Apple, can you spare (half) a dime?

Yes, I’ve seen the stories about Samsung paying Apple $1.05 billion in settlement of their legal dispute by sending 30-odd trucks loaded with 5-cent pieces. It’s an amusing story, but doesn’t have much in the way of substance. According to the Guardian’s Charles Arthur:

• The settlement is not yet payable, as the judge hasn’t ruled on the amount
• The contention that Apple would have to accept all those coins has no legal foundation
• Even if there were that many nickels in circulation, it would actually take 2,755 18-wheeler trucks to carry them. The story derives from an Onion-like Spanish-language website here.

Apart from that, every word is true. 🙂

Perhaps the really interesting aspect is that despite its cuddly image, Apple has been targeted for so much Schadenfreude over the story.

David Harley