The Lite Side

Jobs Defends Apple's Use of M&Ms in 'Taste and Feel' Suit

- 2004.03.03

CUPAJAVA, CA: Confectioner M&M sued Apple Computer recently over unauthorized removal of green-colored M&Ms in the corporate welcome candy dish at Apple headquarters. Apple CEO Steve Jobs explained his point of view about the M&M lawsuit today.

"We asked for permission, but when they didn't give it, I gave M&M a call," said Jobs. "I told him I like the green ones best, so my team of screeners takes all the green ones out and give them to me prior to Macworld keynotes. He didn't seem to appreciate that I was familiar with his product or used it regularly."

A spokesman for M&M, Ian T. Blue, said that M&M never gave Apple permission to remove all the green M&M's in the bag, so the lawsuit will proceed.

Jobs said he would not worry about the lawsuit, as all he had to do was cite precedent related to Microsoft's unauthorized use of Apple's user interface design.

"We were uh, copying the taste and feel based on designs related to, uh, Reeses Pieces," he in an interview on Good Morning America. "We paid for the privilege, by the way, by giving free Web hosting for the re-release of E.T. on the QuickTime movie trailer site."

Fans of M&M were mystified by the whole thing as they remained stunned by the incredibly lame black and white "Willie Wonka" find-the-magic-candy bar-like advertising campaign recently eliminating all green M&Ms (as well as all other bright colors) from the U.S. market.

Folk singer Eminem, in an unrelated development, has dyed his hair green in an attempt to increase his sex appeal among middle aged women with plenty of money but not enough time to learn how to download his songs for free on the Internet, his only growing market as CD sales decline.

Join us on Facebook. Follow us on Twitter.

Recent Lite Sides

You Might Be a Computer Geek If..., 2009.06.17. 20 signs that you just might possibly be a computer geek.
What if Apple thought like a PC company?, 2007.11.01. Apple has innovated and blazed its own trail. But what if it had followed the path taken by the PC copycats?
How Microsoft can turn Vista lemons into lemonade, 2007.10.22. How Microsoft could profit by no longer allowing manufacturers to sell new PCs with Windows XP installed.
More in the The Lite Side index.

Links for the Day

Mac of the Day: Macintosh Portable, introduced 1989.09.20. The nearly 16 lb. behemoth was innovative but not a smashing success.
February 13 in LEM history: 01: Layoffs may hurt Mac market - 02: Unix for the Mac - Rage against the Macintosh - 03: Options to move data from PCs to Macs - 04: Low cost RAM for older 'Books - 06: Apple, IBM, and Intel - 07: Picking the right cheap computer, new or used - 08: I needed to find an older Mac
Support Low End Mac

Recent Deals

About LEM Support Usage Privacy Contact

Low End Mac is an independent publication and has not been authorized, sponsored, or otherwise approved by Apple Inc. Entire Low End Mac website copyright ©1997-2012 by Cobweb Publishing, Inc. unless otherwise noted. All rights reserved. Apple, the Apple logo, Macintosh, iPad iPhone, iMac, iPod, MacBook, MagSafe, Mac Pro, Apple TV, and AirPort are registered trademarks of Apple Inc. Additional company and product names may be trademarks or registered trademarks and are hereby acknowledged.
Advice is presented in good faith, but what works for one may not work for all. Please report errors to .
LINKS: We allow and encourage links to any public page as long as the linked page does not appear within a frame that prevents bookmarking it.
Email may be published at our discretion unless marked "not for publication"; email addresses will not be published without permission, and we will encrypt them in hopes of avoiding spammers. Letters may be edited for length, context, and to match house style.
PRIVACY: We don't collect personal information unless you explicitly provide it. For more details, see our Terms of Use.

Custom Search

Follow Low End Mac on Twitter
Join Low End Mac on Facebook

Low End Mac Reader Specials

TypeStyler 11 is now in the Mac App Store!! -- Special Introductory Price of $59.95!! -- To Buy From The Mac App Store Click Here Now!! Or buy direct from Strider Software.

Don't install Parallels to play poker online! Poker Mac will show you how to download and install a native Mac poker and Mac Casino applications in minutes.

Affiliates

Amazon.com
The Apple Store
The iTunes Store
PC Connection Express
GainSaver
Parallels Desktop for Mac
eBay