Where do we start and most importantly where the hell do we end?
Roll back to the year 1984 and there was a revolutionary advertisement. Anyone remember what it was? No points for getting it right (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OYecfV3ubP8). It was an ad from Apple against Big Brother as is described in 1984 by George Orwelll. It’s core message was to break free be independent be different and promote thought.
We will fast forward to 2009 when the restrictions from Apple Computers Inc. force all kind of people to question what the fuck is going on in this world and why in the hell’s name all the anti-trust regulators so hell bent on Microsoft and Intel are turning a blind eye to the current mess.
Let’s take two platforms and compare them
| Microsoft | Apple | |
| Default Browser | IE | Safari |
| Available browsers | IE, Firefox, Safari, Opera | Firefox, Safari, Opera |
| Default media player | Windows Media Player | ITunes |
| Available Media players | Can’t count | Can’t count |
| Slapped with an anti-trust case for browser | Yes | No |
| Slapped with an anti-trust case for Media player | Yes | No |
| Current state | MS offers Windows versions without Browser and Media player | Apple enjoys no problems whatsoever |
What I fail to understand is why is Apple getting away while Microsoft is getting screwed like anything.
The both bundle their own browsers and Media players. They both have a lot of choices in both departments but only MS is made to pay the fine. EU are you listening?
Where is the anti-trust case on Apple?
With the advent of iPhone Apple seems to have gone a step further. At least on a mac you could install whatever application you wanted but on an iPhone you have been restricted to a fixed set of applications to choose from.
Some very good apps are not allowed in the AppStore because Apple thinks that they duplicate the functionality provided by iPhone’s stock applications and they might cause confusion in the user community. What!!! Apple is now questioning my ability to differentiate between Safari and Opera? You made a good phone, be happy and gloat all you want and nobody is going to say anything to you. But then you want to restrict me from using the phone the way I want is going a bit too far. It’s like Ford telling me the roads I can drive my car on and in case I want to take my car (did I forget to mention that I purchased the goddamn phone) to a dusty road then the car is remotely turned off by Ford to protect your car from getting dirty. What if I wanted to do that Ford, come on.
Apple allows some 100+ variants of iFart in the AppStore but doesn’t allow one browser. Reasons given are that it will confuse users and it can be used to view adult content. Come on Apple, your default browser, Safari was it can also be used to view objectionable content and I don’t see a ban against Safari yet! Sure you can refuse to distribute the application which violates your rules but why the hell are you playing god. If I want I should be able to view pornography on my phone as I see fit, law allows me to do so. Who allowed you to be the moral police and restrict me to whatever you deem fit.
One of the reasons given by Apple on why isn’t multitasking allowed on iPhone is that multiple applications will drain battery life away. So now the duration for which my phone has to be active is going to be decided by apple too. Brilliant! Come on and admit it that you could not handle multiple applications like almost all other mobiles (even Symbian S60 and S40) do and you packaged it into a statement which makes the users think that you have the best of the intentions. Slick job Jobs!
I wonder, the WinMo phones from a generation ago had paltry 200 or so MHz processors and much less RAM but they allowed multitasking. This was when iPhone wasn’t even a dream! Come iPhone and you have 600+ MHz processor, powerful graphics and bigger screen and yet you don’t have multitasking. Am I the only one missing something here? You have better hardware and the OS is kind of a bully. It allows only the application that came preinstalled to be run in parallel (iPod on iPhone I’m looking at you). Anything else and they don’t deserve to run unless the user is using them actively, what a shame.
On a footnote I’m dying to see a lawsuit against apple.
