p2pnet - rss feed: Six reasons to boycott Apple
p2pnet news | Music:- This article needs no introduction; we all know why we’re here.
Let’s get the most obvious reason for boycotting Apple, the straw that broke this camel’s back, out of the way first: the iPhone ‘update’. More than anything else, Apple’s decision to trash their customers’ devices in punishment for having tried to improve their usability - there really is no other sane way to see it - proves beyond doubt that Cupertino has gone over to the Dark Side.
Even evil, wicked, monopolistic Microsoft with its hated Genuine (dis)Advantage anti-piracy tool has not dared do anything so bold, so controlling, so anti-people.
Refuse to support modified iPhones by all means, but wilfully destroy them and then suggest, as one Apple spokesperson did, that they go out and buy another? Man, that takes some nerve.
But the signs have been there for some time. A few weeks ago it was revealed that the latest generation of iPods have been crippled to make it harder for audio software other than iTunes to talk to them. This killed my excitement over their greatly increased capacity stone dead. (And no, I’m not a Linux enthusiast; I tried Ubuntu and couldn’t get along with it. I just hate iTunes on Windows – the ads, the slowness, the poor playlist support… blech.) iTunes runs well on Macs, but most iPod owners run Windows, so why deny them better alternatives?
Simple.
Apple has started to hate its customers, because they won’t do as they’re told. Users want to use a different phone carrier, and run non-Apple apps on their iPhones; they want to synch their music using different iPod apps. To Herr Jobs this is a personal slap in the goolies and will not be tolerated.
Of course, a less emotive reason for iTunes lock-in is the store. You know, the place where a billion people have downloaded a track to see what the experience is like - before returning to p2p to fill the gaps in their collection with music they get to keep? Or maybe it’s just one billionaire who changes computer a lot and has to keep re-purchasing the same music because it won’t play any more.
Once, we were told that the iTMS was a bold step to force the record industry to face the digital future, and that Apple weren’t really making any money from it. (Any percentage of a billion dollars has got be a tidy sum, I’d have thought, but Jobs knows best.) Now that most people who want an iPod already have one for each pocket, it’s time to put the wringer on them and squeeze out every bit of spare change. No iTunes app would mean no friendly suggestions, and thus no hotline to Jobs’ pocket.
But, as is well known, once you’ve parted with your cash, another lock ironically called Fairplay comes into force, preventing you from moving your files onto non-Apple hardware. Whatever you think of DRM, Apple’s choice not to licence their system to other hardware vendors, or to other music stores, is another attack on choice.
But Apple has this lock-in thing nailed from every angle. Sometimes it makes hardware that attempts to force the user to use particular software, other times its software - yes I’m talking OSX here - stipulating the hardware. Would anyone tolerate another operating system that capriciously decided not only what configuration of hardware you could use, but who you were allowed to buy it from?
It is possible that none of this behaviour is actually illegal. Unlikely, but possible. But it’s certainly unfriendly, malicious and aggressive to the consumer. Long-time Apple users are used to this kind of abuse, though, but my final reason is perhaps the most damning of all: Apple are just not cool anymore.
As Charlie Brooker pointed out, casting Mitchell & Webb as PC & Mac respectively was a masterstroke: Mitchell’s character in Peep Show is bumbling but basically likeable, Webb’s an amoral, style-over-substance airhead. The iPod is not a status symbol, but a sheep symbol. An Apple Mac is just an overpriced PC running a locked-in version of Unix.
There has been a virulent outbreak of articles entitled something like ‘Apple: The New Microsoft’, but what’s been overlooked is that neither company intended to be evil. They set out, as most successful companies do, to stamp on entrenched thinking and develop cool products that people will enjoy. Over time, like leaders of a revolution that went wrong, they try to cling to their position with increasingly dirty tactics. The modern way is Lock-In, be it hardware, software, media DRM, file formats or some other incompatibility. Collectively we have the power to break Apple, or at least to make them completely rethink their business strategies.
This is the moment when - not only for the betterment of society, but for the good of the poor Saruman-like SEO in his ivory tower, gripped with fear of losing his empire - such social bullies should be cast aside.
Chris Ovenden - The Peer
[Ovenden is a self-confessed technology freak who says he always ends up writing about culture, or who is perhaps a culture nut continually drawn towards the hi-tech, he plays guitar, makes websites and teaches. Editorships of various on- and offline publications lurk in his past, “and possibly his future”.]
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October 4th, 2007 at 12:31 pm
“Would anyone tolerate another operating system that capriciously decided not only what configuration of hardware you could use, but who you were allowed to buy it from?”
plain just not true a apple pc X86 or power uses standard parts RAM, CD/DVD/Blu-ray drive Hardisk, processor(possible but not for a beginor) etc.. you can chose any make for your upgrade and replacement only restraint is what RAM is compatible with the motherboard eg. you cant plug DDR3 ram in to a motherboard that uses DDR2 but this restraint is present for ANY PC.
more specific hardware like graphics cards and external devices which need different drivers depending on brand are harder as you have to do some work and find out which ones apple has written drivers for.
as for reason ipods now use some kind of encryption on communication with host computer is so when you report yours stolen apple can prevent it from charging if any application(opensource particuly) could communicate with them then it would render this anty muging feature compromised and useless. while i would like to synk my play-lists from any pc in the house(linux) apposed to my mac mini i prefer to walk to my mac/windows pc instead of getting mugged for using my ipod/iphone in public.
apple should release a linux Itunes!
October 4th, 2007 at 1:37 pm
I’d like to say, before any flaming starts, I am a P2P advocate. But… Apple is a publicly traded corporation, with a written responsibility to it’s shareholders to increase profits. Just like every other corporation out there. I’m so sick of everyone forgetting that and labelling business initiative as conspiratorial. They aren’t dumping carcinogenic waste into water supplies or squeezing small foreign governments into submission. They are being aggressive in an incredibly competitive market - like they are supposed (and obligated) to do.
Wake up call - like it or not, every person that bought and activated an iphone, including myself, agreed through the user agreement that they would use the specified carrier. Going against that, as I did, is a conscious decision. I broke my agreement with Apple. Now, I didn’t do the update and end up with a brick, because I knew Apple was going to do something about the hack. Like hundreds of news stories predicted they would. Like any activity of this sort - whether it’s downloading movies, software or hacking a piece of hardware - when you decide to do it, expect that there will be a reaction and take responsibility for your own actions. The “Dark Side” (give me a break) WILL try to protect their intellectual property. Big surprise. Sometimes in extreme ways.
Exactly what responsibility does Apple or any other company have to do any of the things you mention? The whole idea IS to get you to use as many Apple products as possible. That’s the point. Whether you’re selling coffee and muffins in a small cafe or billions of dollars in hardware and software. If you disagree, and would like them to change their mind and add flexibility or, say, improve iTunes for Windows, then:
1/ get vocal about it, try and get people together to petition Apple to make changes. It’s worked in the past with them. Whimpering about it and calling Apple names for doing what it’s supposed to do is sad and riduculous.
2/ Find alternatives. There are plenty of ways to get iPods to work with or on other apps, for instance. Just look. There’s already a hack to reverse the update on iPhones. Don’t like DRM? Then burn all your iTunes purchases to CD and re-import them, or go on the P2P networks as you mention and download to your heart’s content. But if you choose this route, get a backbone and accept the pitfalls and responsibilities that go along with it.
Apple is a multi-billion dollar corporation. Period. They are supposed to make money. They will use dirty tactics to continue to do so, just like they all do. Saying they are evil and referring to Jobs as a Nazi (seriously, wtf? how do those atrocities in any way compare to limiting your ability to use another cel phone carrier) changes what? If you don’t like it, steer clear of them. Or do some of the things mentioned above. Whatever. Just stop complaining that they are what they’ve never denied they are. And, as for your comment about collectively breaking Apple, well, I’m speechless. Go for it. Keep writing articles about Apple being greedy and comparing them to fascist regimes. You’re right. That’ll have ‘em shaking in their $156/share boots, all right.
October 4th, 2007 at 1:39 pm
Umberto Eco said it in 1994: Apple is The Catholic Church
http://www.themodernword.com/eco/eco_mac_vs_pc.html
October 4th, 2007 at 3:49 pm
“plain just not true a apple pc X86 or power uses standard parts RAM, CD/DVD/Blu-ray drive Hardisk, processor(possible but not for a beginor) etc..”
I am sorry to break your bubble but what the author wrote is correct. In order to run OS X you must do so on Apple Hardware. I would love to run OS X on a different computer, but unfortunately Apple has included DRM in their hardware/software that makes this impossible. Part of configuring a computer include the externals as well as the internals.
October 4th, 2007 at 7:21 pm
Really?
http://uneasysilence.com/os-x-proven-hacked-and-running-on-an-ordinary-pc/
http://wiki.osx86project.org/wiki/index.php/Main_Page
http://www.cnettv.com/9742-1_53-28784.html
That’s 30 seconds on Google. Who said any of this stuff was for beginners? The original post was about hacking iPhones. That’s not for beginners. As I mentioned in my previous post, if you decide you want to break user agreements, or even do something potentially illegal, you have the responsibility to educate yourself abouit it and not whine if something goes wrong or if the company tries to stop you. It was your decision to do this stuff.
October 5th, 2007 at 2:11 am
CO writes > “The iPod is not a status symbol, but a sheep symbol.”
So I click over to his blog - http://thepeer.blogspot.com/ - to read this: “The 160GB iPod - My Music World in My Pocket”
Make your mind up.
October 5th, 2007 at 8:41 am
Where do Colossal Morons like “Are You Serious” draw the line? Should car companies decide where you’re allowed to drive? Should contractors get to say who you may have in YOUR house after you buy it? Should the electric company be able to say, “you are not allowed to plug in any Apple products into our electric grid”? This is a terrible precedent. Damn right I won’t buy an Iphone, but there’s other companies doing the same thing, and I don’t buy their crappy junk either. Companies should NOT be allowed to restrict something you legally paid for, especially after they make a huge profit on each item sold.
Apple made a profit on all the Iphones sold, they’re not subsidized like some hardware out there. There’s no excuse for this.
True Story:
I went to the Apple store when the Iphone first came out and they showed me a $600 unregistered phone. It could only dial 911. As much as the Zune sucks (It sucks big time!) at least it will play your music and movies even if you never buy a single song from the Zune music store. Can’t say that about the Iphone. The Iphone is an expensive worthless brick unless you pay MORE money because ALL its features are turned off.
You just watch, WHEN Microslop sells their crappy phone (you know they will) all the rabid Apple fanboys will come here and tell us how wonderful Apple is compared to Microsoft. They’re both evil.
Companies should NOT be allowed to restrict something you legally paid for, especially when they made a huge profit on each item sold.
I was considering a Intel Mac for my next computer NOT ANY MORE!!!!!!!! Steve Jobs is a Bill Gates wannabe and I’ll have nothing to do with his restricted crappy products unless they’re forced on me. I’ll use a home built Linux box. As imperfect as Linux is, it has no DRM or dumb restrictions on how I use MY hardware.
Companies should NOT be allowed to restrict something you legally paid for, especially when they made a huge profit on each item sold. (Yes I deliberately posted that three times.)
October 5th, 2007 at 10:28 am
Well, this Colossol Moron thinks you should stop, take a breath, and think about reality before you post whiny retorts and sling stupid names.
First off, I agree - AS I SAID IN MY PREVIOUS POST - if you don’t like what’s being offered, stay away. Good choice. If that happens on a large scale and sales fall, maybe Apple and all the other “evil” coprorations that are apparently stripping you of your “rights”, will change their tune and be more consumer friendly. Don’t hold your breath, but maybe.
In the mean time, get over yourself. Apple and all the other corporations have every right in the world to restrict their services. Find me a statute ANYWHERE that says they don’t. The sort of things that are illegal: aggressivley creating a monopoly in a given industry, price fixing, not delivering on contractual obligations. You mention legality, ok, what - precisely - is Apple doing that is illegal? Users purchased a phone, SIGNED A CONTRACT saying they would use (in the US) the AT&T network, and abide by the temrs of the End User Agreement. They aren’t creating a monopoly, you can choose to go with any phone from any carrier you like, including a different phone from AT&T. There’s no collaborative price fixing, obviously. And as far as I am aware, they are living up to the obligations of the contract (who knows, maybe there are individual cases of that not happening).
So, what does your argument come down to? You DON’T LIKE their practices. If we were talking blenders or toasters that had no after-sale services involving the company, I would concede. They shouldn’t be able to tell you where you could plug in, for instance. But we are discussing a product that requires after-sale services. Do you just not get that concept? You aren’t just “legally” paying for a piece of hardware. The user is buying a piece of hardware that REQUIRES them to interact with the company and they signed an agreement saying they would abide by the agreement’s rules. Your idea, that a corporation should manufacture a product like this and then say, “ok, knock yourself out, do whatever you want with it” does happen. You can buy unlocked phones all over the place. But, Apple didn’t. They teamed with AT&T to exclusively provide the iPhone and service plans to the US. In a few years when the initial hype dies down, maybe they will open up their licencing, who knows. This isn’t a moral issue. It’s a business.
Do yourself a favor and re-read my posts where I suggest that if you don’t like it 1/ stay the heck away (glad you agreed with me on this AFTER calling me a moron) 2/ get vocal, organize and take them on to change their position 3/ use other means to circumvent their practices, and take responsibility for following that route. Or, you could just respond with more “wah, wah, wah, Apple sucks, wah wah wah, corporations shouldn’t be allowed to make money, wah, wah, wah, the big bad companies are taking away my rights, wah, wah, wah, anybody who thinks different is a colossal moron”.
October 5th, 2007 at 11:04 am
“Well, this Colossol Moron thinks…”
So you admit you’re a moron.
October 5th, 2007 at 11:13 am
Yes, very clever. Way to add to the discussion, recognize sarcasm, and be an adult. You should be proud.
October 5th, 2007 at 12:14 pm
I don’t know. Seams pretty simple to me. If you bought it and signed up for att, then you set youself up for whatever they putting out. And reader’s write, you do sound kinda whiny.
October 5th, 2007 at 12:18 pm
I’m with Simon Aughton. He says the iPod is a sheep icon yet his blog explains how ecstatic he is over his new iPod. Say one thing, live another. Unless, of course, he is one of these “sheep” he’s referring to which invalidates everything he said because he’s under the control of this “evil entity” he goes on about.
October 5th, 2007 at 8:00 pm
“Even evil, wicked, monopolistic Microsoft”
I don’t even know why I go to P2Pnet anymore, it’s all just bias.
October 5th, 2007 at 8:00 pm
It is true, Apple is disgusting. And so is Microsoft. Which is why I boycott them both, I have in fact never bought a single Apple- or Microsoft-product.
Of the 13 computers in my home, every single one is running either GNU/Linux, *BSD or Solaris.
Death to proprietary software. Thankyou.
October 6th, 2007 at 3:59 am
To the people who read the first line of my iPod post over at the peer and got all WTF-y: check the date of that post. It was before the news came out about the encrypted file system on the new iPods, and before the iPhone ‘brick’ disaster; the two events which prompted this article. I will not now be purchasing one after all, and I urge everyone else to think twice before continuing to give Apple the time of day.
I know there’s nothing special or ‘evil’ about either Apple of Microsoft; they are companies trying to make money. Unfortunately that basic premise seems to lead inevitably to bad behaviour, perhaps not of the Hitler variety (that was, I admit, a cheap shot), but anti-people nonetheless. It is interesting how quick some people are to defend almost anything in the name of business as usual.
October 6th, 2007 at 10:30 am
I don’t think stating the opinion that a corporation has the right to follow certain practices is defending them. It’s a reality. Your statement also implies that I, or anyone who shares a similar opinion, are supporting and approve of their actions, and therefore I (we) are stained with being “anti=people”. I do, actually, disagree with some of their actions (remember, I voluntarily hacked my iPhone, among other things), but I don’t kid myself into believing that it’s conspiratorial, wrong or is removing anybody’s right to choice. Saying now that you don’t think there’s anything evil about them completely refutes your article. “Cupertino has gone over to the Dark Side”. “Apple has started to hate its customers”. “evil, wicked, monopolistic Microsoft”. Which is it?
One of your complaints is you don’t like iTunes and the new iPods are “crippled” to not work with other software. For most people that would equate to “well, guess it’s not for me”, and not “Apple is evil, hates it’s customers, and is conniving to squeeze every last drop of profit while quashing the rights of citizens everywhere”. Another possibility? You (nor I) have any idea what the licencing agreements are between Apple and the record companies, but what we do know from the news is that said record companies have been pushing extremely hard for Apple to toughen up it’s DRM. We also know that Apple is fighting to keep all tracks at .99, while the RC’s are pushing to raise them for popular tracks. Doesn’t sound to me like squeezing every drop of profit (that’s me defending Apple now). If something is to blame on this topic, then look towards the The Digital Millennium Copyright Act.
The same logic can be put towards your iPhone brick argument. “Apple’s decision to trash their customers’ devices in punishment for having tried to improve their usability - there really is no other sane way to see it”. So, it’s insane that Apple and AT&T expected users to follow the end user agreement they signed? And in what way is hacking the iPhone improving it’s usability? Broadening, maybe, but the phone works just fine on AT&T. And that’s not just semantics. The implication that there is something wrong with the product and services because you don’t like them and that they seem to limit your view of free choice, seems to be questionably sane. Following your logic, we should be enraged that cable companies bundle options into packages removing our ability to choose, we should “break” developers that build condo complexes where you can’t paint the exterior of your unit whatever color you want, and so on. But that stuff isn’t wrong or evil. It’s the product those corps chose to sell. Yet again, choose not to purchase the product (which you said you would do with the iPod, good choice), get organized and let them know you don’t like their practices, or subvert their limitations and accept the responsibilities for doing so.
You are a culture/tech columnist, shouldn’t we expect more from you than name slinging, ridiculous statements like “Apple’s choice not to licence their system to other hardware vendors, or to other music stores, is another attack on choice”, and little to no research to back up your article -”It is possible that none of this behaviour is actually illegal. Unlikely, but possible”. Or is that just putting unreasonable and questionable expectations on what you choose to say and write. The way, say, someone might put such expectations on the products a company chooses to put to market.
October 6th, 2007 at 11:27 am
@Are You Serious
Since you couldn’t spot that “evil, wicked, monopolistic Microsoft” was meant to be amusingly over-the-top, it’s hard to know how much time of day to give your responses.
My article clearly has you riled. I’m not calling for Apple to be prosecuted (though I gather they probably will be), I’m calling on people to boycott them. And while we may disagree on much, you make several points in support of that aim.
And yeah, let’s get riled over anti-choice bundling, and all that other stuff. It’s my considered belief that business, being primarily about profit, is inherently anti-people, and the bigger the business the more overt this becomes.
October 6th, 2007 at 1:41 pm
See, now you’re just sounding like a politician, watering down facts and selectively avoiding arguments. In another context, I would recognize “evil, wicked, monopolistic Microsoft” as amusing, but in the full context of your article, was it? The thrust of your argument is that Apple, Microsoft and others are overtly cruel to consumers and illegally restricting personal rights for their own financial and market gains. Sounds evil to me, or am I still miscontruing your comment? And even if I did, everything I said thereafter is meaningless?
What “riled” me about your article (btw, apparently it’s reasonable for you to publish rants about a topic, but someone replying with a different opinion is “riled” instead of engaging in a debate) was it’s lack of scope or reference. A few examples?
“Apple has started to hate its customers”. It’s a pretty strong statement (unless it was also meant to be “amusing”). What are you basing this on? Not the millions of reasonably to fervently happy owners of Apple products. (Yes, there are definitely unhappy owners as well. Sell millions of anything and a percentage of folks will be unhappy.) No, you’re referring to your argument about choice. The gist I get of your view is that all corporations are supposed to create a product, then make it completely open, usable with or in any other context conceivable and withholding any future rights it thinks it might have. This sounds reasonable to you? While a company creating a product and a series of exclusive services that it and partners provide and you are under no obligation whatsoever to purchase is unreaosnable? Again, you don’t give an argument w-h-y it’s wrong, just that you think it is.
Some other quick points: What they are doing is illegal (sorry, “possibly” so). Well, how so? That Apple makes tons of money from the iTunes store. Where are the stats, instead of just your guess that they do? And while we’re there, where is the response to Apple’s stubbornness to raise fees at the store? What about copyright and artist’s rights when you are discussing DRM? Or that DRM has much more to do with copyright holders (ie. the record companies) than it does Apple. What about the fact that users voluntarily signed an EULA when they bought their iphones? That has no bearing on Apple’s decision to disable hacked phones? I could easily go on if you like.
I’m not that concerned whether you give my resposnses the time of day or not. You keep responding so there must be something there. But instead of implying my opinions don’t have merit, if you choose to respond, then do me a favor and back up your arguments instead of just giving loose opinions.
October 8th, 2007 at 10:55 am
“I do, actually, disagree with some of their actions (remember, I voluntarily hacked my iPhone, among other things), but I don’t kid myself into believing that it’s conspiratorial, wrong or is removing anybody’s right to choice.”
When you live with their restrictions you can come here and tell us to do the same. Until then STFU hypocrite!
November 5th, 2007 at 8:53 pm
Apple and Microsoft. They’re both huge corporations hell bent on controlling the computing market. Where do old computers go when they die? Mine are revived with Linux. I remember when the iMac was new, Apple was breaking the mold then. Now Apples just look like fancy PC’s. Don’t get me wrong, I’m an apple user myself and I enjoy OS X, but now that they’ve gone intel, whats the difference? The machine needs to be separate from the OS. The OS is not the machine. Why can i not be free to run OS X on my intel PC? It’s my damn computer, why cant i do what i want? Blah blah, thats all i got.
February 23rd, 2008 at 3:10 pm
Apple could have been mean and not even made iTunes for windows. They could have kept it exclusive to macs. Then we wouldn’t have all these windows people running around saying that their iPods don’t work well with programs there not designed to work with… The iPod is made to work with iTunes, if you don’t want to have itunes don’t get an ipod, it’s as simple as that.
February 23rd, 2008 at 4:35 pm
Although I am not a Microsoft junkie I certainly use their products. On the other hand I refuse to buy anything Apple because of the way their products are so restricted. I would argue that the Ipod is actually unfit for sale as without having access to an internet connection (owning a pc is not enough) you cannot even use it as it doesn’t come with the necessary software. If Microsoft products were as restricted as Apple products then I would not use them either.
I have four computers in my house all running Windows XP. Three of them run fully registered and updated XP Home software. The other runs on a copy of XP Pro Corporate Edition. It has never been updated as it is effectively a cracked copy. Have never had any problems, virus’s, trojans or anything so it makes me wonder about the updates. Microsoft has tried numerous times to put these cracked copies out of business with their updates just like Apple. However the updates Microsoft used just tell the user that their software was unregistered and an illegal copy. It prevents the user from “benefiting” from any other updates but does not prevent them from using the machine. Apple did the exact opposite and turned their products into crap. That is where the similarity ends.
February 24th, 2008 at 7:22 pm
Simple. Buy a Zen. =D