It's Official: Apple is the New Microsoft

Taken from PC World

Ten years ago, Microsoft was the company everyone loved to hate. The most vociferous Microsoft haters slammed the company for being a greedy industry bully that used its monopolistic, clunky, copycat operating system to force software on users and coerce partners into unfair licensing deals. Don't look now, but the role of the industry's biggest bully is increasingly played by Apple, not Microsoft. Here's a look at how Apple has shoved Microsoft aside as the company with the worst reputation as a monopolist, copycat and a bully.

The core complaint about Microsoft in the 1990s was that its Windows market share gave it monopoly power, which it abused in multiple ways. Attorneys General and others zeroed in on the "bundling" of the Internet Explorer Web browser, which they claimed was forced on users because Microsoft offered it as part of Windows.

People love iPods (including me; my family of four has purchased 12 iPods in the past few years). But iPods come bundled with iTunes. Want to buy music from Apple? Guess what? You must install iTunes. Want an Apple cell phone from AT&T? Yep! ITunes is required even if you want only to make phone calls. Want to buy ringtones for your Apple phone? ITunes.

Rather than the DOJ focusing on Microsoft, Intel, nVidia and ATi, they should be looking at apple.

vish786 said:
did anyone read article ? its little interesting.

Hardly. Biggest load of bullshit I've ever seen on a single page!

"Want to buy music from Apple? Guess what? You must install iTunes."
In other words: "Want to buy something from the departmental store? Guess what? You have to walk to it."

Ridiculous and laughable. :lol:

did anybody read the complete article? here's an extract:

Another clue that a company has monopoly power is when you find yourself suffering sticker shock. How many times have you stood in line at the theater megaplex and marveled at the chutzpah required to charge $4.50 for a soft drink, when the same beverage is one-third the price at the quickie mart 50 feet outside the theater doors? But -- so sorry! -- no outside food or beverages are allowed in the theater. The theater has a monopoly on soft drink sales, and you'll pay what they charge.

i'd say perfect analogy of the computing world! but the difference between apple and MS is that as long as apple was on PPC architecture, ppl really had no choice. how many software alternatives did we see during that time? how many were actually usable? so in a sense there actually there was no 'quickie mart 50 feet outside the theater doors'! however, in case of MS ppl had a choice: netscape was a major comptt. to IE (in case of browsers). MS killed netscape by making IE free. they cud sustain it but they knew the netscape crew wud be on the road if they did that. netscape died.... and a community was born: mozilla team! this differentiates apple and MS. you can't blame MS coz there are too many comptt. out there and MS has to do business. but its not the case wid apple.

in the end i think, apple and MS can't be compared as the scenarios are different. but in my opinion both are bad. apple, coz it locks everyone and everything to its domain, and MS for its ruthless business tactics (which in the end has a detrimental effect on the end users)

i won't comment more on the article as this has been written by mike elgan, former editor, windows magazine.

@everyone
plz do not deviate from the thread. post ur comments relevant to the thread.

@chinmay
plz do not generalise anything about MVPs. jus coz some MVPs bother u, refrain from commenting on the whole community. there are some very respectable, outright, helpful, deserving MVPs here on this forum such as Saurav Basu (Choto_Cheeta) and Vishal Gupta.

praka123 said:
my post is not directed to Choto Cheeta.his posts are good and informative.

Here,not even mvp tag stands here.though unfortunately few mvp's are ^^^^!~ soul in india,spirit in somewhere in redmond!and mvp doesnt count while it comes to fighting OS wars .

whom are you pointing.. ?

arya ur comment was rather laughable .. the whole ides of online shopping is to avoid the use of walking to a departmental store ... and acc to ur logic apple just makes u walk to the dept store wen u want to shop frm home .....

I've said this before and I'll say it again: you urgently need some basic English lessons.

infra_red_dude said:
@chinmay
plz do not generalise anything about MVPs. jus coz some MVPs bother u, refrain from commenting on the whole community. there are some very respectable, outright, helpful, deserving MVPs here on this forum such as Saurav Basu (Choto_Cheeta) and Vishal Gupta.

I second that. Though most are not, there indeed are some deserving MVPs on this forum itself, like Saurav and Vishal.

gx_saurav said:
You will be the happiest person in this thread if MS gives u the MVP award tomorrow

Quite the opposite, actually. I'd be ashamed. I'd wonder what I'd done to deserve such dishonour and blatant insult. I'd be afraid of checking my inbox knowing that Milind's scathing email would be waiting there... in other words, yes, I'd refuse it and with great pride. I'd say, "Sorry, sir - but I'm used to much better software that actually works."

chinmay ! too offensive posts.. and GX stop posting this kind of threads man... this is a warning to you too.. !

cleaning the thread and dont think the forum is owned by MVPs , its not so.. and any other person having a problem with me.. please report to admins..!

chinmay : miserabled for a week !
reasons : offensive Singature !
offending the whole community with baseless reasons ...

and a very necessary PS : i am not having a personal enemity with chinmay..

infa_red_dude said:
@chinmay
plz do not generalise anything about MVPs. jus coz some MVPs bother u, refrain from commenting on the whole community. there are some very respectable, outright, helpful, deserving MVPs here on this forum such as Saurav Basu (Choto_Cheeta) and Vishal Gupta.

and the other MVPs like Shantanu , GX, anandk are not helping and are waste

Thread moved to chi-chat

shantanu said:
and the other MVPs like Shantanu , GX, anandk are not helping and are waste

lol...

hehe....

Well, at least one name in that list, I am not so sure about...

(Even if he does help, he spends a lot more time making life miserable for others butting into every Apple related thread!)

... and posting nonsense such as this thread!

i think this thread should be closed its better to maintain harmony nd peace

in digit forum

there is no point in blaming one another we all r here to gain

some knowledge nd help other

OMG it's always like windows vs linux or windows vs mac or windows vs open source in here.

@aryayush:+1 dude I think there is one MVP here who either must have paid for his MVP status or must have told M$ "Make ma a MVP and I will support M$ feverishly and thrash everybody who says linux or Mac or open source is better than M$".(no offense intended)

do not fight please. discuss the topic at hand.

... which is?

Apple is the new Microsoft

Yay! Party...

M

GNUrag said:
Apple is the new Microsoft

Then you should be ashamed of using a Mac

WOW! You're alive!

nice reading, i mean uptil the last post

and nooooow back to topic comrades

Yes sir yes.

aryayush said:
"Want to buy music from Apple? Guess what? You must install iTunes."
In other words: "Want to buy something from the departmental store? Guess what? You have to walk to it."

I will give u an Example here of Apple's locking system & monopoly in digital audio market.

Want to buy songs from iTunes music store, use iTunes.

Want to buy songs from napster, walmart, amazon, any other store, use WMP11, Jet Audio, J River media center & much more. Or buy online.

Want to use Songs purchased from iTunes on a DAP, use iPod.

Want to use songs purchased from napster, walmart, amazon? buy Creative Zen, iRiver, Cowen, Sandisk, Sony...whatever u like.

Whose better?

Apple. Because their devices actually work and can be used by anyone without reading a manual.

And it is not that you have to buy songs from Apple to listen to them on an iPod or in iTunes.