The past week brought some major headlines, from the passing of an American icon to the jury’s decision in a landmark technology patent case. Here are some of the quotes, tweets and comments that caught our attention this week.

Neil Armstrong, 1930-2012

“Today, Neil’s spirit of discovery lives on in all the men and women who have devoted their lives to exploring the unknown — including those who are ensuring that we reach higher and go further in space. That legacy will endure — sparked by a man who taught us the enormous power of one small step.” — President Obama on the death of Neil Armstrong, the first person to walk on the moon.

“I thought the attractions of being an astronaut were actually, not so much the Moon, but flying in a completely new medium,” Armstrong as quoted by his biographer.

“Perhaps the most unexpected consequence of the moon flights was a transformation of attitudes towards Earth itself. Space was indeed beautiful, but it was beauty of a severe, geometrical sort. … Earth was a magnificent contrast, a jewel hung in utter darkness, an exuberant riot of chaos and life in a haunting, abyssal emptiness.” — The Economist, reflecting on Armstrong’s legacy.

Apple wins $1 billion patent verdict vs. Samsung

“The jury has now spoken. We applaud them for finding Samsung’s behavior willful and for sending a loud and clear message that stealing isn’t right.” — Apple CEO Tim Cook, in a message to employees after the jury’s decision was made public.

“Today’s verdict should not be viewed as a win for Apple, but as a loss for the American consumer. It will lead to fewer choices, less innovation, and potentially higher prices. It is unfortunate that patent law can be manipulated to give one company a monopoly over rectangles with rounded corners, or technology that is being improved every day by Samsung and other companies.” — Samsung Electronics, in a statement about the ruling.

“Nokia is still selling phones. BlackBerry is selling phones. Those phones aren’t infringing. There are alternatives out there.” — Manuel Ilagan, a juror in the case, speaking to CNet News.

“Windows Phone is looking gooooood right now.” — Bill Cox, Windows Phone senior director of marketing communications, on Twitter.

Debating the venture capital business

Dave McClure

“The last 10 to 20 years you’d think that it has been all about VCs making money, because that’s all we hear about. But really it is all about VCs failing and failing to return capital and being f**king idiots. VCs are stupid. They are absolutely stupid. Does anyone want to challenge that statement? Does anyone think that VCs are not stupid?” — investor Dave McClure in a talk at the GROW conference in Vancouver B.C.

“It will be fun to watch the cram-downs when the current incubator bubble pops and McClure’s outfit is desperate to top-up all his little seed companies and all the VCs recall his insults. Bubbles always breed arrogant jackasses.” — entrepreneur Keith Bates in a comment on GeekWire about McClure’s remarks.

Microsoft’s New Corporate Logo

“This wave of new releases is not only a reimagining of our most popular products, but also represents a new era for Microsoft, so our logo should evolve to visually accentuate this new beginning.” — Jeff Hansen, Microsoft GM of brand strategy, in a post unveiling the logo.

“Captures the essence of the company’s problems. Not bold enough to either love or hate.” — GeekWire reader Bob on Microsoft’s new logo.

“I do like the colored logo blocks which reference the traditional Windows colors. Here’s what they say to me: “We’re Microsoft. We do Windows. We intend to do Windows, in one form or another, for a long time to come.’ ” — journalist Harry McCracken has mixed feelings about the new logo.

“Had I been consulted, Clippy would totally be our logo. But I was not. Just sayin.” Microsoft’s Buck Woody on Twitter.

More quotes from the week

“Being a gamer is no longer as simple as waiting for Nintendo’s next magic trick.” — Jared Newman on Time.com, reflecting on the impending demise of Nintendo Power magazine.

“For many, the magazine was a special part of being a kid. It doesn’t matter if they were reading it in the NES or Nintendo 64 era, or if it was the handhelds that held their sway, if someone loved Nintendo, they loved Nintendo Power.” — John Addenbrooke in Bitmob.

“I feel sorry for the person who casually shows up with nothing on hand, they talk to no one, and suddenly they have to go to the bathroom and they’re doing the pee-pee dance” — Beth Goza on the GeekWire podcast, offering tips for waiting hours in line for a product launch or panel.

“I think the gross domestic product of the United States, the whole world, just went up by 2/10 of a point, based on the performance increase. It’s unbelievable how much faster it is. I don’t want to give them too much credit. It’s just that it works now.” — Adam Tratt speaking about Facebook’s revamped iOS app on the GeekWire podcast.

“I write 2000 words on a complicated topic & people base their questions and opinions on someone else’s 140-character tweet. Please shoot me.” — author and journalist Ed Bott on Twitter.

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