as uncontroversial as Main Street and apple pie, think again.

The Android-clad activists want the Mountain View, California tech colossus to pull out of the Chamber, for a number of reasons, including because the CoC “aggressively supports” SOPA.

During an interview at the Le Web expo in Paris this week, Google chairman Eric Schmidt took a stab at Apple and insisted his company’s Android operating system is way ahead of iOS in a number of ways, including affordability and choice. What’s more, Schmidt claims that in six months, Ice Cream Sandwich will offer better functionality.

Although it is widely believed that Apple refuses to license its patents to competing companies, it turns out that’s a huge misconception. In fact, the company licenses a patent covering iOS touch-based scrolling to the likes of IBM and Nokia, and it offered the same deal to rival Samsung, who wasn’t at all interested. If it had taken Apple up on the offer, however, it could have spared the Korean company a whole load of trouble in court.

Apple co-founder Steve Jobs could get a little ticked-off when speaking about Android. At one point, Jobs told biographer Walter Isaacson: “I’m going to destroy Android, because it’s a stolen product. I’m willing to go thermonuclear war on this.” Well, Google certainly knows how to push Steve’s buttons. The latest example: Eric Schmidt, executive chairman of the Mountain View, Calif. company, says Android was way out ahead of the iPhone – sort of. Kind of. Well, pretty close, okay?

Since most companies’ mobile technology patent portfolios are woefully untested, now is a time of the survival of the fittest in the smartphone biosphere. Smartphone companies are suing each other to test the sharpness of their fangs and claws.

So imagine panther-like Apple with agate eyes stalking through the foliage, hunting the biomechanical wildebeest of Android OS. Now imagine, right before the panther sinks its fangs into the wildebeest’s flanks, the wildebeest suddenly rearing about and bleating: “You’re just jealous!”

Well, in real life, the wildebeest has bleated just that, and it came off as stupid as it sounds. According to Google chairman Eric Schmitd, Apple is suing HTC and other Android makers out of jealousy. Oh, right! And a lack of innovation.

Speculation that Apple may build its own maps application into iOS 5 and ditch its partnership with Google has now been put to bed, after Google’s Executive Chairman confirmed the two companies are still buddies.

Wrapping up his D9 interview, Google’s Eric Schmidt had one last piece of advice for anyone worried about online security:

Steven Levy‘s new book about Google In The Plex revealed a few juicy nuggets about the relationship between Apple and Google.

At first, Larry and Sergey wanted Steve Jobs as their CEO. Then the two companies had a long honeymoon, sharing board members and collaborating on groundbreaking software. But then it all soured when Google released Android, and Steve Jobs hid the iPad from Eric Schmidt, even though he was sitting on Apple’s board.

We had a chance to ask Levy for more detail and insight into the relationship between Apple and Google. Here is our exclusive Q&A:

Fake Steve has a hilarious series of posts about Eric “Squirrel Boy” Schmidt’s resignation from Apple’s board. Much better than the real news and boring analysis. Starts with Squirrel Down! and continues:

“Eric, let me tell you something. After what you pulled here at Apple, no one will ever trust you again. You’re a dead man. Okay? You are the herpes of the tech industry. You lame-ass spy. You backstabbing, flack-fucking thief. You sat in our meetings and learned all of our secrets. You listened to our product development plans. Then you went off and copied our products and now you’re trying to fuck me in the ear with my own ideas.”

Then he goes on to detail the hilarious phone calls Steve has taken from wannabes looking to fill Schmidt’s empty seat, including Woz, Kara Swisher, Jon Shirley, Guy Kawasaki, Robert Scoble and Chris Anderson.

Worth reading in order to appreciate how the joke builds (I made the mistake of reading them backwards). Highlights are the Kawasaki and Anderson posts.

Link.