You know, when a relatively small PC manufacturer like Future Power decides to rip off the iMac's distinctive design, Apple's course is clear: sue 'em 'til they bleed. But when a huge, multinational conglomerate known for its own prowess in the field of industrial design does something similar, we're not at all sure how Apple will react-- especially since the company in question just happens to be Steve's model for Apple's future success. At some point we're sure you've heard Steve say that he wants Apple to be "the Sony of computers," right? Well, Sony's doing its own small part to make that goal a reality; as faithful viewer Mick Tiller pointed out, the company's upcoming eVilla Network Entertainment Center looks hauntingly familiar, albeit a little squished.

So will Apple take umbrage at the design of Sony's cute little network appliance doohickey? In addition to looking every bit like an iMac after six months on the Slim-Fast diet and a paint job, even some of the machine's specs are "coincidentally" rather similar: a 15-inch monitor (turned sideways, apparently), two USB ports, a V.90 modem, an ethernet port, and-- perhaps most damningly-- no fan. Heck, the thing even supports multiple users (well, only four of them) just like Mac OS 9. Of course, it's not actually running Mac OS 9, nor does it run Windows; instead it appears to use a Be operating system, but we're not sure. In any event, we highly doubt that anyone who sees the eVilla won't immediately think of the iMac.

Then again, it's not like Apple's designers haven't been taking some cues from Sony lately. Surely you recall how many times Steve compared the new PowerBook G4 to Sony's VAIO notebooks in last week's keynote address, yeah? In fact, it's similar enough in looks that some Mac fans are complaining that the titanium PowerBook is too boxy and PC-like. It looks to us that just as Apple took the VAIO design and made it thinner, Sony took the iMac design and made it narrower-- so hopefully it's all a wash and the lawyers will stay caged for the time being. Not that a knock-down, drag-out, no-holds-barred Apple vs. Sony intellectual property cage match wouldn't be a whole lot of fun to watch, though.