Whoo, just in time! We had been suffering through a killer bout of courtroom drama withdrawal recently, but never let it be said that the universe doesn't provide; just about the time we started hallucinating a baby with Steve Jobs's head crawling across our ceiling, faithful viewer Michael McKinney gave us our fix by informing us that Apple is once again being sued-- this time for trademark infringement. Yes, folks, TIBCO Software, Inc. has laid the legal smackdown on Apple for allegedly swiping the name "Rendezvous."

Rendezvous, as you may recall, is the networking magic introduced with Mac OS X 10.2 that brings AppleTalk's wondrous auto-discovery of network devices to the TCP/IP protocol. The problem, as you are all well aware, is that TIBCO had been using the trademark "Rendezvous" for its "industrial-strength messaging tool that allows application developers to build scalable distributed applications" long before Mac OS X came on the scene-- since 1994, to be exact, which a quick search through the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office web site will confirm.

TIBCO might be on to something, here, because Apple's Rendezvous is distantly related to TIBCO's; both involve software and the movement of data over networks, which might be ruled enough of a link to support claims of potential customer confusion, particularly when TIBCO spins its Rendezvous as "software... creating interoperability between diverse computer systems." For the record, Apple's trademark is registered in the categories of "computer operating system software, computer utility software and computer software for use in developing other computer software," not protective eyewear or SUVs, so it's going to be tough for the company to argue that its product is a whole 'nother ball of wax.

Now, as you know, we typically side with Apple in these conflicts, but this time not only are we glad for dramatic reasons that TIBCO opened a can of litigational whoop-ass, but we're also sorta hoping that Apple chokes on it. We, like most of you, only shelled out the cash for Mac OS X 10.2 in the first place specifically because we assumed it was going to allow us to build scalable distributed applications with TIBCO's industrial-strength messaging tool; after all, what else could "Rendezvous" mean to the general public? Imagine our surprise when we discovered that Jaguar didn't include a copy of TIBCO's universally-known software. Shame on Apple for taking advantage of a household name that way!

Indeed, TIBCO alleges that Apple stole the trademark on purpose, "with the intention to trade on TIBCO's goodwill and harm TIBCO's business." Ahhhh, we see. So Apple's diabolical plan was apparently to sell lots of copies of Jaguar by exploiting the public's widespread knowledge of and love for TIBCO's product, while simultaneously seeking to stick it to TIBCO as part of Apple's years-long campaign to take the universally-loved multinational conglomerate down a notch or two. It's all so clear now.

Since TIBCO (the only company with a brand awareness greater than that of Nike, Coca-Cola, and Sony combined) clearly has an open and shut case, here, the obvious solution, we think, would be for Apple to settle out of court by agreeing to keep referring to its technology as Rendezvous, but start pronouncing the name "ren-dezz-voose." See? All's well that ends well.

All hail TIBCO!

There's no doubt about it: Apple's web site is easily among the best in the industry. It's got a clean look and feel, all the pages are logically organized, URLs are human-readable and easily guessed (e.g. http://www.apple.com/powerbook/, http://www.apple.com/support/, etc.), and occasionally it even tosses us Mac-obsessives a bone by revealing upcoming product specs in the middle of the night. But by now you've surely heard the widely-circulated reports that web standards gurus Jeff Zeldman of Happy Cog Studios and Stopdesign's Doug Bowman have both been tapped by Apple to work on an overhaul of Apple.com, and chances are, you've spent at least a few idle moments pondering just what the new site might turn out to be like... and worrying that things can only get worse.

Well, yes and no, which we'll get to in a second-- but first, let us relieve your minds of the concern that Apple.com might devolve into something like this crap if placed into the hands of outsiders: first of all, while we're not personally well-acquainted with their work, we've been assured by viewers in all corners of the earth that Zeldman and Bowman really are wonders at design, and (obviously, since they're wonders at design) they're Mac fans-- so anything they slap together as Apple's new face on the 'net is likely to be suitably representative of the company's commitment to design, attention to detail, and ease of use, and thus would turn out to be pretty darn special. (We also hear that they fry up a mean grilled cheese.)

But even if you still don't buy that, Doug Bowman has since posted clarification that while he and Zeldman are indeed going to collaborate with Apple on the company's web site, "to clear up some confusion and speculation, this does not imply a visual redesign is in the works." Meanwhile, Zeldman has amended his announcement (which originally stated that he and Bowman would "collaborate on a makeover of the company's well-known site") to clarify that they would "assist in bringing the benefits of standards compliance and forward compatibility to the company's well-known, much-admired site." Note the removal of the word "makeover"-- and the addition of "much-admired," by which we infer that Zeldman received about a zillion email messages from panicked Mac fans worried that their beloved site might get turned into something ugly and nonintuitive (albeit standards-compliant).

So there you have it: if there is going to be a visual overhaul of Apple.com, more than likely it'll be Apple who throws it together, and Zeldman and Bowman are just going to be lending a hand with standards-compliance planning. However, AtAT sources insist that wasn't always the plan; originally Apple did commission a full site redesign by Z and B, urging them to "think different" about how Apple should present itself on the 'net. As it turns out, however, the duo's first prototype didn't go over too well with Apple higher-ups, who felt that it was a good, solid design, but simply didn't mesh with how Apple intended to represent itself to its existing and potential customers. Specifically, Apple felt that it was Flash-heavy and relied too much on "interacting personas" to convey product information, the bulk of which they felt was lost in the delivery. Interestingly enough, you can actually test out the proposed redesign yourself, which is still available here. Hurry, before it gets pulled down...

Just a quickie, here; it seems that recent events may be having a positive effect on Apple's inroads into markets in which it wasn't previously all that welcome. We've already mentioned Apple's quiet but increasingly effective push into the enterprise market, where Macs have traditionally been about as easy to find as a brown M&M in a rock star's dressing room; now it looks as though Macs have their foot in the door for government use, as well. Government Computer News reports that, thanks to the Office of Management and Budget, the Mac has been added to the list of "supporting platforms" as defined by the Federal Enterprise Architecture's Technical Reference Model. In other words, Macs have been blessed by the OMB in the FEA's TRM. OMG!

Now, we're not entirely certain what that all means, since the article doesn't say what the "supporting platforms" are actually supporting in the first place, but the implication seems to be that government buyers are now free to purchase Macs for projects if they so desire; previously the TRM of the FEA only listed Java 2, .Net, and Windows 2000 (plus some "wireless and mobile technologies") as acceptable platforms. It does our hearts good to think that the U.S. government has now (apparently) officially given the green light to Mac OS X for... whatever it is they're greenlighting stuff for, while Windows XP is still nowhere to be seen. Keen, huh?

So what caused the change of heart? Well, it's pretty obvious that the approval process probably took a good long while (we are talking about changing government policy, after all-- at least, we think we are), but we can't help wondering whether the recent Blaster and SoBig.F outbreaks sped up the process just a wee bit... especially after that whole mess with the Department of Homeland Security signing a $90 million contract with Microsoft just one day before Microsoft admitted the existence of the security flaw that made Blaster possible (and, indeed, inspired that particular worm's creation). Suppose the government was a little miffed with Microsoft for clamming up about that vulnerability until the day after the deal was sealed?

Anyway, whatever this government approval for Mac OS X turns out to be, we're glad to see it arrive. The thought of 140,000 Windows desktops in the Department of Homeland Security alone gives us a screaming case of the heebie-jeebies, and we'll sleep a lot better at night knowing that at least Macs have become a possibility. For something. We think.