Palm Files Complaint Against Apple

[jkay69]

This does reaaly reek of Apple monopolising another market. They have exclusive rights on what hardware their OS operates on, but they will allow their users to run Microsoft OS's, why not the other way around? Oh that's right so that they can charge heft premiums for their hardware.

Now we see the same all over again, when you buy an iphone/iPod they want to restrict their users to using iTunes, meaning they will sell more music, however if any competing hardware tries to utilise iTunes then they are blocked, Why? Oh that's right so that they can charge a hefty premium on their hardware and stop any competitors riding off the back of their must have MP3 software. You would almost think they invented the format the way they behave.

The fact is that Apple need to protect their hardware and software because they are selling designer PC's, Phones and MP3 players that other than their style have no real advantages over the best of thier competitors, if they allowed cloned Mac's then pretty soon a manufacturer would release a stylish, cheaper alternative and their massive profit margins would be hit, likewise with iTunes, why settle for just the revenue for MP3 sales when you can make massive profit margins on the hardware to play them on too.

Apple have created such a buzz for their products that people are willing to pay massive premiums for inferior hardware because it's cool, in some respects I admire them for it, but mainly I laugh at all the suckers that have been locked into the Apple scam and go to great lengths to justify it to not just themselves but to those around them.

I've heard that OSX is hackproof...Bullshit!
Virus Proof...Bullshit!
More user friendly than the PC...I'll give them that 1
Better value in the long run...Bullshit!
Doesn't crash...Bullshit!
Is more stable than the PC...Bullshit! (I've had my Windows 7 server running for over 3 months solid and it's running like a charm)

Overall the MAC as a PC with a different OS, simple as that. It may use a more modern architecture but it still uses Intel CPU's, DDR memory, SATA hard drives, DVD Burners and the rest all from the PC. Perhaps when it was based on the IBM Power PC CPU they could have argued it was totally different but even then, most of the components were stock components with different plugs and sockets on them.

If Apple aren't carefull they may just find themselves in the courts because they have crossed the line of anti competitive behaviour, to be honest I'm surprised they haven't been done with it already...

 

[pocketdrummer]

[citation][nom]kiniku[/nom]Apple funded, developed and marketed iTunes. This has nothing whatsoever to do with USB policies. It's about Apple's software. If the Pre is so incredible I'm sure their own syncing software will be just as successful.[/citation]

This is true. Apple isn't blocking the sync function on any other software, just their own software. They probably don't have a strong case here (as much as users wish they did).

 

[jimmysmitty]

[citation][nom]Wayoffbase[/nom]Apple didn't invent USB, so I guess palm might have a case here? We'll see I guess.I'll skip on any apple bashing, I'm sure there is plenty of that to come.[/citation]

As far as I know, one of the co creators of the USB standard works for Intel so I would think Intel has some intellectual rights to the USB standard.

but it will be interesting to see if Pre can win this since iTunes is normally i whatever excluzive and in the EUs terms, anti-competative since the users wont have a choice.

then again the rest of the world has much better phones than we do since they don't have the FCC to water everything we have down....

 

[pelt0080]

Would this mean Pre would be compatible with Itunes apps as well or simply the music, video, etc. in the Itunes library? If you're Apple, why not allow companies to sync with Itunes and charge the user a initial fee as a penalty price for not buying the Ipod. This way people continue using Itunes as their primary media application, continue to download music via Itunes, and continue to have major companies developing their applications for the Itunes store as opposed to forcing companies to develop media interfaces which will ultimately compete with Itunes thus making your company more vulnerable in the long run.

I guess as a consumer I should be happy that Apple is forcing companies to develop their own media centers and hopefully competition will lead to better performers.

 

[pelt0080]

would be nice to have another media center though that was compatible with your ipod other than Itunes continually dull & bland Itunes.

 

[vizzie]

I'm totally with apple on this one.

They invested money to make iTunes and market it into a succesfull platform for buying, syncing etc. media with their mediaplayers and whatnot so they could sell more of those same mediaplayers, Palm didn't invest a cent and wants to steal the benefits of the huge investment by apple.

I think apple has every right to profit from it's investment and to stop others form stealing those profits.

Palm is abusing the USB standard by making the Pre lie about being an iPod. Apple is just using the USB standard to make this thievery by Palm impossible by checking the part of the USB standard Palm hasn't corrupted (the pre at least doesn't yet claim to have apple as its vendor).

 

[Guest]

I'm with TheFace. This site often does not tell the whole story about Apple and most of the readers here dislike apple. Like the SMS exploit that was reported as attacking the iPhone and ignored it worked on almost every "Smartphone". The rest of the Tech sites I have been on said that Palm is the offender here as it is against USB rules to have one device impersonate another which is exactly what they are doing here. Plus, Apple does not control 90% of the download music industry. There are plenty of alternatives but iTunes is the most preferred. Hardly a monopoly.

 

[ravenware]

[citation][nom]San Pedro[/nom]I'm no fan of itunes. In fact, I hate it.Winamp all the way. Milkdrop is the best visualization program ever![/citation]
Agreed, Itunes is terrible. I decided to buy some tracks on it a while back. I felt like I was in the stone age while using it. Itunes has a stupid slow ass way to do everything, very inefficient.

WMPlayer and WinAmp are much better.

 

[ravenware]

Is more stable than the PC...Bullshit! (I've had my Windows 7 server running for over 3 months solid and it's running like a charm)

It runs solid but it is a slow lazy bitch of an OS. I have to use a machine with server 08 everyday and the explorer performance is terrible. I would rather use 03.

 

[WyomingKnott]

I think that a company should be allowed to market a service that works with its own device, and not have others horn in. The latter decreases the value of their product.
The only counter-argument would be if Apple had a monopoly which, at least for a while, they did. Now, as music is being sold on-line DRM free, and while there are competitors, I suspect that Apple has the right of it. The fact that they are being greedy, obnoxious fools doesn't affect their legal rights.

 

[WyomingKnott]

Whoops! It just occurred to me. Can Apple go after Palm for violation of the DMCA? Breaking transfer protection instead of copy protection? I'd like to see that court battle - it just might result in weakening said foolish legislation.
(in my dreams)

 

[frost7500]

palm is dreaming here. looks like a sympathy attempt to try and stir up some bad pub on apple. they are deserving but not here. their software/hardware. to those that r bashing apple products in general, come on now. just bought my first ever apple product, the 3g iphone. cost me 50 (refurbished). damn phone is genious. now about their laptops/desktops ... haha. NEVER.

 

[etichi]

Am I missing something but Apple is not preventing the hardware interface "USB" working with the Palm. They are though preventing a software app from working with it. On the same thread, should my garman GPS work with Tom-Tom software? Nope.

 

[etichi]

@jkay69

You are clearly not a capitalist. NO ONE is forcing anyone to buy Apple.

 

[ukcal]

Just out of interest, does the Pre sync with WMP? I don't own a Pre, so I wouldn't know, but if it does then what is the problem? Sync with WMP and not iTunes, both do the same things.

 

[hillarymakesmecry]

Palm is right.

I'm pretty sure PRE-syncing is NOT a big draw for customers.

 

[Turas]

duckmanx88 :
because when you control 90% of legally purchased music and the only device that can sync with it is your own product you're monopolizing the service.

cielmerlion 08/06/2009 5:43 AM
But then again its their software, theyre not monopolizing anything. Letting people without iphods or iphones sync with itunes makes people buy less ippods and iphones.

You could say this about Windows and IE. No one forces you to use IE, it is just already there preinstalled for you. You can download any other browser you want to use. No one forces you to use IE, but yet that still was not good enough for the EU.

 

[neiroatopelcc]

[citation][nom]Turas[/nom]You could say this about Windows and IE. No one forces you to use IE, it is just already there preinstalled for you. You can download any other browser you want to use. No one forces you to use IE, but yet that still was not good enough for the EU.[/citation]
the EU decision makers don't care what is good enough, they're just scouting for ways to generate extra income, and appearently they're quite good at that.

 

[vizzie]

[citation][nom]Turas[/nom]You could say this about Windows and IE. No one forces you to use IE, it is just already there preinstalled for you. You can download any other browser you want to use. No one forces you to use IE, but yet that still was not good enough for the EU.[/citation]

Don't recall my pc coming with iTunes pre-installed .
As I recall it I *chose* to install it on my pc, Steve Jobs didn't hold a gun to my head.

Don't really think the Windows comparison flies here, I have way more options for buying media online than I have for using a non-windows OS.

 

[Turas]

I understand that but then be consistent across the board. I think the browser ballot crap is a joke and firmly believe if you don't like something just don't use it. The government sticking their noses in everything just pisses me off if they are not willing to do it equally across the board.