Here's what I think: the Apple patents on a user interface without any hardware tied to them, are shameful. It is nothing short of extortion on future creativity. I would go so far as to state that, if I were to meet Steve Jobs in a dark alley, I would kick him in the 'nads.

And drop a dustbin on his head while he was down.

As to your earlier question: the Apple patents are on algorythms, gestures and a general philosophy, not on anything specific. As far as I can see, any working solution would violate them. Obviously, even a patet court in the middle of the Gobi desert would throw Apple's claims out, because they're so ludicrously generic, but in the mean time it would have cost some OSS developer money, plus given Apple time to steal his idea.

Compare it to the mafia-style way Apple is coming down on anyone who dares to use "i" or "pod" in their product name. It's silly, nearly criminal and unwinnable in court, but nevertheless countless small businesses and individuals have cringed and ran from a "Cease and desist" letter from the Apple vult^H^H^H^Hlawyers.