Skeuomorphism, or the tendency to deliberately make something new look like something old and familiar. Some people love it, some people hate it and think it’s tacky.

No matter how you feel, his love for skeuomorphism is one of many reasons that former iOS chief Scott Forstall was fired yesterday. Replacing him is Apple’s Senior VP of Design, Jonathan Ive, who will lead a new Human Interface Group in Apple… and whom reportedly loathes skeuomorphism with every fiber of his being.

All that fake leather stitching, those hideous textures, those bizarre font choices in iOS’s stock apps? If Ive gets his way — and we think he will — they’re all about to change.

Here are the eight skeuomorphic apps in iOS 6 we hope Jony Ive is going to change in iOS 7, along with some third-party apps we hope he takes inspiration from.

Microsoft gathered the press in San Francisco today to unveil Windows Phone 8, the next major iteration of its mobile platform. At today’s Windows Phone Summit, Steve Ballmer and co. unveiled the new operating system and all of its improvements. Initial reactions and early reviews are calling Windows Phone 8 a great update, but Microsoft still has a lot of catching up to do before it joins the ranks of Google and Apple in the smartphone space.

Microsoft, Nintendo, Sony, Google and all the big-screen TV makers want to own the the all-purpose living room entertainment system of tomorrow.

Smart TV systems, which will incorporate movies-on-demand, gaming, web surfing, videoconferencing, home automation and more (even TV shows!) are likely to become the next big opportunity for content-driven platform companies.

But is time running out for Apple to make its move?

The surprising answer is: No, not really. Apple’s got plenty of time. And there’s no need for Apple to make a TV set, either.

Here’s why.

Having lost its appeal against the Samsung Galaxy Tab in a High Court ruling in the United Kingdom earlier this month, Apple was ordered to publish advertisements in British newspapers and magazines, and on its website, which must say that Samsung did not copy the iPad.

The Cupertino company has now published a statement on its website, and it makes for a very humorous read. Basically, Apple quotes the judge, who said that Samsung’s tablets “are not as cool” as Apple’s, then says that despite the decision, Samsung did copy the iPad really.

For decades, Apple had a long-running dispute going with the Beatles over their eponymous fruitarian trademark. Namely, Apple Corps. congolomerate — a mult-armed multimedia corporation founded by the Beatles in 1968 — had a problem with Apple Computers stepping all over their ^TM. In 1981, Apple settled the dispute for the first time by paying Apple Corps. $80,000 and promising to never enter the music business, but then in 2001, Apple launched both the iPod and iTunes, starting the hostilities anew.

Everything came to a resolution in 2007, when Apple took ownership of all trademarks related to “Apple”, including Apple Corps’s granny smith apple logo, and agreed to license them back to Apple Corps. for their continued use.

Today, we’re seeing the last apple fall from that treet, as the Canadian IP Office has just disclosed that the Beatles’ iconic recording label is now Apple, Inc. registered trademark. Isn’t that nice?

Source: PatentlyApple

As a brand, China’s GooPhone has made a name for itself not only because of their laughably stupid branding, but by the fact that they consistently manage to rip off Apple’s next product design before Cupertino gets their product to market… then threaten to sue Apple for IP violations.

Saucy! And now GooPhone is at it again, announcing a $99 iPad mini clone called the GooPad that looks exactly like an iPad mini, right down to the icons.

US District Court Judge Lucy Koh today denied Apple’s request to have several documents sealed from public view in its fight to recoup more damages from Samsung than were even awarded by the jury several weeks ago. The documents include “product-specific unit sales, revenue, profit, profit margin, and cost data” that it also wants to use in its argument for a higher award from the court.

Judge Koh basically said that Apple can’t have it both ways. Her decision says to the Cupertino-based company that it can’t use documents in its arguments that it then in turn wants to keep secret. It just doesn’t work that way.

The United States Patent and Trademark Office just granted Apple its trademark for Passbook that was originally filed in June. After several months of internal processing on the USPTO’s end, Apple now owns the rights to Passbook and can leverage its trademark against infringing companies.

Passbook was first announced by Apple at WWDC 2012 in June and was touted as the company’s digital wallet technology. After being included in the iOS 6 betas, Passbook launched to the public with the release of iOS 6 on September 19th, 2012.

While its initial launch left much to be desired, Passbook is starting to gain traction with big franchises like Starbucks signing on. Apple has experimented with NFC-related patents, and there’s a good chance Passbook will eventually mature to be Apple’s one-stop mobile payment solution.

Source: Patently Apple

At yesterday’s second U.S. Presidential Debate, President Barack Obama and Governor Mitt Romney were both asked about the iPad, the Mac and the iPhone, specifically in relation to how to get Apple to start manufacturing their products in America again. The two candidates’ answers differed, with Romney opining it was because China “cheated” and Obama saying that “there are some jobs that are not going to come back.”

When Apple first unveiled the 15-inch Retina MacBook Pro back in July of this year, they used two images to specifically highlight the incredible resolution of the new display. The first was a shot of a herd of zebras running through the grass captured by photographer Steve Bloom. And the second? A photograph of an eye in full Ziggy Stardust make-up, taken by Swiss photographe Sabine Liewald.

The only problem with that latter photograph? According to the photographer, Apple never properly licensed it to be used in Retina MacBook Pro marketing materials. And she’s now suing over it.