Google Sets Its Sights on Apple

[satcomer]

Apple needs to release a iTunes server for the home complete with streaming and metadata..

But you can do that with a Drobo FS or ReadyNAS+. Just point iTunes to these network drives and share it to Authorized computers on your iTunes account.

 

[cmaier]

But you can do that with a Drobo FS or ReadyNAS+. Just point iTunes to these network drives and share it to Authorized computers on your iTunes account.

I've tried that with a readynas nv+.Lots of problems when multiple devices are connected to the same library, particularly when syncing iphones/ipods to different macs accessing the same library.

 

[MyBrainIsSpeakn]

I'm confused... did Beethoven invent the piano? Was he the first to ever play a piano? No... and no... but isn't he a household name? A history book name? A legendary name? Yes, yes, and yes.

Basically you guys "Apple did it first" swiss cheese points don't hold water.

Sorry.


I love it when I see Apple fans... on here give it up to Apple and welcome the competition without complaining, but some of you... the fanboy extremist... meh... you guys don't want nothing to harm your precious Apple, do you?

 

[StoneJack]

Ok. Let's take an example. John Carson, an engineer from Midwest, uses his Android phone, watches Youtube and uses Google maps for travel and Google docs for editing his office documents. He also has Google desktop and Picasa installed. His search engine is Google and he uses Gmail.

Google knows:
1. his exact address, where and how he travels and even suggests him jogging routes (how touching) http://googlemapsmania.blogspot.com/2009/03/view-your-jogging-route-in-street-view.html
http://googlemapsmania.blogspot.com/2007/02/just-map-it-with-nikes-google-maps.html. Google may have placed a camera near his home which transmits live the situation near the house, where John gets out, when he comes back.

2. His office docs are already on Google servers, as well as his search history, shopping history, video preferences, and all his email, contacts and attachments. They all are constantly scanned, allegedly for viruses and for some useful information. The Picasa stores his private photos of friends, families, places visited. Of course, Picasa offers to send it to Google servers as well. John's home computer files, including private ones, are already all scanned, checked and indexed by Google. John has already permitted Google Desktop to send his information to Google servers even without understanding, when he allowed advanced search settings. His web-shopping financials are checked by Google Checkout. Google news already knows about John's address, news preferences and what he liked to read. Google calendar already knows about John's future plans. Google powermeter knows already about innards of your home and your energy consumption. Google Orkut has precise information about John's friends and his social network.

3. With Google Tv at his home, his living room privacy will be fully invaded and Admob on Android will report to mothership all necessary cell phone information, in addition to everything already stored on Google servers.

Big Broooother is watching you and already selling your privacy for ads. Welcome to Interweb 2010 supported by Google. Now, with all information stored on John Carson's personal and business life, what would be best ads for him? - asks a Google droid. Another droid googles all John's information on Google's servers and comes with best price for John Carson's life and privacy...

Government surveillance is not needed if Google is around. All Government has to do it to get an access to Google servers. Wait, they already did it..


From Android Market regulations: Export Compliance Print
"If you're new to the world of US export laws, you may wonder why they may apply to your Android Market application in the first place. Your application will be hosted on Google servers. Google Inc. is a US company, and the United States government considers it an export when someone outside the US downloads software from our servers. Because of this, your application may be subject to US export laws, including an arcane labyrinth of rules about software that uses encryption (among other things) -- even if you're not located in the US or a US national...

Even if you've open sourced your application, it may still be subject to the export regulations...
Under US export laws, Android Market applications may be prohibited from transfers to embargoed countries. Accordingly, Google blocks downloads to these countries. "We're from the government, and we're here to help." Old jokes aside, the US government does offer advice and resources for you". Why would Google offer advice and resources on behalf of US Government? I guess, there was a good deal. After all, some say 60% of Government offices in USA use Google servers.

Chinese Government just didn't pay enough to Google. After all, Google is a patriotic company and will surrender private information of people, risking their lives in China under censorship, to dictators only with a fair price. Well, the price has been negotiated, you know.The price: "In terms of Google's wider business operations, we intend to continue R&D work in China and also to maintain a sales presence there, though the size of the sales team will obviously be partially dependent on the ability of mainland Chinese users to access Google.com.hk. Finally, we would like to make clear that all these decisions have been driven and implemented by our executives in the United States, and that none of our employees in China can, or should, be held responsible for them. Despite all the uncertainty and difficulties they have faced since we made our announcement in January, they have continued to focus on serving our Chinese users and customers. We are immensely proud of them". Google, David Drummond, SVP, Corporate Development and Chief Legal Officer, March 2010.

Well, it seems that droids made a good deal, after all and sold privacy there for a good price, so SVP is so proud of them.

 

[marksman]

The biggest statement Google could make is the release of their own official OS and a full line of new, (Google) Laptops to compete with Apple's OS and Apple'ss computers ... that would be front page news.
Could be in the works, who knows.

Google is a business making money for it's shareholders, that's the idea. They see the success of iphone, ipad etc and they'd like to ride the shirt tales of that, dirty business who knows there's arguments from all angles.

But - Apple has done me no wrong, closed OS, this and that with the iphone and on and on ... bottom line Apple stuff works, it's simple/fun to use, it costs more but it lasts longer in my experience and very importantly Apple's products not only last long, tend to hold their value but they're a pleasure to use along the way too.

Except google makes their revenue from ads and pretty much only from ads.

Their modus operandi has always been to come up with good ideas and figure out how to monetize it later. It has worked fairly well for them, but in a lot of cases things don't work out or end up not being something that generates much if any ad related revenue.

Google tests out lots of things and a relative large number of those reach a pretty significant testing size, but things don't always work out. Google has failed many times to make their R&D investments in new ideas to pan out in real profit and revenue, outside of core search. Things that have tied directly into that have been easier, like google mail and other things.

 

[iphoneZ]

yes GOOG is a POS company modeled after MSFT and its CEO is a failed Ballmer wannabe. (i mean its pretty sad when you look bad compared to Ballmer.) too bad the founders of GOOG did not stay more closely involved.

 

[BC2009]

Agreed (with much elaboration)

Google is trying to buy everyone up, compete in every market, and they just have too much information about all of us, it's scary.

[sorry in advance for the book]

Yeah, anybody who thinks Google is not trying to "own you" is deluding themselves. Make no mistake -- I know Apple wants to "own me" to -- just as Microsoft tried to "own us all". The key to success in this industry is being the pivot point around which everybody must do business to gain access to the customer. Google is heralding "openness", but they seem to be trying just as hard to squash anybody they can to prevent you from doing business with anybody but Google.

The difference is that Apple was the first in the game with devices and operating systems. So they already command a very large segment of the market. Google's "manufacturing partners" are a means to an end. That is to say, Google is happily taking away ownership of HTC and Motorola's customers when these manufacturers don't have much of a choice. Sure, Motorola is selling an unprecedented number of mobile phones, but they did it through Verizon Buy-One-Get-One program at rock-bottom prices (i.e.: at hardly any profit). Just take a look at the losses (not profits) posted by the Motorola mobile phone division just recently.

Google's manufacturing partners are in a pinch because of the iPhone and they don't know what to do. Google is using them as a means to an end since Google has no background in manufacturing devices. Instead they are taking advantage of the weak position all these manufacturers are in and attempt to stage a coup.

Its a smart play by Google but a bit of a desperate one because they are going to have to eventually acquire and prop-up one of these manufacturers as the others continue to lose money. When/if that happens Google's "openness" mantra will be a thing of the past.

So as far as I am concerned if somebody is going to own the marketing data on me and my family I would prefer Apple right now. They have great privacy policies regarding my data and they produce incredibly featured devices that rarely ever crash -- which is incredible when you consider how often mobile devices in general will crash.

Are there Android features that I am jealous of from time to time? Sure. But there are more iPhone features that I would not live without. I expect both companies to push the envelope as competition heats up, but I expect Apple to get it right (i.e.: with the correct look, feel, ease-of-use, and polish) that I have come to expect from Apple.

In addition, if Google wants to be a player in the consumer market they need to go purchase a top-notch customer support department, because right now their customer support is a joke. To Google the customer is faceless mass of IP addresses hitting their servers. Just try posting to one of their "support forums" and see how long it takes a Google representative to post a reply -- all I ever got was other users complaining "yeah the same error happened to me and I could not fix it". If you have ever called AppleCare support or even used your factory warranty support from Apple you probably already know that they have some of the most educated and helpful technical support people in the country -- and because when you buy an Apple product you know the OS and device came from the same manufacturer there is no finger-pointing to deal with -- Apple takes responsibility and fixes the issue. They just replaced my brother's iPhone 3G because he was experiencing reduced battery life even though their battery tester showed the battery to be healthy. How often do you see that sort of thing?

 

[macsmurf]

In addition, if Google wants to be a player in the consumer market they need to go purchase a top-notch customer support department, because right now their customer support is a joke.

A major newspaper in my country recently switched to Google Apps. They hired an external company for support. They had "geniuses" walking around the company around the time of the switch. Of course this was not from Google, but if someone can make a business providing support for Google products to companies, that's fine.

I think that there is a lot of misunderstanding in this thread (as well as a lot of religious ramblings, irrational fear, and downright ignorance). Google has a lot of free products for the consumer, but Google IO isn't really intended for consumers at all. Google IO is intended for developers and when Google talk about openness it is with respect to the programmers - not necessarily the end user. Some company may want to create a walled garden based on Google products which of course will impact the user in the same way it has impacted Apple users (good and bad) depending on the competence of the company.

 

[Max(IT)]

EDIT: Damn, I wrote another book. If you're interested, read on. Otherwise, TLDNR is perfectly acceptable.



This is a really difficult time for those of us who are hardcore Apple fans, or hardcore Google fans.

I mean, I love Google — but I love Apple *more*. And I like that Google is creating products and ideas that might help push Apple to do bigger and better things. But ultimately, I want Apple to win the fight, because I have greater respect for them based on the products they've created.

I think Apple's products are better than anything else out there on the market. But Google has some cool stuff, you know? (Or in the very least, cool ideas.) I wish that Google could come up these cool ideas, and then have Apple design them — the product, the UI, etc. Maybe that's what competition is all about, but when these two media giants are fighting each other, it's hard to know who to root for.

I mean, really now — can't we all just get along?

I'm saying that I believe Apple has the best design for their products -- whether it be the physical look and feel, or the user interface -- everything is very intuitive. I like how Apple has a consistency across their products that enables you to pick it up and already know how to use it. It's one of the huge benefits in having one company design both the hardware and the software elements for a product.

So when Google comes along and starts to follow in Apple's footsteps (cell phones, operating systems, and now TVs), I find that I like the philosophy that Google uses. I like their idea that everything should be open and connected. The problem is that I don't like how their products look and feel. For example, with Android, their taking the Microsoft approach: create an OS and then license it to handset manufacturers. Sound familiar? It's what Microsoft does with Windows, which is part of why PCs have so many issues to begin with. You have hardware designs that software doesn't take advantage of, you have inconsistencies across the board, not to mention potential incompatibilities and issues that arise. It's just a mess.

You simply cannot deny that when one company makes both the hardware and software, their product is going to be designed to its full potential. And that's why each time I use an Android-powered phone, I find this lack of consistency that aggravates me. It just doesn't "feel" right, there's something missing. It's not as clean, not as organized. It just doesn't seem like it was designed for "regular people." You won't find that with Apple's products -- whether it be a Mac, iPhone, or iPad -- they're built based on how you would expect to interact with them.

Now obviously, nobody's perfect. Apple has a very different philosophy to their products. They use a closed system to help preserve the user experience. Whether or not that will win the war is yet to be seen. But I know that I'm willing to live with that type of setup because there simply isn't anything else out there that can compete with the simplicity and intuitiveness that Apple brings to the table.

If Google and Apple became friends again, I'd like to see them exchanging ideas and implementing their strengths together. Unfortunately though, it's become apparent that the two of them are just going to split farther and farther apart. Being a guy who appreciates both companies, it makes things difficult; I like what Google has thought up, but I've grown accustomed to Apple's brilliant methods of enabling us to interact with technology.

So until Google can astonish me with a look-and-feel that matches Apple's quality, I'm sticking with Apple's products. I'll take a well-designed computer, phone, tablet, anything -- over an "open" platform that just *almost* gets it right.

+1
That is Exactly what I feel

 

[jacobj]

I like Google, but I do have some key issues with them:

Their do no harm mantra is ********* as SJ says. This is a company that happily entered China and only pulled out once the net effect of its presence was negative.

This is a company that alludes to wanting customers to have the world for free and yet it makes its money from advertising and cares not (or little) as to the moral position of those that advertise through it. It does not care whether the product being advertised is over priced or immoral.

So let's all agree that Google's caring is a fallacy. This is a company that is using its resources heavily to make the world free by taking control of everything. Where do we end up once we have allowed a single company into that position.

Then, my final point has to be: am I the only one or does virtually everything that google does feel like a b grade ui stuck on the front of a clever developer's code? I don't want my future feeling cheap and nasty. I want it finished and polished. Suppose that's why I use Apple.

 

[WilliamLondon]

Yes, a lot of things are different, but they have one thing in common and that's the very practice that got Microsoft into antitrust trouble.

What did Microsoft do? Create a web browser (IE) and integrate it with the system (Win 98 SE) so that it couldn't be removed.

Yes, Microsoft shipped as part of their OS a browser (at a different time in a completely different situation. Saying that Apple is the same because they ship an application on their own hardware is oversimplifying and missing the point of the antitrust case you quote.

Do you get it?...They got in trouble because they shipped the OS with various applications included. Ergo,

No ergo. You can't go there. Because they shipped the OS with various applications? One is software OS only, and the other is hardware. Apple ships its hardware and so that we can use it, they ship software on it.

You can't possibly claim that it's the same as Microsoft and the browser wars - that would be implying that Apple should stop shipping functionality on their own hardware.

With Apple, the software is only there to sell the hardware. If you don't want to play by their rules on their hardware, don't buy their stuff. It's that simple, and they are doing nothing like Microsoft did. Nothing.

 

[igorleandro]

Sometimes I wonder where things will end.

I still remember spending hours and hours trying to make my Linux work properly because I simply couldn't deal with windows crashes, bugs and viruses.

One day I finally met a Mac, and even after 15 years using MS / IBM products I felt in love for it. At first it didn't look that good, but then when I finally finished my thinking transition to it the world was brighter.

Now, over the years, what I've seen is just a bunch of companies focused on copying things and bringing zero innovation.

When the iPhone came out, the entire industry changed. That is NOT something easy to do. From night to day, Apple was not the "iPod maker" anymore, it was a serious threat to all the mobile makers and all that market segment. From that day to the next years that followed, all I've seen was more and more companies trying to copy that idea, since they all failed to do anything for decades.

I would like to thank:
- Nokia for your crappy phones. Stop suing companies that innovated while you let me in the dark for every time I needed to make a synchronization and not bringing anything really exciting for 10 years;
- Google for trying to dominate the world. Here is a hint, beta programs may save your ass in sues due to not being a "full product" yet, but honestly, it is starting to piss me off. Most of the things that you do don't bring that awesome experience and we fall back to our old applications and computers LOCALLY. Please make SOMETHING really good and stop making TONS of ****** things;
- Microsoft for making the biggest monopoly of office and home users ever seen. Now please, put that money to real development and give us something that YOU came up with. Stop copying Apple's OS in every major aspect of the UI;
- Apple for shaking the grounds of those who thought they had everything already. Please protect your intellectual property and keep innovating. For your devices just one hint: open more APIs and allow more plugins in applications like Safari and devices like Apple TV.

Honestly, it scares the heck out of me to see all the companies copying and trying to shut Apple down. Why? Simple, because Apple was the only company who made a computer I enjoy using and a phone which I had not wished to change after 6 months and they keep doing it.

If it was not for Apple, we could be still typing lines of code in our computers and using that ***** phone with snakes on it.

For 15 years I struggled with stupid products. For the past 3 years I've been enjoying content and not worrying so much about making my computer work without viruses, which phone I should get next since this one is already falling apart and how would I play that movie on my TV.

Honestly, the "kiss" (keep it simple, stupid) still works and very well. Call me silly, call me stupid, but I'm happy, and that is what it counts for me.

For all the companies not creating and just copying, not innovating and just buying, not building and just attacking, please, go f- yourself.

 

[macsmurf]

Honestly, it scares the heck out of me to see all the companies copying and trying to shut Apple down. Why? Simple, because Apple was the only company who made a computer I enjoy using and a phone which I had not wished to change after 6 months and they keep doing it.

Who is trying to shut Apple down? Does it occur to you that what you and others see as unilateral copying from Apple and lack of innovation from the rest of the industry could stem from simply your lack of knowledge?

Does it seem reasonable that only Apple is innovating and that Apple is never inspired by the world around them?

I'm not trying to be rude (for once). I'm just wondering if there is any kind of reflection going on.

 

[jfanning]

It wasn't at the time the "war was won" between the formats.

Labels switching to Blu-Ray won the war, not the quality of the technology.

Well I think having labels supporting your format (by what ever means, remember Toshiba tried paying off labels as well) is a very handy benefit to have, and while HD-DVD might have had a couple of the features earlier, Blu-ray gained these all over time, and Blu-ray had a number of advantages over HD-DVD, such as

1. High capacity disc
2. Studio support
3. Wider CE support
3. PS3

Even though it was meant to be cheaper to produce a HD-DVD, the movie prices were no cheaper, and even though Toshiba basically gave away their players there was bigger Blu-ray support, and even though HD-DVD was at that time region free, internationally Blu-ray has more support.

It wasn't until the 2.0 profile that Blu-Ray got some of the features that HD-DVD had from the word go, like the picture in picture features, etc.

Actually it was profile 1.1 that introduced PIP for blu-ray, and profile 1.1 was released on players prior to Toshiba dropping HD-DVD.

Profile 2.0 was released around the time HD-DVD was canned and basically only added BD-Live support.

 

[deadkennedy]

Apple is the new Microsoft. Gonna be fun watching Google stomp them.

Mistake, Apple's worse than MS ever was. I heard this from Linux geek community a year back and laughed at them. Now I see they were right. Really sorry to see NutJobs destroying a company once admired.

 

[kharvel]

Google is EXACTLY what Mac and Apple product users should LOVE!

I want Google to battle Apple fiercely on all fronts.

Competition will force Apple to actually consider its users. A Google Chrome OS and Android could force Apple to continually update its products to be not slight improvements over the former models but rather products that actually compete with Google's at every step. Frequent updates with better components that provide substantial updates.

I hope Google truly battles Apple on every product Apple sells. I don't care whether it's MP3 players, routers, displays, smartphone OS, mobile computers, professional computers, tablets, and etc. I want Google to truly go for it and make Apple give a damn about its customers by forcing Apple to provide better products in comparison with Google. Chrome OS could really be the start of something big and benefit all of us Mac users more than OS X could benefit us.

I look forward to this new Google gunning for Apple at every step of the way.

This is the biggest load of bull I have read on this topic, by far.

Are you a shill for Google and Microsoft? Do you work for Microsoft?

Let me shred your B.S. argument line by line:

Competition will force Apple to actually consider its users. A Google Chrome OS and Android could force Apple to continually update its products to be not slight improvements over the former models but rather products that actually compete with Google's at every step. Frequent updates with better components that provide substantial updates.

What planet are you from? Even before Google was a glimmer in Brin/Page's eyes, Apple has been competing with companies many times its size for YEARS and it almost had a near-death experience trying to fight off its most bloodthirstiest competitor since IBM: Dell.

Since the return of Steve Jobs, Apple has successfully competed against companies such as HP, Compaq, Dell, Acer, Sony, and many others. When it entered the MP3 player area, it has been competing fiercely with companies such as Creative, Rio, Sony, Samsung, and others. When it entered the mobile phone market, it was dismissed as a upstart by bloodthirsty giants like Nokia, Blackberry, Sony-Ericcson, Motorola, Samsung, etc.

And guess what? Apple is still competing against some of the most bloodthirstiest competitors the planet has ever seen: Samsung, Nokia, Sony, Motorola, Blackberry, Dell, HP, and of course, Microsoft. So tell me, why do you think Apple is lacking in competition? Do you think that Microsoft is no longer a bloodthirsty competitor? Do you think that Dell would not kill to have some of Apple's market share in the high-end notebook segment? Perhaps you think that Nokia has conceded the mobile phone market to Apple? Are you that delusional to think that Google is the only viable competitor for Apple?

I hope Google truly battles Apple on every product Apple sells. I don't care whether it's MP3 players, routers, displays, smartphone OS, mobile computers, professional computers, tablets, and etc. I want Google to truly go for it and make Apple give a damn about its customers by forcing Apple to provide better products in comparison with Google. Chrome OS could really be the start of something big and benefit all of us Mac users more than OS X could benefit us.

You definitely are from a different planet, if not a different universe. If you don't like Apple products, why don't you buy a HP laptop? How about a Nokia or Samsung mobile phone? Hey, Nokia and Samsung probably "gives a damn about its customers". They must be forcing Apple to provide better products, right? Why are you so delusional to think that Creative Labs or Sony could not make a competing product against the iPod? What about the Microsoft Zune? Hey, you don't think the Macs are good enough for the world? Then why don't you tell people to go buy HP or Dell laptops?

What's this nonsense about Apple not giving a "damn about its customers"? If they didn't give a damn, then why is it so successful against Microsoft, Dell, Samsung, Nokia, Blackberry, HP, Creative Labs, Acer, and others? Either you are completely delusional or you are a shill for Microsoft/Dell/Google/HP/Blackberry. Probably all of them are paying you to spout this nonsense.

I look forward to this new Google gunning for Apple at every step of the way

Have you already given up hope on Microsoft, Dell, Acer, HP, Creative Labs, Blackberry, Samsung, Sony, Motorola, Sanyo, LG, ASUS, Toshiba, Lenovo, and hundreds of different companies that have been competing with Apple for 30 YEARS??

 

[jfanning]

- Nokia for your crappy phones. Stop suing companies that innovated while you let me in the dark for every time I needed to make a synchronization and not bringing anything really exciting for 10 years;

You might have been right up to this part, most of the iPhone isn't innovation, it was copying features and devices that had already existed, created by companies like Nokia. The only read innovation would be the multi-touch, and they purchased that off someone else, and since that original release of the iPhone, what has Apple added that could be called innovation?

When I got my first OSX based Mac, I could sync my Nokia smartphone to my Mac, and when Apple supported SyncML it opened the flood gates to a number more Nokia devices, all syncing fine. Maybe you owned a cheap phone that didn't support these technologies, maybe because at the time Apple had such a low market share it wasn't financially worth it to Nokia to creating a Mac syncing app for these phones.

And trying to say Nokia hasn't brought anything exciting out in the last ten years would make it seem like you haven't actually used, or seen a Nokia phone in the last ten years, they have released a large number of phones in that timeframe that have supported the majority of features that Apple is just bringing to the table now.

 

[WilliamLondon]

Mistake, Apple's worse than MS ever was. I heard this from Linux geek community a year back and laughed at them. Now I see they were right. Really sorry to see NutJobs destroying a company once admired.

Destroying a company once admired, what by turning it into one of the most successful companies in the world? By producing products that people want to own?

That epitomises a very successful company.

 

[kharvel]

Sometimes I wonder where things will end.

I still remember spending hours and hours trying to make my Linux work properly because I simply couldn't deal with windows crashes, bugs and viruses.

One day I finally met a Mac, and even after 15 years using MS / IBM products I felt in love for it. At first it didn't look that good, but then when I finally finished my thinking transition to it the world was brighter.

Now, over the years, what I've seen is just a bunch of companies focused on copying things and bringing zero innovation.

When the iPhone came out, the entire industry changed. That is NOT something easy to do. From night to day, Apple was not the "iPod maker" anymore, it was a serious threat to all the mobile makers and all that market segment. From that day to the next years that followed, all I've seen was more and more companies trying to copy that idea, since they all failed to do anything for decades.

I would like to thank:
- Nokia for your crappy phones. Stop suing companies that innovated while you let me in the dark for every time I needed to make a synchronization and not bringing anything really exciting for 10 years;
- Google for trying to dominate the world. Here is a hint, beta programs may save your ass in sues due to not being a "full product" yet, but honestly, it is starting to piss me off. Most of the things that you do don't bring that awesome experience and we fall back to our old applications and computers LOCALLY. Please make SOMETHING really good and stop making TONS of ****** things;
- Microsoft for making the biggest monopoly of office and home users ever seen. Now please, put that money to real development and give us something that YOU came up with. Stop copying Apple's OS in every major aspect of the UI;
- Apple for shaking the grounds of those who thought they had everything already. Please protect your intellectual property and keep innovating. For your devices just one hint: open more APIs and allow more plugins in applications like Safari and devices like Apple TV.

Honestly, it scares the heck out of me to see all the companies copying and trying to shut Apple down. Why? Simple, because Apple was the only company who made a computer I enjoy using and a phone which I had not wished to change after 6 months and they keep doing it.

If it was not for Apple, we could be still typing lines of code in our computers and using that ***** phone with snakes on it.

For 15 years I struggled with stupid products. For the past 3 years I've been enjoying content and not worrying so much about making my computer work without viruses, which phone I should get next since this one is already falling apart and how would I play that movie on my TV.

Honestly, the "kiss" (keep it simple, stupid) still works and very well. Call me silly, call me stupid, but I'm happy, and that is what it counts for me.

For all the companies not creating and just copying, not innovating and just buying, not building and just attacking, please, go f- yourself.

During those 15 years of using MS/IBM products, did you:

1) Make fun of the Mac zealots?
2) Dismiss Macs as "toys"?
3) Attempt to convert a Mac user into a Windows or Linux user?

If you answer "YES" to any of the questions above, then have you done anything to atone for these grave sins, some of which contributed to Apple's near-death experience in 1998?

I'm just trying to point out that ignorance can be dangerous for true innovation. If it hadn't been for the long-time Mac/Apple zealots who kept the company going through its darkest days despite all the opposition, ridicule, and relentless copying from the Beast in Redmond, you would never have seen anything like iPhone or iPad come into existence.

Steve Jobs may have saved Apple but it was the long-time Apple zealots who made it possible for Jobs to have a company to save in the first place.

 

[ValSalva]

I'm not a big fan of Google but you have to give them credit. Their keynote was much more positive than Apple keynotes. Gundotra has more of a sense of humor and comes across more human than Jobs. Much, much less arrogant.

The demos were geekier than Apple's and more obviously focussed on developers but overall I was surprised at how friendly the keynote seemed.

Yes, Google took some shots at Apple but how can we object? Apple's been taking shots at Microsoft, Google, and Adobe in a much more direct and angrier way.

 

[Anuba]

No ergo. You can't go there. Because they shipped the OS with various applications? One is software OS only, and the other is hardware. Apple ships its hardware and so that we can use it, they ship software on it.

Look... you asked why some people call Apple the new Microsoft. I offered a theory on why that might be, not because I agree (or care enough to agree/disagree) but because you asked. That's all. Since you're not buying it (for rather labored reasons), I'm done, and I suggest you instead read any of the umpteen essays on "Apple = new Microsoft?" that have already been written:

Apple: The New Microsoft (BusinessInsider)
Is Apple the new Microsoft? (ComputerWorld)
Is Apple the new Microsoft? (Forbes)
Is Apple the New Microsoft? (Salon)
Is Apple the new Microsoft? (PC World)
Is Apple the new Microsoft? An Anti-Trust Case Study (The Atlantic Wire)
Is Apple the new Microsoft? Antitrust lawsuit waiting to happen (The Daily Swarm)
The Microsofting of Apple (Wall Street Journal)
Et cetera...

 

[angevil]

Google′s keynote made me throw up. That little **** bastard who talked about Android was such an arrogant cockroach. (Sorry to offend cockroaches, they are much better than this guy).

Google is being very hypocritical. They are really the ones who want to have monopoly, spreading their mobile OS among all phones. Apple only puts their OS on their phones. Google is having cameras all around the world in every corner of the street, recording and gathering all data about you, they are the Big Brother and it′s obvious. I am so done with Google. FU, Google. FU, Facebook. They are both EVIL. I am just waiting for Google to buy Facebook. They will own you soon. Cut the (virtual) cord.

 

[rdowns]

Look... you asked why some people call Apple the new Microsoft. I offered a theory on why that might be, not because I agree (or care enough to agree/disagree) but because you asked. That's all. Since you're not buying it (for rather labored reasons), I'm done, and I suggest you instead read any of the umpteen essays on "Apple = new Microsoft?" that have already been written:

Apple: The New Microsoft (BusinessInsider)
Is Apple the new Microsoft? (ComputerWorld)
Is Apple the new Microsoft? (Forbes)
Is Apple the New Microsoft? (Salon)
Is Apple the new Microsoft? (PC World)
Is Apple the new Microsoft? An Anti-Trust Case Study (The Atlantic Wire)
Is Apple the new Microsoft? Antitrust lawsuit waiting to happen (The Daily Swarm)
The Microsofting of Apple (Wall Street Journal)
Et cetera...

I think your research shows how pitiful our press is.

 

[KnightWRX]

- Nokia ... Stop suing companies

- Apple ... Please protect your intellectual property

Double standards much ? Why shouldn't Nokia be allowed to protect its intellectual property ? If not for Nokia's innovation, there wouldn't be an iPhone today.

Seriously, some of you guys need to let go of Steve's tit.

 

[mrochester]

I think your research shows how pitiful our press is.

It's definitely an important point to consider. We don't want to end up with another Microsoft on our hands. Luckily, I think that precedent has been set, so I think anti-competition watchdogs will keep Apple in check.