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.
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#30, TIHZ_HO, “have I just been lucky?”
Maybe, it appears to have been a battery problem. Four in a row just “died.” My fifth works fine, now if it’d just hold 30,000 .wav CDs or movies….
#25 “how to convert from a shitty/lossy 128k AAC to a CD and then back to a lossy MP3 (whatever codec you like) without ANY quality loss”
well, if it is a shitty/lossy 128k AAC, why are you buying it in the first place? and if it is so crappy to begin with, why worry about loss of quality in the CD roundabout?
I am on my third iPod, and I have paid for, by my count, less than 10 songs from iTunes. the rest of my iTunes music were freebies when they had a bottle-cap promotion with Pepsi. should something I prefer eventually emerge, I am sure all those MP3s will move right on over to the next big thing.
what Apple counts on is that most people would rather not go through the hassle and will stick with iPods. it is not a matter of locking people in, it is a matter of making transition costs high enough in terms of effort that jumpers will be comparatively few.
Just like to bring up that product worship was been around for awhile. Just a few off the top of my head.
Cars
Soft Drinks
Musical Instruments
Tools
Stereo Equip
Crazy that companys not only have customers but a fan base as well. These fans will fight with you on how there shiny thing rocks and why the others suck.
Wow… This post is way off the mark. Apple has a long, long way to go before being comparable to the monopoly that is Microsoft. I see a lot of misinformed opinions here. iTunes DRM? Think about it this way. If it weren’t for FairPlay, the music industry would not have allowed Apple to sell music through iTunes. FairPlay is not restrictive. And what is Apple doing now? They’re urging the music industry to drop DRM. Apple is proprietary? I’m sorry, all along I thought it was OpenGL, not ClosedGL. Mac OS X is a great operating system because Apples uses many open standards, such as PDF, OpenGL, X11… Apple also contributes to the open source community with projects like Darwin, Bonjour and QuickTime. Saying that Apple is taking the place of Microsoft in monopolistic practices is a bunch of horse crap. Why is the iPod number one? Because it’s the best portable music player. Why is Microsoft number one? Volume licensing. If you’re going to post shit like this, at least try to give us a few facts.
Whay is the girl in the pic flippin of the camera…sly Apple…..
Macs aren’t what they used to be
It’s ironic that the sheeple have embraced the new denatured Macs now that Apple is a lifestyle marketing company rather than a technology company. Macs used to be superior to x86 processor PCs back when Apple spec’d RISC processors. Now that Macs use hardware identical to Windows PCs It’s difficult to find a compelling rational for the premium price.
Don’t get me wrong, UNIX is a great OS and Apple has a nice front end with a nice application bundle. But it’s just UNIX in the end.
I-tunes BTW is a big POS. It’s like a re-skinned Music Match jukebox with built in DRM. Why would anyone but a fanboy install that malware?
#15 Open source and capitalism aren’t mutually exclusive.
#12
Actually M$ is like the 40something overachieving female chinese mid level manager, she’s capable of a lot more but is stuck in the middle doing menial jobs..
Wait, that’s Office 2007
#39 agree.
Macs aren’t what they used to be.
15 years ago I was using Macs at the office. And they positively blew the pants out of any PC running win3.11. On the other hand, Only when I configured my 1st 486 PC, I realized the speed and raw power of PC vs. the 68030. And things got worse from Apple as the Motorola 68K processor dwindled behind Intel’s Pentium Line. They had to change processor for PowerPC.
PowerPC was cool (no pun) but being developed by Motorola (that wanted to be making micro controllers from it) and IBM (that wanted to be making supercomputer chips) PowerPC lagged again behind Intel’s ever evolving CPU on the desktop. And people have short memories but Intel had to evolve because of some clever people that made better x86 than themselves: Cyrix, NexGen, and, of course AMD. NexGen processor became to be the K6 after AMD bought them. And Cyrix still lives inside VIA cpus. With that kind of competition inside the x86 “league” it was bound to become faster and cheaper as it evolved.
Meanwhile the Mac adopted every single standard on the PC, and, in fact nowadays is a PC. Even the OS is built over standard basis (freeBSD).
“#15 Open source and capitalism aren’t mutually exclusive.”
Well it is my belief that Open Source can only exist with Capitalism.
There was some discussion here: http://cagematch.dvorak.org/index.php/topic,460.0.html
Even if Apple has become the new “Evil Empire” of tech, or at the very least is becoming that, I welcome my new conquering overlord. Apple gives me rock solid products that I love, far from what Microsoft has delivered.
#39 “Macs used to be superior to x86 processor PCs back when Apple spec’d RISC processors.”
Exactly right! That is why Macs were the standard in advertising they handled photo and artwork better than any PC could even dream of doing. That was the time Macs could be smug.
But that flipped around – PCs became faster than Macs…so Apple needed to make a hardware change to Intel survive because they sell hardware.
Oh well.
Cheers
#43 “I welcome my new conquering overlord. Apple gives me rock solid products that I love”
I think the American Indians had the same sediment as well.
Cheers
My coworker bought a iMac a few year back for like $1800, He just got into actually going online becuase he just got WildBlue satellite system at his rual home.
I think i came with like 10.4.3 or something, but he can’t install half of the programs he want to use because need a upgrade, where you have to actually pay for it.. 🙁
I don’t remember paying for SP2 for my XP or 2000
#42, #44
I got hooked on gaming back when Macs ruled. I recall playing Spectre and then years later Marathon. Oh the glory days of the mighty Mac.
#46 “…he can’t install half of the programs he want to use because needs an upgrade, where you have to actually pay for it.. 🙁 ”
An Apple Mac, the gift that you just keep buying.. .
#47 Just like Happy Days!
Cheers
I find this DU topic’s title laughable. I guess you’d have to label them a “technology bully”, because no other term could be stretched to fit. They certainly aren’t a “software bully” like Microsoft has been for years (and continues to be). So let’s beat up on Apple for being so damned innovative that they make new technology products that people actually stand in lines to buy at hyped prices. And even more, damn Apple for feeling sorry for those early iPhone buyer, and giving them a $100 credit.
Wow, I wish Microsoft would feel sorry for all of us WinXP users who have n’t seen a new Service Pack update in years, and heavily discount XP rather than replace it with the far more expensive Vista. Oh, no! That’s not being a technology bully, only Apple is. Well Apple doesn’t force you to use their stuff, or your life comes to an end. But try to do without Microsoft wares, and your PC grinds to a halt, or websites refuse to talk to you. You’ve always had a choice with Apple. And you rarely have had one with Microsoft. I don’t currently own any Apple products. But that’s how I feel about them ever being labeled a bully, compared to Microsoft. It’s just a load of reverse market psychology, to screw with stock sales. And apparently, it’s an “anything goes”, “all’s fair” media battleground.
#49 “…that people actually stand in lines (for days) to buy at hyped prices.” “Well Apple doesn’t (does) force you to use their stuff”
And MS does? WTF does this mean? iPods only work with iTunes unless you get some third party software. iPhones – don’t even go there… Macs? Until the Intel switch only Apple stuff…sorry!
Its ironic that the 1984 Apple ad got turned around to mean Apple… 😆 You summed that up brilliantly
How does MS force you to use their stuff? I don’t have one piece of hardware that from MS – not even the mouse. I bought MS software because I like it.
As far as technology Apple has traditionally lagged behind – but in the ‘wow gee whiz’ camp they do just fine.
“I wish Microsoft would feel sorry for all of us WinXP users who have n’t seen a new Service Pack update in years, and heavily discount XP rather than replace it with the far more expensive Vista.”
As I recall every time MS releases a service pack everyone bitches on how MS should have made it right the first time!
Gosh Glenn that is a damned it you do and damned if you don’t.
Why should XP be discounted because Vista is out? Prices are set by market demand not by benevolence. So if Vista sucks – don’t buy it. If XP sucks don’t buy it. If you think OSX sucks don’t buy a Apple Mac (notice the difference) and If Linux sucks then get a typewriter, postage stamps and a calculator. The choices are yours to make.
If you hear about 50,000 people bitching about MS on chat, blogs and such think about the 50,000,000 people who aren’t – whats that called the silent majority. While it is true that PC mags (Sorry John) often run stories about Windows disasters and how to fix them, and how to make Windows run better and yadda yadda yadda – what would you expect them to write about? Its all about public perception.
PC mags from the UK (Sorry again John!) seem to focus more on doing things with PCs, new technology, reviews than fixing Windows FUps! Am I right all you UK readers of DU?
I think hhopper once commented that he sits back and finds these discussions very entertaining as he was an XP that runs fine…same as me.
Cheers
ME Edit: I think hhopper once commented that he sits back and finds these discussions very entertaining as he HAS an XP that runs fine…same as me.
you want Apple engaging in MS-type behavior? look to the gratuitously stupid, rather than solely the bullying, like eliminating the ability to add an event in the calendar on the iPod Touch:
http://tinyurl.com/39k239
#46 Tell your friend 10.4 is the latest os and it doesn’t cost anything to update to 10.4.10 just click on software update.
And to let you guys know Apple sold it’s 1 millionth iPhone yesterday. That took just 74 days, 21 days ahead of predictions.
By Mike Elgan. Who also said a year ago (Sept 28 06) under the headline:
Why Microsoft’s Zune Scares Apple to the Core
(Computerworld article by The Raw Feed Editor, Mike Elgan) “Apple fans point and laugh at Microsoft’s futile entry into a market totally dominated by the iPod and its transcendent design.
Apple’s media players are so good they have transformed consumer electronics, inspired a massive gadget “ecosystem” and spawned a thousand imitators.
Every pretender to the media player throne — and there have been hundreds — has been thoroughly smacked down by Apple and its untouchable iPod.
The secrets of iPod’s success appear obvious: beauty, simplicity and “extreme coolness” — three characteristics Microsoft has never achieved in any product.
So why is Apple so scared? For GOOD REASON, it turns out…” (Go HERE to Digg it!) UPDATE: This article has been SLASHDOTTED! UPDATE 2: Gizmodo posted some beauty shots of the Zune here.
(Hyperlinks deleted)
#55. So, why would the Zune scare Apple to the core?
Apple has succeeded in achieving market dominance with the iPod and also has created a lot of ‘friction’ (which doubles as DRM) that impedes the ability of any competitor to take away their customers.
The Zune, while a good piece of tech (I am told) and a leading non-iPod media player, is short on market share. Typically MS needs v 2.0 to get it right, but they are way far behind Apple in this market, and I don’t know how they can catch up.
I think going DRM-free and opening up the wi-fi would create some buzz, but the music companies would not likely allow MS to market what would then be an portable file-sharing device.
I for one would like to see both Apple and MS liberate their media players from the computer entirely. Apple’s wi-fi iTunes is a big step in that direction, but we will have to see how that pans out.
what they really need is wi-fi on an iPod Classic 160gb so that, once you dump your entire music collection onto the iPod, you never need connect it to your computer again, just download media straight from the internet.
does anyone but me suspect that designating the iPod as a ‘classic,’ indicate that the form-factor is going to go away. after all, Apple is not known for marketing ‘classic’ products, but rather new, hip ones.
my prediction – HD based iPod Touch next year and the old click-wheel gets put out to pasture.
#56. According to Mike Elgan, they are quaking in their boots. In other words, consider the source.
“Typically MS needs v 2.0 to get it right”
No, history has long ago taught people to avoid anything MS until it hits 3.0.
• • • • •
pedro, your neurosis is blossoming into full-fledged psychosis;
“MS users are way more critical about their computers than mac users, who seem to have quite a talent for rationalizing bad stuff into “features” or “the drive for excellence” the company has. I wonder if those that sent e-mails to mac complaining about the price cut will be put on a black list either by mac or by real “loyal” users. I wouldn’t be surprised at all if it happened.”
You are rapidly becoming deranged. It is the millions upon millions of computer-illiterates who, from being overwhelmed by deceitful marketing and driven by peer-pressure-fueled fear into accepting computers that they don’t know enough about to realize that BSODs, hardware incompatibilities and dozens of hours spent calling tech support to get the simplest things to function the way they supposed to is NOT normal – they are the undiscriminating sheeple. Mac users expect the box to do what they want done, reliably and with minimal technical intervention. And that’s what Macs have always done far better than PeeCees.
The very fact that you actually try to reverse those long-familiar scenarios in your pathological striving to smear Apple and the computers they build is mounting evidence of a rapidly encroaching psychosis. Back to your shrink, pedro, before they get out the butterfly nets and backwards jacket.
#57. Ah, OK.
Actually gquaglia, OSX will cost you a minimum of $599 these days.
Ahh, Macintosh: the worlds most expensive hardware dongle.
“OSX will cost you a minimum of $599 these days.”
Is that so?
You certainly would appear to have some bizarre ideas. Have you been hanging out w/ pedro? 🙂
I wouldn’t know, pedro. Ya see, I only have 3 Macs running 24/7/365. So I haven’t been as lucky as those who have the BSOD permanently imprinted on their retinas.
Lauren, Pedro has got a point here (#62)
I’m old enough to remember the Mac bomb or the sad mac icon. These are truly the equivalents of the BSOD, and I’ve seen a lot of them in my time.
Sure OSX has almost never crashed on me (two machines) but neither XP (4 machines) in the same period. I don’t remember seeing the BSOD in years. And mind you I fiddle quite a lot on my PC machines (including total motherboard/processor replacement without reformating/reinstalling windows.)
#56
>>”I think going DRM-free and opening up the
>>wi-fi would create some buzz, but the music
>>companies would not likely allow MS to market
>>what would then be an portable file-sharing device.”
That’s why Apple can pull it off.
I-Tunes is their ace in the hole for wireless file-sharing. Making illegal copies isthe problem, not sharing content. If I-pods were able to stream music exclusively purchased on I-tunes to other I-pods I’m pretty sure that would be considered fair use.
A wireless I-pod/I-phone mesh would allow Apple to grab even more market share. Now imagine if they bundled a VOIP app that worked on a wireless Pod mesh.
Hey Lauren, your strawman’s on fire.
What you have linked to is an add-on or upgrade to OSX, which you can only legally install on Apple hardware.
Some people would equate it to an MS Service pack that costs $130. I give it more credit that that, but the whole OS its not. Not with the initial investment in “premium,” on Apple’s terms hardware.