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Who gives a damn about this velociraptor? Using Android "due to pre-installed software" is a really stupid reason from someone like Gates and kinda a weak argument. He should switch to Windows phones, oh wait!
 
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You can. Just hit the “skip” button during setup. You can easily get into the phone without an Apple ID. However, if you want to download an app from the App Store or Google Play store you will have to have an Apple ID or Google account respectively. They are equal in that respect. :)
Actually, you can download free apps in the Play store without creating or signing in to an account, at least as of about a year ago.
 
No, that was the share within the segment of smartphones, which was only about 10% of cellphones.

Apple's current market share is of all cellphones.
The point was that Microsoft did have a reasonable marketshare and lost it. At the time Microsoft had what they thought was a viable plan and the reality isn't that they dismissed the iPhone and lost but but they then didn't respond quick enough to Android who saw the shift AND gave away the operating system. Android provided the iOS like experience on devices that cost $200 versus the iPhone that started at $500. Arguably Google had inside insight into the device and what was coming that Microsoft lacked which meant that they were able to get a head start. They were able to pivot their new operating system from the Blackberry clone to the iPhone clone though it took them a while to get rid of the buttons.

So perhaps Ballmer didn't understand that it redefined the smartphone platform to make it accessible to more than just techies and business users however Microsoft was also starting at this shift from behind in 2007. It takes them three years to get their updates to Windows Phone 7 to market which is roughly the same amount of time it took the iPhone to come to it's first release as well. I'm sure they didn't react immediately but after Android demonstrated a similar experience they realised they too needed to make updates.

If Android doesn't exist, Microsoft continues to likely build their iPhone clone in Windows Phone 7, Blackberry and Nokia also still likely exist (remember that Nokia were looking to switch to Android as Microsoft acquired them) with Palm's fortunes perhaps ended a different way. Google undercut the market with cheap devices that meant that the smartphone marketshare grew to the point that feature phones aren't a thing any more. If anything it wasn't the iPhone that Microsoft missed, it was Android that globally now has something like 70% of the market.
 
In other news, Bill Gates purchase of a Porsche Taycan over a Tesla recently made headlines - however, Porsche doesn't support Android auto in their vehicles. :oops:
 
What would you have expected from Gates? Android is just more nerdy. You can install whatever you want. You can customize it however you want. You can run it on just about anything. It's like Windows vs MacOS in that regard. Android has a lot of nerd appeal. I have a lot of respect for Gates, but he is the ultimate nerd--and I'm sure he'd agree with that assessment.
You are wrong
Its more about flexibility
Well, iOS is more like a train on railroad, Android let you go on off-road
Even some novices dont like to be on the railroad, on closed system which you cannot do simple things such as copying/transferring files without iTunes
I am on iOS side but it doesnt mean Android is meant for nerd users
Ultimately, i think the opposite, i ve seen many more ''nerds'' as you like to call them, on Apple side than Android
 
It's integration with Windows which is probably of no interest for the <10% on non-Windows. While it's a nice option I disabled it since I prefer Google integration that universally works across all my Windows, Linux, ChromeOS, Android and Apple devices. For example, convenience of making/taking calls and messaging/SMS across all devices and even in browser over WIFI without carrier phone plan.
Ok now I understand his comment better. I totally forgot that my mom's android phone connects with her Windows laptop for photo sharing and what not. Definitely beneficial for some users, but admittedly my mom is not technologically savvy and did not know how to really operate that particular feature outside of the photo sharing/syncing ability.
 
Actually I think Bill Gates and Steve Jobs had a lot of respect and admiration for each other. It’s hard to be friends with your competitor but I think privately there was a friendship there.
The best example is their joint D5 interview. There's clearly an uneasy friendship and some mutual respect going on there.

 
Oh well, that’s his choice.
On another topic, I prefer the iWork Suite over Microsoft Office.
I can design a whole page like a poster or flyer or magazine style papers using Pages. It’s real WYSIWYG. Word is a disaster! I also love Numbers and Keynote; both are also great and easy to use, even on an iPad.
 
Is this myth still around? He did no such thing.
It has been well documented that Microsoft invested €150m in Apple when they were on the edge of bankruptcy in August 1997. Steve Jobs himself admitted that investment gave him the time to develop new products to save the company.
 
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I think its good that he has a choice and can use whatever software he prefers, thus apple is not a monopoly.
I haven’t heard anyone say Apple is a monopoly. However they do have a monopoly on the sale and distribution of iOS apps because you can’t buy them anywhere else.
 
While true, that sum wasn’t gonna make or break Apple.

Um, source?

CNBC "Apple was in very serious trouble," said Jobs.

Apple needed the cash to stay afloat and launch new products such as the original colour iMac.
 
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However they do have a monopoly on the sale and distribution of iOS apps because you can’t buy them anywhere else.

Is this the point where we say McDonald's has a monopoly on the sale and distribution of Big Macs because you can’t buy them anywhere else?

I kid, I kid...

:p
 
CNBC "Apple was in very serious trouble," said Jobs.
That’s nowhere near the same assertion. They were bleeding money, yes, but Microsoft did not singlehandedly fix that.

If anything, MS’s commitment to releasing IE and Office mattered far more.
 
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If I recall about the ‘smart assistant’ in his home, he opted for a beta testing program to control the functionality for lighting controls and automation in his home. I don’t think it’s anything he implemented or created, it was just a program that was being launched and he was chosen for obvious reasons given his background. I believe he even mentioned the name of the company that he was using something similar to HomeKit before it existed.
I believe it. Even on his best days Gates was probably at best a decent programmer. But once MS took off as a company he had to step up on executive duties, and other than maybe puttering around I doubt he has those skills anymore.
 
That’s nowhere near the same assertion. They were bleeding money, yes, but Microsoft did not singlehandedly fix that.

If anything, MS’s commitment to releasing IE and Office mattered far more.
Also let's be real that MS also got something out of this deal: a viable competitor. It was in their interests to have Apple around to point to as an alternative to their monopoly of Windows and try to demonstrate how Microsoft supported platforms beyond their own. The DOJ were already investigating Microsoft when this deal went down, $150m is cheap against the threat your company is going to be broken up.
 
This is just PR to get him in the public eye for his new book launch. As usual the man is an expert in domains he has zero training in. This time it’s the weather.

Also he famously banned Apple products in his home when he had teenage kids lusting for them.
 
Is this the point where we say McDonald's has a monopoly on the sale and distribution of Big Macs because you can’t buy them anywhere else?

I kid, I kid...

:p
That’s not strictly comparable because McDonalds are selling their own products whereas Apple are selling other peoples products. Lots of people have a monopoly and it’s not illegal. It only becomes a problem if you abuse it. But that is off topic so I will save it for another day. 🙏
 
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