Apple Acquires 18 'Axis-Based User Interface' Patents from Maya-Systems
Canadian firm Maya-Systems today announced that it has sold a group of 18 user interface patents to Apple. The patents appear to be related to Maya-Systems' work with axis-based interfaces in which documents and other files can be automatically grouped into timelines based on tags or other attributes and made accessible via the cloud.
Maya-Systems' technology offers an intuitive way to display any virtual content in a superior manner. This transaction attests that Maya-Systems axis-based user interface is ahead of the growing demand for axis-based user interfaces.
"We dealt with a significant number of sophisticated buyers," noted Mathieu Audet, founder of Maya-Systems and patent agent. "We are pleased to have secured the transaction with Apple." "Our patents have been analyzed thoroughly by many potential buyers. We are confident that they are strong assets."
Maya-Systems' key product is I am Organized, a platform for organizing, viewing, and sharing files.
IamOrganized’s uniquely distinctive, patented feature is its axes-based interface. Intuitive and elegant, axes herald a new era in content management. They show and manage content more meaningfully than ever.
Unlike folder trees based on file location, axes group files by subject (any attribute, really) and display them along a timeline.
Scroll an axis to view more files. Zoom in. Zoom out. Navigate swiftly between projects by displaying several axes on your screen.
Attribute-based, orderly and relational, axes give users a meaningful and integrated view of their files.
It is not entirely clear exactly what aspect of Maya-Systems' patent portfolio Apple was interested in controlling, but Apple has been making a significant push into cloud-based document and file storage and sharing, including such features Documents in the Cloud and Photo Stream.
Popular Stories
Game emulator apps have come and gone since Apple announced App Store support for them on April 5, but now popular game emulator Delta from developer Riley Testut is available for download. Testut is known as the developer behind GBA4iOS, an open-source emulator that was available for a brief time more than a decade ago. GBA4iOS led to Delta, an emulator that has been available outside of...
The first approved Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) emulator for the iPhone and iPad was made available on the App Store today following Apple's rule change. The emulator is called Bimmy, and it was developed by Tom Salvo. On the App Store, Bimmy is described as a tool for testing and playing public domain/"homebrew" games created for the NES, but the app allows you to load ROMs for any...
Last September, Apple's iPhone 15 Pro models debuted with a new customizable Action button, offering faster access to a handful of functions, as well as the ability to assign Shortcuts. Apple is poised to include the feature on all upcoming iPhone 16 models, so we asked iPhone 15 Pro users what their experience has been with the additional button so far. The Action button replaces the switch ...
A decade ago, developer Riley Testut released the GBA4iOS emulator for iOS, and since it was against the rules at the time, Apple put a stop to downloads. Emulators have been a violation of the App Store rules for years, but that changed on April 5 when Apple suddenly reversed course and said that it was allowing retro game emulators on the App Store. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel ...
iOS 18 is expected to be the "biggest" update in the iPhone's history. Below, we recap rumored features and changes for the iPhone. iOS 18 is rumored to include new generative AI features for Siri and many apps, and Apple plans to add RCS support to the Messages app for an improved texting experience between iPhones and Android devices. The update is also expected to introduce a more...
Top Rated Comments
The best way to store your stuff is all in one synchronized (and backed up, version controlled) place, say Dropbox. But organizing files inside by JUST folders is bad.
Instead, there should be labels or tags, similar to Gmail's labels. You can apply them to files/folders, and get different views into your stuff:
-Files related to project A
-Photos
-Shared with person X
-Created within last 30 days
-Custom search queries?
-etc., etc.
Folders are very limiting cuz each file can only be in one folder. What if it's both a picture, and a part of project A? Do I put it in /Pictures or /ProjectA? Apply both labels, problem solved.
iCloud currently sucks for contents storage cuz you can't see all your files no matter what app they're in, so it's easy to forget what you have and where.
I really hope something good comes out of this.
Steve Jobs explained in either a keynote or one of the All Things Digital conferences: the learning curve for the average user goes way up once they hit the file system. And that's why Apple never implemented a user-run, traditional desktop file management system in iOS, and it's the right direction for iCloud still.
And I disagree that app driven file systems are more cumbersome. It's not in my opinion. A general user is going to remember more than he/she typed up that Pages document in Pages. The user is going to remember that he/she created that Garageband track in Garageband, etc. No need to drill down hierarchies of folders to find what you need.
But it isn't like Drop box is going away for power users that love to hang around forums and talk about this stuff. The choice is still there. But I strongly believe Apple was smart to simplify cloud services for the mass market. I doubt it would have reached this number of penetration if iCloud was just another Drop Box.