# Now that Elon Musk has bought Twitter - now the Pit edition (Part 1) **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [April 25, 2022, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442 "2022-04-25T22:50:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 178
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2023, 5:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/3544 "2023-03-06T05:29:52Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > the fact is that Jobs _ **invented** _ the iPhone My Steve Jobs remark was inspired by the criticism of Musk’s lack of patents with his name on them. But it turns out the iPhone patent has two names on it, and one of them is Steve Jobs. So yes, I guess Jobs would fare better under some of these criticisms. For some reason I thought Jobs was just an idea guy, not the actual engineer. I even watched both movies about him, even the shitty one, so I’m not sure why I had that impression. (Not that I remember either movie.) ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2023, 5:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/3545 "2023-03-06T05:34:05Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > Remember how _cool_ it was that Elon launched his own convertible into space with a mannequin in a spacesuit, and sent it on its way? That guy was cool. No, that guy was, as we’d say in South Africa, a chop. If anything, that bit of wasteful, self-aggrandizing performance was a great indicator of the real Elon. Nothing cool about it. ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2023, 5:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/3546 "2023-03-06T05:37:25Z")
> [@EllisDee](#): > > But it turns out the iPhone patent has two names on it, and one of them is Steve Jobs Cite for that patent please? I’d think the iPhone has many, many dozens of patents. I would bet it is a _design_ patent: for the shape of the device or somesuch. Not a utility patent. Design patents are kind of jokes - they carry little weight and are easily overturned. \*son of patent lawyer ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2023, 5:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/3547 "2023-03-06T05:39:48Z")
Let’s be fair here. Elon is probably responsible for how the Cybertruck looks. …yeah, I didn’t really know where that was going when I wrote it, either. ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2023, 5:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/3548 "2023-03-06T05:40:55Z")
> [@squeegee](#): > > Cite for that patent please? I’d think the iPhone has many, many dozens of patents. That was the Google answer, but now it’s not giving me that answer anymore. It says there’s 14 other names, but Jobs is one of them. I can’t remember the exact wording I searched for; something like “does Steve Jobs have the patent on the original iPhone.” Your point is sound, though. I have no idea if it’s a technical patent or a design patent. I am completely ignorant of patent law. EDIT: Found it, the Google answer was quoting the beginning of this article, which discourse will also now do, and which I misinterpreted: > **[Apple wins patent for original iPhone](https://www.cnet.com/tech/tech-industry/apple-wins-patent-for-original-iphone/)** > > Apple's 2007 phone has snagged a patent for its design, naming Steve Jobs and Jony Ive as just two of the inventors. I misread that as there being only two inventors. The “just” threw me. ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2023, 5:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/3549 "2023-03-06T05:47:49Z")
Thanks for digging!! You’ll note that it was a design patent, not utility, right? It’s still an accomplishment to get that sort of recognition from the US patent office. And… there’s bazillions of non-Apple devices that look like an iPhone 🙂 There’s probably highly technical to-the-millimeter non-infringing answers to that patent! ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2023, 5:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/3550 "2023-03-06T05:50:23Z")
I do now, actually, but I didn’t at the time. When I said ignorant, I meant that I was not even aware there was a distinction between design and technical patents. Ignorance successfully fought. It even says right there in what was my Google answer that it’s talking about a patent for “design.” I didn’t realize the word had a specific meaning in this context. ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2023, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/3551 "2023-03-06T05:52:34Z")
Don’t be shamed, intellectual property isn’t _that_ complex but there are a lot subtleties! ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2023, 8:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/3552 "2023-03-06T08:49:47Z")
> **[Twitter can’t protect you from trolls any more, insiders say](https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-64804007)** > > Current and former employees of the company say there are serious ramifications from mass lay-offs. (Insert “shocked” / “not shocked” poll here.) ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2023, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/3553 "2023-03-06T13:01:51Z")
> [@EllisDee](#): > > For some reason I thought Jobs was just an idea guy, not the actual engineer. I even watched both movies about him, even the shitty one, so I’m not sure why I had that impression. (Not that I remember either movie.) My one patent application had my name on it (as the designer), the person who did a lot of directed technical work for me, and the company executive who came up with and funded the idea. Hard to say what that means. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2023, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/3554 "2023-03-06T13:34:32Z")
My thoughts regarding space X is that given that it is a private company with no oversight and no insight into the financial’s, people are putting a lot more into it in terms of belief than is necessarily justified. The idea that space X is somehow immune from the same managerial problems that are besetting Tesla, Twitter and other Nusk properties… I don’t necessarily know if that’s more reality or hope… but I feel it’s hope. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2023, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/3555 "2023-03-06T14:01:15Z")
Eh, I believe it’s more a matter of: the rockets do go up, the booster stages _mostly_ land, the orbiters do orbit and do ferry crews regularly, and the stupid car is somewhere in deep nowhere. Meanwhile both SLS/Orion and Boeing Starliner went past schedule and budget, and Bezos and Branson had short joyrides. So even if only by comparison that looks like success to the outside observer. ---
**Author:** ![Folly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folly/32/3219_2.png) [@Folly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folly)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2023, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/3556 "2023-03-06T14:25:58Z")
> [@squeegee](#): > > You’ll note that it was a design patent, not utility, right? It’s still an accomplishment to get that sort of recognition from the US patent office. Those Apple design patents are rather infamous and gained design patents in general a little more respect because they ultimately resulted in a judgment against Samsung of hundreds of millions of dollars. (After many court cases including a Supreme Court decision). ---
**Author:** ![74westy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/74westy/32/3950_2.png) [@74westy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/74westy)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2023, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/3557 "2023-03-06T14:35:55Z")
> [@leahcim](#): > > Just like how both the US and USSR in the 80s had a bunch of nukes, but “no first strike” policies. [No first use - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No_first_use#:~:text=In%20nuclear%20ethics%20and%20deterrence,an%20enemy%20power%20using%20WMDs). The Soviet Union stated a no first use policy in 1982 but no one took is seriously. The US has never had any such policy. ---
**Author:** ![peccavi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peccavi/32/388_2.png) [@peccavi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peccavi)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2023, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/3558 "2023-03-06T15:06:13Z")
> [@Maserschmidt](#): > > My one patent application had my name on it (as the designer), the person who did a lot of directed technical work for me, and the company executive who came up with and funded the idea. Hard to say what that means. It means the patent is on shaky ground. If the list of inventors on a patent is not correct, it can invalidate the patent. [Patents: The Difference Between Ownership vs Inventorship (kaufholdpatentgroup.com)](https://www.kaufholdpatentgroup.com/patent-ownership-inventorship/#:~:text=Importantly%2C%20not%20including%20an%20inventor,and%20can%20invalidate%20your%20patent.) ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2023, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/3559 "2023-03-06T15:07:03Z")
> [@JRDelirious](#): > > Eh, I believe it’s more a matter of: the rockets do go up, the booster stages _mostly_ land, the orbiters do orbit and do ferry crews regularly, and the stupid car is somewhere in deep nowhere… Ok, granted. And perhaps SpaceX has one or more walls of management which shield the larger firm from their tempestuous boss. And, of all the Musk companies, it’s the one I would invest in (more of a “I want this to work” investment, tbf), but I would breathe easier as an investor when he finally walks away/retires/sells/whatever. Investing wise, I’m pretty much a Graham and Dodd guy\* who likes to read the financials. However I also don’t discount the effectiveness of good, proper management. Unfortunately, I can’t find out the first, and have reservations about the guy on top, so I’m just going to _hope_ it works and, if the stock goes public, I might throw $10k at a block of SpaceX, which I would never do for Twitter or Tesla. \*Which is hard to do in a world where equity valuations have little to do with corporate financials. ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2023, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/3560 "2023-03-06T15:17:03Z")
> [@Folly](#): > > Those Apple design patents are rather infamous and gained design patents in general a little more respect You’re right, I’d forgotten that Apple really broke new ground for defending their design patents on the iPhone. > **[Apple Inc. v. Samsung Electronics Co.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_Inc._v._Samsung_Electronics_Co)** > > Apple Inc. v. Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. was the first of a series of ongoing lawsuits between Apple Inc. and Samsung Electronics regarding the design of smartphones and tablet computers; between them, the companies made more than half of smartphones sold worldwide as of July 2012. In the spring of 2011, Apple began litigating against Samsung in patent infringement suits, while Apple and Motorola Mobility were already engaged in a patent war on several fronts. Apple's multinational litig On ... ---
**Author:** ![Red\_Wiggler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/red_wiggler/32/13190_2.png) [@Red\_Wiggler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Red_Wiggler)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2023, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/3561 "2023-03-06T15:20:45Z")
Please forgive me if this is an inappropriate post for this thread but I very much want to like and use Post as a twitter alternative. But that site is maddening to use with all of its current bugs. Too many to list in an Elmo-bashing thread. ---
**Author:** ![Fluffy\_PickleSniffer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/77aa72/32.png) [@Fluffy\_PickleSniffer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fluffy_PickleSniffer)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2023, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/3562 "2023-03-06T15:25:07Z")
> [@Cervaise](#): > > [Twitter insiders: We can't protect users from trolling under Musk](https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-64804007) > > (Insert “shocked” / “not shocked” poll here.) That is nuts! I wonder how long it will be before enough people have left the platform to turn it into nothing but troll central? ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2023, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/3563 "2023-03-06T15:29:56Z")
If it’s trolls all the way down, what happens after that? Trolls go where the victims are. If there’s no one to troll except other trolls, what then? Although the function of Twitter as a publishing platform on the wider internet probably would allow Twitter to continue for the sole function of trolling the media and the public, like 4chan with none of the charm. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442.md?page=177) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442.md?page=179)